Our story

Boho Byte Bags is getting started in a quiet corner of my rural farmhouse. I'm currently working from home as a technical writer for a big company, but what really bothers me are the backpacks we all carry to our twice-yearly company meetings.

They're "one-size-fits-all," drab and lifeless, with standard pockets that don't exatly fit anything -- which is a shame, since most electronics match one of just a few standard form factors. None of them work really well, and none of them are very stylish. I know this from experience, because over the years I have collected a 10x10 storage locker full of them!

So I've decided to rekindle my old sewing hobby. Since I have lots of Boho material, and Boho is a comfortable niche for bags, I'm going to try putting one together. First, for me, and later, for others, if they show interest.

Keep watching this space!

How I work

My plan? To actually design the bags for everyday use. This means a few things:

Carefully placing the center of gravity. The bag should sit flat on the floor and not fall over when loaded.
Not using big, undifferentiated pockets. Many bags have a few pockets in the front, but the second and third pockets are just big open spaces that make it hard to keep things separate.
Basing the pockets on real-world hardware. Doesn't seem to matter whether you're carrying camping gear or electronics, the big and heavy things always seem to end up high in the bag, where they block access to the rest of the pocket, and make the bag unstable when you're not carrying it.
Rational strap design. Those molle bags are great, but the elastic strips are too small to really hold anything that can handle the weather, and besides, how much computer hardware are you willing to carry in the open, on the outside of your bag?
Full distance zippers. It feels like every bag I've tried has at least one zipper that's too short, making it hard to get things in and out of that pocket.
Colorful, patterned bags that can still handle the weather. Most bags are designed from ripstop material, which generally only comes in relatively drab or flat colors. It is possible to treat normal cotton material to be durable and waterproof, and it's worth the effort to have something that looks nice. Also, it's very easy to print up some re-treatment instructions that help people keep their bags in good shape.

In short, most bags are designed for a mass market: yeah, they have a laptop pocket, and maybe a few places for pencils and pens and passports and such, but that's about it. Nothing seems to really fit developers like a glove. I aim to change that.