Tag Archives: cement laptop bag

New PPC cement laptop bag designs

News, Wren

In South Africa we are used to seeing Pretoria Portland Cement bags > piled high on the back of trucks, lyeing in a pile of building rubble, beside the road at a construction site. Summed up, we are familiar with the context of the brand and I took this for granted as it is such an ordinary sight for us.

So when PPC introduced new packaging I used this as the inspiration for the photoshoot > context and product, inspiration and product, before and after (although we do not use used cement bags for health reasons. If you want to find out how the bags are made click here).

I hope you like them….and the new PPC Cement packaging and laptop bags.

SUREBUILD PPC cement laptop bag.

OPC PPC Cement Laptop Bag.

BOTCEM PPC cement laptop bag

Note 1: All the new bags are available in 13″, 15″ and 17″ sizes.

Note 2: The traditional PPC Cement Laptop Bags (RAPO, SUREBUILD & OPC) will be available until stocks lasts.

the PPC Cement Laptop Bag story

News

The story about how the PPC Cement Laptop Bag came to be is rather straight forward > I was at a shoe factory ordering shoes (pumps to be specific) one random day and they were showing me how they made them. Part of the procedure is to fuse the desired outer fabric to a cotton to make the fabric stronger and more suitable for the purpose. Curious as to what else this technical fabric would be used for I asked for some.

I fused it to all sorts of materials, paper being one of them. Then some time later I was driving along the highway behind a cement truck and I noticed the packaging, more specifically, the very graphic elephant logo of Pretoria Portland Cement. I thought this would be fantastic to make a bag out of so I got hold of some PPC packaging and experimented. It really was an opportunity, experiment and idea that all came together.

Once I had a prototype I contacted PPC for their permission to use their packaging and the rest is history. It reminded me of something I had written before “Inspiration is all around you, you’ve just keep your eyes and mind open to possibilities. (See blog post about connecting experiences).

So how do we make the bags now? An unused Pretoria Portland Cement paper bag is the beginning of each piece. We use unused cmenet packaging  Production takes a while, but it’s worth it. We separate the layers that make up a cement packet, remove the top and third layer of the bag and fuse them together. Bonding them with black cotton means that durability is never compromised. From there, you can treat it like any other fabric. We draw the pattern, cut it and stitch the bag together (click here to watch video about us).

Fatima Samuels – sewer

The PPC Cement Laptop Bag is as practical as you can get. There are two sections and two pockets: carry your laptop cables in one pocket and a phone or mouse in the other. A padded divider separates your laptop from any other papers or notes, and the entire inside of the bag is also padded to protect everything that you carry inside it.

The bag closes with two magnets discreetly hidden on the flap.

Wendren Setzer – designer

The bags were originally coated with 3M scotchguard but we really wanted to use a more environmentally friendly product. After months of searching and testing we found a concentration of nano tech liquid glass that coats the surface with a really thin film that water, dirt and/or oil cannot penetrate, and works on the cement packaging paper.

Packaging designed for the PPC Cement Laptop Bag telling you the story about how it is made (a cement packaging becomes a bag and a bag becomes a tag).

Nano liquid glass is a revolutionary product that, in a really simple description, coats the surface so that it is hydrophobic (water repellent) in the same way that a lotus leaf is. It is completely invisible, unlike other coatings, and does not change the texture of the surface or impair it’s ability to breathe. It also enhances colour strength and makes the coated surface easier to clean without the use of detergents. It couldn’t be more perfect.

This product has proven to be so successful as a bag coating (making them water resistant, soil repellent and easy to clean) that we now also spray the Antique Linen range of bags.

The bags are available as in three colours and three sizes: 13″, 15″ and 17″ and in various colours. Click here to visit the WREN shop to buy a a PPC Cement Laptop Bag online.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

Other PPC Cement Laptop Bag posts:

 Other PPC Cement Laptop Bag articles:

Cool New Stuff, This is Awesome, Fashionably Geek, Green by Design, Tech News Hourly, Gadget Lab on Wired, Myweku, Babazeka, Urban Review, Embalagem Sustentavel, Eco Salon, The Cool Gadgets, Mad About Bags, BoingBoing, Imod, Cool Things and Gadget Sin.

