When designer Ramon Middelkoop noticed a hobo in a subway carrying a crumpled paper bag he kept this image in his head until the right moment came.
Once the moment was there, everything came together like magic : the zeitgeist, the design turned out to be the success formula for the design of the MY PAPER BAG.
The image of the hobo in the subway never left Ramon. The paper bag had been used so many times that it looked completely battered, “that’s what gave it its beauty: time had given the bag unique features that only made it more beautiful.” Ramon came up with the idea of translating this into a sustainable version, which would only become more beautiful by using it often. A logical material choice for Ramon was leather: “This has the same unique features, it is also marked by use. But it is much stronger than paper and lasts much longer.”
In 2008, the MY PAPER BAG was also noticed by journalist Milou van Rossum who wrote a praiseworthy article in de Volkskrant.
An icon was born.