1. Names, Ages, Occupations?Matt Bort & Chris Williams (Co-owners of Burro Bags)
As of today we're both 23 years old and make it by sewing and screen printing.
2. Were is Burro Bags located?
As of today we're both 23 years old and make it by sewing and screen printing.
2. Were is Burro Bags located?
A few blocks north of Jacksonville's downtown @ 1520 N Main St, Jacksonville Florida 32206. Also, we're online @ burrobags.com and at a select retailers around the world. Flickr.com/burrobags
3. What are you riding these days?
3. What are you riding these days?
We've been riding on a freshly paved Main St., that the shop's on. It however does not have bike lanes. Don't let us rant on the politics of repaving without a mandatory bicycle lane.
Chris rides an IRO fixed gear or his French-made Motobecane. I ride an older Raleigh city bike that I got from Zombie Bikes, Jacksonville's bicycle cooperative. Or we're riding homemade bikes that our bike club, ZBBC, makes and shares. Tall bikes, leaner bikes, choppers and anything we weld up.
4. Tell everyone how Burro Bags was started.
Chris rides an IRO fixed gear or his French-made Motobecane. I ride an older Raleigh city bike that I got from Zombie Bikes, Jacksonville's bicycle cooperative. Or we're riding homemade bikes that our bike club, ZBBC, makes and shares. Tall bikes, leaner bikes, choppers and anything we weld up.
4. Tell everyone how Burro Bags was started.
In 2007 we both needed reliable bags to withstand our daily bike commutes, which averaged 15-20 miles a day.
Chris and I tested a few samples we made to iron out problems and find what we thought were necessities. Our plan was to make two solid bags for ourselves, and hopefully get exactly what we wanted at a really low price. Once our friends started requesting bags that plan went away and we ended buying the two most expensive bags by starting a messenger bag company out of our home.
Chris had been sewing under his father, an upholsterer, for 5 years at this point and we would use his shop for our first few bigger orders. But obviously now have a shop of our own, which was recently interviewed by Southern Living magazine in a segment about our neighborhood our involvement.
Currently, Burro is two entities, printing and sewing, and a collective of 5 people including Josh Dunn, John O'brien, Jack Twachtman.
5. Favorite place to ride?
Chris and I tested a few samples we made to iron out problems and find what we thought were necessities. Our plan was to make two solid bags for ourselves, and hopefully get exactly what we wanted at a really low price. Once our friends started requesting bags that plan went away and we ended buying the two most expensive bags by starting a messenger bag company out of our home.
Chris had been sewing under his father, an upholsterer, for 5 years at this point and we would use his shop for our first few bigger orders. But obviously now have a shop of our own, which was recently interviewed by Southern Living magazine in a segment about our neighborhood our involvement.
Currently, Burro is two entities, printing and sewing, and a collective of 5 people including Josh Dunn, John O'brien, Jack Twachtman.
5. Favorite place to ride?
Midnight Mass in Jacksonville with our best friends. Mass happens Thursday at midnight, leaving from the Cummer Museum in Riverside and goes along an unplanned route. It's a slow at a leisurely pace with plenty of shared laughs and beers and most times stops our favorite boozehole, Shantytown Pub.
Richmond during Slaughterama is my favorite place and time to ride.
6. Do you find it hard to compete with all the other bag companies that are springing up all over the place?
We don't find it that competitive. It's more comforting knowing our labor and resources are still at bay. We're also grateful we have loyal customers that love sharing their bags and stories with other people. Word of mouth has been amazing for us. We're really happy that people are becoming more conscious of where their products are being made and of what.
7. Burro offers a build a custom bag option. Has there ever been anything you have not been able to do?
Richmond during Slaughterama is my favorite place and time to ride.
6. Do you find it hard to compete with all the other bag companies that are springing up all over the place?
We don't find it that competitive. It's more comforting knowing our labor and resources are still at bay. We're also grateful we have loyal customers that love sharing their bags and stories with other people. Word of mouth has been amazing for us. We're really happy that people are becoming more conscious of where their products are being made and of what.
7. Burro offers a build a custom bag option. Has there ever been anything you have not been able to do?
Turn the world onto the abilities of billboard. We've made heaps of grocery bags for local companies and would love to make many more and replace PET "reusable bags" sold at your grocers. Polyethylene is the same material used in plastic bottles and it requires energy to melt and weave it into a fabric.
We would love to educate people on the advantages of reuse over recycle. Reusing/recycling billboard into a fabric reduces one huge wasteful step. Recycling's flaw is it that it takes energy to produce a new product from waste. We're taking the waste and reintroducing it directly back into the consumer cycle. We've save thousands of square feet of vinyl from failing to decompose in our oceans and landfills.
8. Over the last couple of years there has been a giant jump in fixed gear culture. What is you opinion?
There's been a huge resurgence in bike culture. Fixed gears are most times over glorified, but I can't deny its ability to reopen peoples' eyes to bikes and ultimately to other types of bikes and building community. They're fun to ride and build, but I've a new love for derailleurs, too.
9. What can we expect to see in the future from Burro Bags?
We would love to educate people on the advantages of reuse over recycle. Reusing/recycling billboard into a fabric reduces one huge wasteful step. Recycling's flaw is it that it takes energy to produce a new product from waste. We're taking the waste and reintroducing it directly back into the consumer cycle. We've save thousands of square feet of vinyl from failing to decompose in our oceans and landfills.
8. Over the last couple of years there has been a giant jump in fixed gear culture. What is you opinion?
There's been a huge resurgence in bike culture. Fixed gears are most times over glorified, but I can't deny its ability to reopen peoples' eyes to bikes and ultimately to other types of bikes and building community. They're fun to ride and build, but I've a new love for derailleurs, too.
9. What can we expect to see in the future from Burro Bags?
We're planning to print more limited designs on garments. Possibly cycling caps and limited runs of bags with art work. We've got new material for our pedal straps that should catch plenty of attention soon. That's all I can leak for now.
10. Would you like to add anything else?
Keep It Wheel!10. Would you like to add anything else?
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