 

Introducing the 13″ and 17″ Cement Laptop Bag

News, Wren

Since introducing the laptop bag I have discovered that a lot of people have 17″ laptops (and not all of them creatives as I would have thought). The main reason I have not made one before is becuase two cement packaging bags need to be cut open and used becuase the 15″ pattern JUST fits on one cement packaging bag. However, after several requests I decided to make one so here it is, no more disappointed faces. :)

I couldn’t believe how great the 17″ bag looked. I half expected it to look large and cumbersome but it took me by complete surprise becuase it actually looks really great. The proportions work well and I like that you can see a bit more of the design than with the other sizes.

The 17″ bag is 42cm (length) X 28cm (height) X 6cm (width)

The 15″ bag is 38cm (length) X 26,5 (height) X 6cm (width)

At the same time I developed the 13″ becuase, well, why not? I was already making the pattern bigger, why not smaller.

The 13″ bag is 34cm (length) X 25,5 (height) X 6cm (width)

The new size bags are listed in my etsy store and you can buy them from Casamento in Salt River, Cape Town or The Fringe Arts in Kloof St & at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town. If you are South African but are not in Cape Town and am a bit confused by the dollars on etsy, please email me for the price in ZAR.

WREN supports Cape Town for the World Design Capital 2014

Events, News

Photograph credit: ‘ Anita Reid’ (photographer) and ‘Cape Town Partnership’.

Last week Monday Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille and Mayor, Patricia de Lille were presented with Wren PPC Cement Laptop Bags when the Mayor handed over the World Design Capital 2014 bid book to the Premier.

Cape Town’s bid is the first by an African city and we are running against 53 cities from 24 countries. To show your support download the button, or wear one. With each PPC CEment Laptop Bag purchased from the Wren Design from next month you will get a free WDC2014 button. Wren supports Cape Town in it’s bid and so would you by sporting Cape Town design in the form of a PPC Cement Laptop Bag. 

For me this bid is important in breaking the misconceptions of what Design is. So often Design is pushed aside by management and others in many fields and not given the support it needs. This is purely from a lack of understanding of what it is, and what it can offer. Design CAN “improve the quality of life for all” if given a chance. It is not pretty pictures (although these in their own right make life more wonderful), good design improves user experience with objects and services that we intereact with everyday, it challenges boundaries and pushes for the best in every situation be it a social problem or a corporate decision. Design has a lot to offer … let Cape Town show the world how much good design we have to offer and what positive difference it can make.

World Design Capital / Cape Town 2014 / Cape Town Partnerships / Cape Town Green Map

PPC Cement Laptop Bags – The Collection

Wren

‘All in a day’
Botcem PPC Cement Laptop Bag

 

‘Taking a break’
Rapo PPC Cement Laptop Bag

 

‘At full speed’
Opc PPC Cement Laptop Bag

 

‘Men at work’
Surebuild PPC Cement Laptop Bag

 

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -
Photographer: Ricardo Van Lingen         Email: avocardo[dot]rvl[at]gmail[dot][com]
Model: Roderique Porquet  Email: rodporquet[at]yahoo[dot]fr
Artist: Mike Thomson        Email: ibmiket[at]gmail[dot][com]

To view ‘in the making’ photographs click here

Behind the scenes

Featured

On Friday Ricardo Van Lingen – photographer (standing on the ladder above), Rodrigue Porquet (shading under the embrela below) – model, Michael Thomson (drawing below) – artist and me, Wendren – directing (taking the photograph), created the scene for the PPC Cement Laptop Bag Photoshoot.

The concept was “to play” between 2D and 3D, static and movement which we achieved by literally combining the two.

Mike worked on various surfaces – from tar to raw cement, using charcoal and chalk. He drew a wheelbarrow, cement mixer, bicycle and a life-size ‘men-at-work’ sign: they were artworks. The worst part was washing them away afterwards becuase they really looked amazing but that was what was agreed to with the property owners (even though half of the buildings had no owners and the buildings had been desolate for many years).

Our shoot came to an end with one miserable man who did not care for us taking photographs in a public space but that did not put a damper on the day at all – it was a great success and I am looking forward to seeing the final cut photographs.