A New Architecture for Carrying
The Anchorpak is designed for harmony with the human form. Our patented cross-body paks reduce stress on your body and lighten your carrying experience.
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REAL CUSTOMER REVIEWS
I’ve spent years lugging my messenger bag down endless corridors, dreading the walks, the strain on my shoulders. But with the Anchorpak, I feel liberated. I can reach into it, pull out a snack, a phone, a book, then flip the bag back, out of the way, and keep on trekking. What a relief. Stress no more.
– Bruce -
Remember the days before suitcases with wheels? The Anchorpak is just as revolutionary. As a frequent traveler, I use mine all the time and can carry LOTS with me without feeling a heavy load. I also can get to what I want quickly and easily without fumbling with a heavy, unwieldy backpack. And I also like its stylish flair.
– Carol from Maine
WONDERFUL BAG! My life-long search for the perfect bag is over! The Dash Anchorpak is wonderful. I walk about 2 miles to work and carry a notebook, a lunch, and often my laptop. There is room for a pair of shoes and a windbreaker if needed. There are convenient pockets for my coffee thermos and umbrella and zipper pockets for my phone and ID. The main compartment zips closed. I have easy access to my things without taking the bag off and it looks sharp enough to bring to meetings. And best of all it is extremely comfortable to wear! Thank you!.
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– Greta
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Maine has a long tradition of designing and manufacturing high-quality gear
to make life a little easier indoors and out! Maine has given us much in the
way of stunning natural resources, freedom to explore wild places,
exceptional community... now it’s our turn to contribute.
INSTAGRAM FEED
A FEW OF OUR CUSTOMERS
Yale Alumni Association
TEDx Dirigo
Center For Maine Contemporary Art
FROM THE BLOG ↴
Limited Edition with Allagash Brewing Co.
This winter, with the spirit of resourcefulness . . . Allagash Brewing Co. called Anchorpak to ask if we could somehow use their emptied out grain bags to make new Anchorpak bags. Normally Allagash recycles their leftover grain bags, but, they thought, why not use a bag that once delivered barley & hops to the brewery to provide a tool for carrying home Allagash 4-packs from their brewery shop? It sounded like a pretty good environmental ethic too. Beer does go swell with any season but Maine's winters especially so. We love all things made in Maine and appreciate the hard work and sky-high creative energy that goes into our businesses. Allagash Brewing Co. is a true case in point. Repurposing raw materials is a fun challenge in line with the creative efforts and low impact practices we need to sustain the ecosystems that provide us with important things such as the clean water to make beer from! We visited to check out and pick up some of the salvaged fabric for test sewing in our studio. It turned out they had wisely chosen to save the bags which are made from perfectly good, tough, clean, woven Polyethylene. Which sounds really bad, but is, in fact, quite environmentally stable and safe to the degree that it’s used widely in tooth-paste! Molecules and useful properties approved we forged ahead to design a Special Edition of Allagash / Anchorpak bags with each bag in a unique variation of colors, styles and graphics. Since the fabric from their sweet horde of salvaged grain bags was perfect for reinforcing fabrics we typically use, thick natural canvas and parachute (rip-stop) nylons their smartly saved material extends the life cycle of each bag. Using the thickest grain bag material on the bottoms reinforces each pack's base like the soul of a shoe. We used the bold printed graphics identifying each grain company to do a reinforced pocket with extra cargo room for any other items you pick up along the way next time you're visiting the Allagash brewery for a taste o'Maine. It's been nice to work cooperatively with our friends down the road a piece here in Portland. Thank you Allagash for kindling this collaboration in clever Maine frugalit These Special Edition Allagash Anchorpaks are now available at the Allagash brewery shop.
