Instagram story viewer> @waxwingbagco> Posts

Waxwing Bag Co (aka Dave Cain)

@waxwingbagco

4.3K

followers

2499

following

Custom bicycle bags hand-crafted in Vermont. I'm excited to make a bag for you! Also @waxwing_goes_sailing for woodenboat building and art

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

.
.
A fall bag in fall colors!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#waxwingbagco
#madrivervalley
#notwoarethesame
#51° by @waxwingbagco

99

7

12 days ago

.
.
The wholly mis-named “rackless” front bag. Here’s two of ‘em.

The idea here is that you can have a front handlebar bag without a dedicated rack, and on that front the name holds up.

Short of strapping the bag to the bars, which I suppose would be an option—although not a great one IMHO—the bag needs support.

That’s where the KlickFix Support Bracket and Handlebar Adapter come into play. Extending from the bars they are held securely off the bars and suspend the bag right where it needs to be. So, yes, there is a rack. There almost always is, in one form or another.

These two colorful examples just happened to fall in the same sequence in my work queue—I’m not above the opportunity for a little efficency when it presents itself.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#waxwingbagco
#madrivervalley
#notwoarethesame
#72° by @waxwingbagco

125

6

2 months ago

Summer chilling in Woods Hole taken in Woods Hole by @waxwingbagco

62

9

3 months ago

.
.
When I started making bags I was essentially making fabric boxes, with smaller boxes attached for pockets. Fair enough—my quest was to emulate the storied Berthoud handlebar bags.

From that starting point I’ve increasingly moved towards seeing bags more in their sculptural form—shaping the bags to function well, but also please the eye.

This saddlebag is a great example of that. Early on my saddlebags were inspired by the functional and boxy Carradice bags, but over time more and more shape found its way in there to the point that there is nary a square corner left at this point.

On the one hand I have a deep reverence for tradition, but I also have a persistent urge to shape, adjust, and refine. While serving the same purpose this bag bears little resemblance to where its earlier iterations started.

I suppose they are all a work in progress and that’s a virtue of one person making things one at a time—there’s very little hindrance to constant evolution.

Medium sized Briquette Saddlebag with brass hardware and honey leather trim.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#waxwingbagco
#madrivervalley
#notwoarethesame
#83° by @waxwingbagco

123

8

4 months ago

.
.
I love this little bag--known as the Sandwich Bag-- which is a slightly smaller version of the Lunch Bag.

The evolution of this design is a little vague to me at this point, but I think I was inspired by the larger basket bags I’d made, but sized for the basics. What I like too about this bag is it’s compact enough to secure to a rack with just a set of RaClips and the backstop sleeve. Unless there’s some weird top-heavy load, it’ll be secure without a decaleur.

This is the bag I use as a default—easy, compact, uncomplicated—and yet expandable as needed. Unlike the version I made for myself, this one has back pockets which makes it that much more of a great choice.

Red Rocks xPac, black leather trim, poly straps and G hook closures.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#waxwingbagco
#madrivervalley
#notwoarethesame
#61° by @waxwingbagco

91

3

4 months ago

I was lucky enough to attend a full day workshop with the delightful and talented @erinspencerart on Saturday. We had the perfect plein air day but sadly not a cloud in the sky because Erin paints the most delicious clouds. So honored to spend the day with such talented and generous creatives. We painted in the meadow, at the beach and then had a little appreciation session right there in the grass! A day well spent. Note to self: more workshops! 🎨 by @waxwingbagco

253

10

4 months ago

.
.
Such a sweet bag!

The waxed natural canvas, nickel hardware and white elastics paired up with the honey colored leather make for an almost luminescent result.

I'm sure effects of time, exposure and use will alter it from this starting point, but I'd wager that the bag will carry some vestige of its brightness throughout its life.

