We wanted to help. Simply put. When we began discussing the idea for a tote bag project last winter, we had just completed a year that was ... challenging, to say the least, in the wake of 2008’s economic collapse.

 

Then January came. A massive earthquake hit Haiti a month before another one hit Chile, and we saw what real suffering looks like. It was obviously time to do something, and we knew one thing for certain: Designers would want to help, too. We’d seen them make inspiring designs for initiatives like Part of It, Gluekit’s groundbreaking, ongoing project through which designers make art for bags and T-shirts sold to raise funds for a cause.

 

So we invited 12 of our own favorite designers to submit tote designs to be sold in support of their chosen charities. Designers responded. Christoph Niemann, Geoff McFetridge, Deanne Cheuk, and others generously gave their time and talent. With those design leaders pitching in, we announced a contest for readers to submit their own tote designs, and we received nearly 100 creations.

 

Out of the submitted designs, we selected one winner: Sawdust’s swirling, inventive type treatment for the British Heart Foundation. All 13 of these limited-edition designs are available at MyDesignShop.com, and 100 percent of the profits will go to the causes the designers have chosen. It’s a small gesture, in the grand scheme of things. But we hope it inspires others to carry it even further.

 

Each bag comes in an edition of 25, and they all come with a handmade hang tag and are individually numbered. All proceeds will go to the charity that the designer has chosen.

 

 

THE DESIGNERS

Atelier Télescopique for Fondation de France