TAKING A FRESH LOOK AT CANVAS

Canvas is a fascinating and versatile fabric; attractive, durable and lasting and we want to praise it in this short blog.

It has been used for centuries; for sailing ships that explored the world, for tents, shoes and a host of other products, including canvas bags. We at The Clever Baggers use canvas for our extensive range of exciting bags, carrying on a long tradition of using canvas creatively.

A dip in to the History of Art shows how great painters have made their mark by using canvas. Early oil paintings were painted on wood panels, but around the end of the 15th century canvas became more popular as it was cheaper, easier to transport and allowed larger works to be attempted. Renaissance and Venetian artists were pioneers of using canvas as an artistic medium, helped by the fact that sail-canvas in Venice was readily available and of high quality.  From then to this day, masterpieces of realism, impressionism, surrealism and modern art have been painted on canvas. Canvas has given us a record of portraits of famous and ordinary people from the past and of beautiful landscapes free of litter from plastic bags.

The world’s largest painting on canvas by a single artist is a fantastic Australian work of “super-realism” by “Ando”.  Painted in acrylic (3 tons of it!), the “Big Picture” captures the New South Wales outback in monumental scale, measuring 100 metres by 12 metres at its highest point.  The painting includes over one million saltbushes, 20,000 trees, 20,000 small stones, 1,000 large stones, 3,000 clouds, 2,000 buildings, 1,500 hills, 12 sculptures and not one plastic bag in sight!

It’s worth taking a look at www.andoart.com/bigpic.htm, but for those less ambitious, The Clever Baggers have a great range of fabric marker pens and crayons for you to get creative on our canvas bags, to follow in the footsteps of the great artists and to own a unique and personal, not to mention highly functional, work of art.

Captain Ban-Plastic Explores Hemp Bags - The Perfect Solution to Plastic

Hi all you clever baggers, Captain Ban-Plastic here to tell you a little about hemp – one of my favourite eco-friendly materials!

Firstly, the green bit: Hemp is a sustainable, quick growing plant, which replenishes the soil and requires little or no pesticides. (It is the distant cousin of that other hemp plant.) Hemp fabric is durable, strong, and feels great - a fabric that improves with age, and is recyclable. It can be woven, printed, dyed and sewn into a huge variety of designs and it softens and develops even more character with use. I love it – it feels silkier as it gets older and looks like the coolest fabric as it wears over time.

Secondly – the range of bags from Sativa is incredible. They have some clever people who source this remarkable fabric and stitch it together into bags, hold-alls, laptop bags and a host of other useful varieties. All are practical, versatile, and have great details and hidden treats (though we will tell you all about them in the descriptions!)

    

Thirdly – Let’s not beat around the hemp bush. These bags are great value. Long lasting, green, fashionable, individual and unique - helping you be a modern, thoughtful, fashion and function conscious consumer. And showing that you hate plastic, just like me.

But you don’t have to wear the cape and put your pants on outside your trousers – that’s my job and I like it.
So if you are interested in a bag that is both perfect for travelling on the daily commute or for packing up your dreams and aspirations for the trip of a lifetime, get some hemp in your life and reap the rewards of natures greatest harvest.

Thank you for reading, this has been a Captain Ban-Plastic announcement, watch out for the next one!
Check out our hemp range here!