shop visit: bailey works

I’m going to assume a good portion of you dear readers ride bikes because a) riding bikes is awesome + b) it’s awesome. Enough said. I’ll further guess that you bike riding citizens know the name Bailey Works because a) they’ve been producing handmade amazing bags since the 90’s + b) you need a dependable bag (that doesn’t look stupid) to tough out the mean streets.

You might remember I posted a review of a collaboration between Bodega, I.F. + Bailey Works a little while back? Well, luckily, BW is local + I was able to set up a little behind-the-scenes tour. Jon, the owner, was kind enough to have me in, show me some amazing prototypes he’s working on (GET PUMPED) + talk shop for a couple of hours. As a city cyclist + a fan of most things handmade, durable and good looking, I was excited to say the least.

I thought some of you might be excited too to take a look behind the counter at the Bailey Works operation. Because, remember, bike’s are awesome. Good bags are awesome. And handmade, local bags you can wear while you ride your awesome bike are…doubly awesome. I hope y’all enjoy the shop visit!

Lay of the land. This is the main room just behind the showroom where all of the sewing is done.

A back room with some sewing machines, product + some prototypes. Ooooh.

Shop dog!

Pumpkin bag! There were all sorts of cool old project bags in the offices. I thought this one was super funny.

Materials! All the canvas + linings used to make the bags are cut in house, by hand. Which is crazy.

Looking towards the front of the shop. I just had to include this one for the turkey bag on the right.

See? Handmade to the fullest.

This is Jon, the owner, at his desk. Jon struck me as sort of a mad scientist type, in a really good way. He seemed so excited working on new bags + making tweaks to the old ones. Exactly the kind of passion you’ve got to have to stay in business for two decades.

Lastly, the showroom in the front + a cornucopia of messenger bags.

Thanks, Bailey Works!