Here's to some great journeys ahead...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#waxwingbagco
#madrivervalley
#notwoarethesame
#53° by @waxwingbagco

125

9

5 months ago

Grocery run to town. Snowdrops. Grateful for the signs of early spring. by @waxwingbagco

113

2

7 months ago

.
.
Truth is I don’t love frame bags—not sure why—they certainly have a place when thinking about loading up a bike, and they present a great opportunity to splash out with some cool creative ideas, but still, I don’t find I get excited about making them in the way I do various other bags.

And yet, here you go. Isn’t this a fun bag? The customer tried to give me some direction with colors and design, but gave up and said “You go for it—I trust you—it’ll be cool” while referencing some possible color options.

In keeping with the other bags already on the bike, and the frame color, this is what I came up with.

Provided USPS does its work, this bag will be out on an adventure in New Mexico by the end of the month. How fun!

Purple, Bottle Green, Terra Cotta and Harvest Tan, along with Turquoise lacing. The bag will mount into the @analogcycles Tanglefoot Hardtack frame with a combo of bolt-on mounts and lacing. Waterproof zipper access to main compartment on drive side, sleeve pocket on the non-drive side.

It’ll take some time to attach the bag, but it’ll be solid and secure once it’s’ on. And there’s no velcro to distract from the overall look.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#waxwingbagco
#madrivervalley
#notwoarethesame
#framebag by @waxwingbagco

42

3

8 months ago

.
.
Handlebar bags are usually box shaped, yet front racks generally have an angled backstop which mirror the angle of the head tube—resulting in an inherent (and generally unresolved) tension. Attaching a 90º box to a 110º backstop tends to distort the bag slightly. It’s kind of a quirk that we all live with.

This bag solves that little bugaboo.

Taking direct inspiration from Guu Watanabe, the lower third of the back of this bag tilts out to match the angle of the backstop. Not only is it a great solution to the tug between the rack and bag, but it also makes for a really lovely design, literally “thinking outside the box” -shaped bag.

If you are not familiar with Guu Watanabe: Japanese bag makers Shoichi-san and Tomoko-san @guu.watanabe.9 made a blinding array of gorgeous bags until they retired a number of years ago. Their work was a big inspiration as I tried to learn this craft, and remains so today. (A number of years ago I wrote a blog post tribute—link in bio)

Making this style bag is a rare treat. The customer did a quality job making a cardboard mock-up which made it easy for me to make the bag. Given the tight space above the backstop, we opted to make the sleeve snap-openable for attachment.

Olive canvas, nickel hardware, honey brown trim. Pleated front pocket.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#waxwingbagco
#madeinvermont
#madrivervalley
#notwoarethesame by @waxwingbagco

176

18

8 months ago

.
.
Imbolc/St. Brigid's Day/Groundhog Day arrived and-- like clockwork--I started getting emails from customers asking where on the queue their projects are. It may be -7° with snow everywhere, but an innate sense tells us spring is coming, and spring means dreams of being on our bikes will become real.

When that warm day arrives this customer will be all set. A medium saddlebag paired with a short demi-porteur will be ample for a wide range of adventures. Maybe add a set of panniers for a full-on tour, but if you are an economical packer, perhaps this is all you need.

Both bags in waxed Field Tan with nickel hardware and honey brown leather trim. Custom hold-down points and elastic added to the map case. The demi-porter is specifically configured to integrate seamlessly with the @velo_orange Flat Pack Rack and a set of RaClips. Such a perfect arrangement for a solid hold with easy removability.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#waxwingbagco
#madeinvermont
#madrivervalley
#notwoarethesame by @waxwingbagco

147

4

8 months ago

.
.
Such a funky little bugger.

This one is designed to fit in the little frame triangle on a Brompton. Tiny bag for a tiny space, but it'll be a great place to store tools and a tube, or something of that ilk.

Bottle Green, Athletic Gold and Terra Cotta definitely win the funnest colors in recent memory award. Molle around the perimeter allows for playing with attachment points with the leather straps. Waterproof zipper to round it off.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#waxwingbagco
#madeinvermont
#bromptonbicycle
#handmadeinvermont
#notwoarethesame by @waxwingbagco

38

0

9 months ago