Profile: Tote Bags

When we set out to design a new Tote Bag for our collection, we thought of none other than local graphic design master Henry Tyminski of Sali Tabacchi. This fellow Torontonian has a knack for capturing the essence of a brief and communicating it in a visually interesting way.

His challenge; to design a tote bag for us. That is it. We are so often responsible for managing the design and creative process and it was liberating to hand over this entire task to someone else. It helped tremendously that this person was someone that we had worked with in the past and someone that we completely trust.

After presenting several options (see some of them in images below), we became drawn to the Today messaging that was central to one of his designs. Here is how Henry described where the inspiration for the message came from:

We wanted to create something that expresses the idea of enjoying 'Today', instead of waiting for 'Tomorrow'. The pandemic has forced many of us to put plans on hold (career, travel, etc.) - but we can still be grateful for what we have here and now - and embrace 'Today'.

Henry feels that Tote Bags are a great blank canvas for designers to work from and that there is an opportunity to create some fun eye-candy. His approach considers how the designs are digested from as far as a block away. His playful take on designing Tote Bags is rooted in his feelings that they are ephemeral and not so 'serious'. He looks at tote bags as an opportunity to create something fun and not so corporate. For the 'Today' tote, he wanted the design to have a duality: to be eye-catching on one level; and meaningful on another. At first it looks like a whimsical collection of geometric shapes but then the word 'Today' suddenly emerges.

We asked Henry what one of his current Tote Bag design favorites is and he listed 'I Love Salt' for Molly Baz, designed by Violaine & Jeremy. Henry is a Tote Bag enthusiast himself using them for things other than groceries. Ironically, he uses some of his tote bags to hold more tote bags.

Learn more about Henry Tyminski and Sali Tabacchi @salitabacchi