Inside the Factory: Spring 2024 Updates

Cindy Guan
2024-04-24T11:21:08-07:00

Similar to our Winter 2024 update blog, we’re excited to share some updates on things that are happening at the factory this season!

New Designs

For those who have been following along, you will know that we released the Nomad Tote last month (and recently restocked again)! If you haven’t been following along, here is a quick recap: for a while, we’ve felt that we were missing a work tote tailored for both the sophisticated traveler and the daily commuter. Don’t get us wrong, the Monster Truck, Zip Top Shop Bag, and Pop Tote are all great totes in our collection, but they all lacked the specific features, like pockets for a laptop or a luggage handle, that we felt were necessary for a tote in this category. So after months of designing, iterating, and testing, we came up with the Nomad Tote.

We have been sharing "Behind the Seams" notes for the Nomad Tote — a series of commentary on design choices, considerations, and explanations about aspects of the manufacturing process — in our weekly newsletter. Make sure you're subscribed if you want to learn more!

Next up, our Design team has been staying very busy with a new travel bag design. We can’t share too much quite yet, but when we’re ready, we will drop a hint in a future newsletter.

Lots of color updates

630d High-Tenacity Ballistic Nylon

We’re saying bye-bye to our Coyote color. All the Coyote we have on hand has been put into production, and for now, we are planning to phase out this color to make room for the two new 630d HT Ballistic (and C0) hues on the way! Tentatively, we are expecting to debut these colors in Fall 2024. As always, we don’t publicly disclose our colors until after we physically have them in-house, but for now, all we can share is that one is more neutral, while the other is for those looking for more fun in their exterior palette.

200d Halcyon

Those of you who are familiar with us know that we regularly cycle 200d Halcyon colors in and out. There are just too many fun custom dips for us to stick with one palette for too long. Here are some of our latest updates!

We have completely used up all of our Tidal and Solaris, and we don’t have plans to bring these back in the near future. Acai has also been completely used up, but due to popular demand, we do have more on the way, though you may notice a gap in our Acai offerings during this time. Occasionally, you may see colors like Tidal, Solaris, or even older retired colors like Moab, Ultraviolet, or Iberian pop up in our Mystery Organizer Pouches. While we try our best to efficiently use up all our fabric when we make bags, there are inevitably leftover roll ends and scraps from cutting.

We’re also having a lot of fun incorporating Sakura and Wisteria into our collections. It’s amazing how many exteriors these two pair with, so far we've paired them with Black, Nebulous Grey, Deep Blue, Aubergine, Constellation, Ursa…did we miss any colorway combinations that you still want to see? To help you plan out any purchasing decisions, we do want to give an early heads up that we are nearing the end of our time with Sakura and Wisteria as we are preparing for the arrival of two new seasonal colors this summer (any guesses what they are?)!

210d Cerylon

We think 210d Cerylon is the perfect fabric for those looking for a more subtle, muted aesthetic. It’s been over a year since we introduced new Cerylon colors like Moss and Dusk which have become mainstays in our offerings, and now we’re looking for another to add to the palette. We’re currently in the process of evaluating a whole new color entirely, and we are excited to share more soon!

X-Pac RX30

We dropped a poll recently asking YOU to help choose our next RX30 color. The poll is now closed, and you guys have given us our answer…stay tuned for what’s coming!

Attention knitters: Swift Update

After this current April restock, we will not be able to proceed with a follow-up batch of Swifts immediately. We are currently waiting on button fasteners. Like many of the parts that we work with, the button fastener is a fully custom piece made just for us, which extends the lead time to getting them into our factory. As for the Little Swift? We’re not sure if we have the Production capacity to bring that back, but if we get enough requests, we may consider it again!

All things Mystery

Our Mystery accessories – Mystery Organizer Pouch, Mystery Clear Organizer Pouch, and Mystery Grab Bag – have been a huge hit since we first rolled out this program last June! Thanks to you all, we’ve been able to repurpose almost 700 pounds of scrap fabric to date. We make our Mystery accessories in large batches after we've accumulated a meaningful amount of scrap, but due to higher than expected demand, we've found that we are having trouble keeping these items in stock. As always, we always appreciate your patience and support!

Giving Back to the Community

We’re happy to share that our team is growing! Our factory however is the same size, meaning we’ve had to find ways to reorganize and reshuffle so that the whole crew can still fit comfortably. To do so, we have decided to free up space in the warehouse by giving away 40,000 pounds of cotton fabric, previously used to make face masks during the pandemic. The fabric has been donated to local nonprofits that we are proud to support, including the Refugee Artisan Initiative, Providence Hospital, and Seattle ReCreative.

'How You Carry' Contest

We’re thrilled to share some incredible news: We’ve reached a milestone of 30k followers on Instagram! None of this would be achievable without your steadfast support, loyalty, and passion for our brand. In honor of the TOM BIHN community, we wanted to celebrate with another contest – the ‘How You Carry’ contest!

Now for the best part - The prize! Our contest winner will win a ‘Ultimate’ TOM BIHN haul (Value Est: $2,000). An assortment of rare bags, design prototypes, and retired colors that is sure to make any TB fan excited! 2nd and 3rd place will also win an item of their choice from the TOM BIHN website. For instructions on how to enter (contest closes May 1, 2024), check out this blog post.