March 29, 2020

Factory Update: Making Face Masks

34 comments
TOM BIHN crew members wearing and sewing cloth masks.

We hope you’re well and safe as you read this. We know bags might be the last thing on your mind — on the other hand, bags might be a welcome break from everything else that’s going on. 

First, let’s talk about face masks. Our Seattle factory is still at work — we’ve devoted our entire production capacity to efforts to make surgical-style face masks for our healthcare heroes due to the shortage of medical-grade masks. For the sake of healthcare professionals, we hope that real, medical-grade personal protective equipment is produced and restocked as soon as possible; in the meantime, we are here and working as fast as we can to help. 

We know you care about our safety as much as we do; see the list of the precautions we’re taking at the factory. We've also posted expanded instructions on how to clean and disinfect your bags. 

Some photos of our crew at work this week....

We at TOM BIHN are sewing face masks for healthcare professionals in our Seattle factory.

Nik working late one night (maybe about a week ago or so) on one of the three mask designs we can make.

We at TOM BIHN are sewing face masks for healthcare professionals in our Seattle factory.

Edelmira plying up the fabric to make a particular mask; Irma is cutting the fabric.

We at TOM BIHN are sewing face masks for healthcare professionals in our Seattle factory.

Mei sewing the ties on the masks.

We at TOM BIHN are sewing face masks for healthcare professionals in our Seattle factory.

Chun also sewing ties on to masks.

(The Original) Icon and (The Future) Icon
Long story short, the response to the debut of the Icon was overwhelming: people loved it. Still, several of you shared feedback on what you think could make it an even better bag; we (mostly) agreed and the next production run of Icons will have these changes implemented. Now, however, we're busy making masks, and we don't know when we'll make the next run of Icons. We did make a run of the original Icon a while back, and we're making those bags available for purchase now. They don't include the shoulder pad (can't make shoulder pads right now) so we're offering them for $50 instead of the usual $75. Full story here, including a list of the design updates.

Upcoming Debuts
We're working on debuting some new designs — even if it means the only photos we can share are drawn sketches — just so there's something fun and interesting we can share with all of you. If you'd like, you'll be able to sign up via email to be notified when the new designs are available for pre-order. 

34 comments

CC - April 17, 2020

Wonderful TB! Your company is great!
Please start making ones with filter pockets for all of us to buy!

Dave VandenHeuvel - April 2, 2020

American’s at work making it happen! THIS is why I buy from you guys, and will ALWAYS support American business! We will get over this – one way or another, you will have my business for LIFE! Bless you and stay safe, Welldone Folks!

Michael Forman - April 2, 2020

Thank you for this. I am sure that whatever you make will be of the highest quality. I’ve owned one of your briefcases for nearly 20 years and it’s stood up to heavy use. It cost a bit more than the other guys’, but it was definitely worth it. Thank you.

gina - April 2, 2020

you make me so proud! thank you.

Mark Lauron - April 2, 2020

You guys are amazing and are great Americans , time for all of us to get together and fight this scourge.

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We're the TOM BIHN crew: we design bags, make bags, ship bags, and answer questions about bags. Oh, and we collaborate on blog posts, too.