Anchorpak R&D Featured in Portland Press Herald
http://www.pressherald.com/2016/12/15/searching-for-a-bag-that-didnt-hurt-to-wear-or-swing-while-he-cycled-to-work-a-local-artist-decides-to-design-one-and-launches-a-new-career/ Portland artist wanted better bag for cycling, launches new career Colin Sullivan-Stevens patented his Anchorpak in 2015, and got a grant to find out what makes it so comfortable and whether there's room for improvement. BY JENNIFER VAN ALLEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Necessity, it has been said, is the mother of invention. And for one Portland artist, it was also the beginning of a new career. Unable to find a bag that wouldn’t hurt his shoulder or swing around while he cycled between home and work, Colin Sullivan-Stevens set about designing and sewing his own. It had to be easy to access, carry plenty and be comfortable enough to wear while biking and walking. Sullivan-Stevens, who was working as an independent artist and freelance designer in 2012, started wearing his homemade bag, and having friends try it out. They raved about its comfort and fit so much that he had the design patented in 2015. Then he started making and selling his newly dubbed Anchorpak at area farmers markets. Now the bags are in production and Sullivan-Stevens is collaborating with the University of New England to further enhance Anchorpak’s ergonomic qualities. “A lot of people understand that the bag they’re using is not working for them,” said Sullivan-Stevens, a Freeport native. “But there hasn’t been any even slightly better version to give them any hope that there might be something more comfortable, more practical, and better for your body.” Anchorpak is carried closer to the body than a conventional messenger bag, so it doesn’t create the torque and downward force on the muscles and bones, or affect the wearer’s gait. Sullivan-Stevens, who has sold about 2,500 bags, said he wanted to know more about why the Anchorpak was so comfortable, and how he could make the bag fit even better. In June, he received a $7,320 matching grant from the Maine Technology Institute to fund scientific research that would answer those questions. Since then, researchers at the Motion Analysis Laboratory in UNE’s Department of Physical Therapy studied how the Anchorpak moved and impacted the body compared to the traditional messenger bag worn across the body. With the help of cameras and sensors worn on the hip, neck, trunk and other areas of the body, UNE researchers assessed how the respective bags moved when a person moved. Each of the five study participants carried the bags with a load equal to 6.3 pounds, while walking at a natural speed, then walking in various directions. Researchers found that the Anchorpak moved side-to-side, and back and forward, much less than the messenger bags. And because the Anchorpak moved less, it applied less downward force on the shoulder, and had less impact on the upper trapezius muscles, which reach from the shoulders to the neck. That, in turn, would lead to less fatigue and soreness over time. Tight upper shoulder muscles are less likely with the bags, research suggests. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer They also found that when the study participants came to a stop, the Anchorpak stayed at the side, rather than swinging in front or behind the body, as the messenger bags did. The research suggests that the AnchorPak may be less prone to cause tight upper shoulder muscles and possibly neck aches, said Michael Lawrence, manager of the Motion Analysis Laboratory at the University of New England’s Biomechanics Laboratory, who co-led the study with fellow researcher and physical therapist Katherine Randolph. Sullivan-Stevens hopes to leverage the research to reach more customers, and market to those who carry bags or items for hours at a time on the job. “Alleviating the pain as much as we have can go a long way towards using a bag for a longer period of time. It can be more useful,” he said. “To have an invention that could have a subtle but substantial effect over time will be exciting. ” GROWING MARKETS Momentum for Anchorpak really started to roll in March, when Sullivan-Stevens received a $4,563 matching grant from Maine Technology Institute to develop a business plan with a mentor from SCORE, and identify potential markets. Retailers like Portland Dry Goods and the Close Buy Catalog were among the first of roughly 30 retailers that now sell his Anchorpaks. Sullivan-Steven has been commissioned to create bags for groups including the Yale Alumni Association, TEDxDirigo, and the Maine Center for Contemporary Art. Kid-size bags start at $42 and then various styles for adults range from $60 to $140. He contracts with home sewers and commercial sewing operations to make the bag, and now has two part-time employees. His mom also helps market the bags at craft fairs. Customer response told Sullivan-Stevens that he had tapped into something big. Accessory bags are an $11.5 billion market, according to The NPD Group Inc., a Port Washington, New York-based research firm. Sales of messenger bags to men shot up by 20 percent in 2014, and inched up by 3 percent to women, as sales of women’s handbags fell by 5 percent. Among his customers is Beverly Kocenko, who bought two Anchorpaks, which she uses for shopping and to carry her belongings on the daily 1-mile walk between her home and her job managing the Liberty Graphics store in the Old Port. The Anchorpak has replaced the myriad of totes she was carrying before. “I was hurting myself with those,” she said. “I wanted something to carry my stuff so I wouldn’t get any more back and shoulder aches. I wanted something that was super functional, good looking and subtle. Now I can walk that mile without any problem.” Sullivan-Stevens said he plans to apply for additional research funding so that he can learn more about how the bag is best worn on the body, and where there’s room for improvement and innovation in product design. “There’s always a little bit more to know,” he said. Share
A Magically Found Lost Letter from Maine
Serendipity brought our talented sewer from Vietnam to the United States where ... Her sewing studio looks out on the woods skirting the headwaters of the Royal River, 3 sewing machines for different tasks line the wall below the windows. Her sewing room is serene and organized, "sewing calms and focuses me" she told me. As in Vietnam the craft of sewing is a valued tradition in Maine. As far as lost letters go, this one made it's way home in good stead. Hop arrival in the United States is a story of romance and chance. After learning English at the University in Hanoi, Vietnam, she graduated to become a high school English teacher in her hometown, Gia Binh. One day visiting Hanoi, a few hours by train from her hometown, Hop found a letter with a return address North Yarmouth, Maine along the sidewalk. Inquiring at it's intended destination she learned the addressee, an actor and musician had returned to the U.S. permanently. Hop responsibly sent the letter back to it's origin in Maine with a little note to him. He wrote back within two weeks and thus began an eight year correspondence that blossomed into a marriage proposal. The following year Hop moved to Maine and still resides at the return address on the lucky letter she found on the sidewalk in Hanoi. Hop credit's her sister for teaching her how to sew a garment from scratch without a pattern. Sewing an Anchorpak is harder than it looks but the puzzle and challenge of putting one together is a snap when you've got skills like Hop's. THANK YOU!