WaterField Designs

Gary: Hi, this is Gary at WaterField Designs in San Francisco. We've been making bags here in San Francisco since 1998. You’ve seen me do these videos for a number of years.

Today we're doing something a little bit different—we're going behind the scenes at WaterField Designs to see how the bags are designed, how they're made, and how they come to be sitting on this table for me to tell you about them.

So let’s go behind the scenes at WaterField Designs and take a look at what’s really going on and how we do this.

Gary: I came from the bike industry. I was a general manager of a mountain bike company. I loved doing smart work and hard work, and I knew I wanted to have my own company.

Before that, I was a bicycle messenger delivering packages around Cambridge and Boston, so I had very good experience with durable messenger bags.

We had an idea about a messenger bag for business people—and that was our very first bag.

Things have changed a lot in San Francisco over the last 20 years since we started in 1998, but our core values have remained the same: build the best bags we can and not worry about the price—that'll take care of itself.

What I wanted to instill in this company is a strong sense of customer support. We empower our people to take care of the customer first and ensure they’re satisfied.

Team member: Since day one, Gary has made customer service the most important part of the company. Here you see Gary actually interacting with customers day to day, walking the walk and talking the talk. That builds the culture of the company.

Customers appreciate that they get real answers—thoughtful answers, not scripted ones. We even write notes with every order we ship out.

Team member: With the design team and sewing shop all in one spot, we can turn things around quickly. I can go downstairs to the sewing room with customer questions—like why a zipper is there or if we can add another pocket.

If it’s doable, we take it on. If not, we give the customer direct, thoughtful feedback from the designer.

We have a pretty amazing and sophisticated customer base that appreciates the quality, style, and organization of our bags. They help fine-tune our ideas and the results have been remarkable.

Gary: When I worked in the mountain bike industry, our bikes were made overseas. We had lots of hassles due to lack of control. The best thing about being under one roof here is that customer service can go straight to design, work with production, and solve things fast.

Having the machines here and working side by side with the people who manufacture our designs is rare. We get ideas from customers and from our sewers.

In most companies, you’d send a sketch to a factory and hope for a prototype. Here, if Apple launches a new laptop size, we can make a prototype during the launch week—and start selling it the next week. It allows us to be nimble.

We make everything in small batches, which helps us check every detail. It results in robust, high-quality products that look and feel good for a long time.

Gary: We’ve always strived to make the best bags possible, regardless of the cost. I’m lucky to work with a team that takes pride in their craft. We’re fortunate to keep making products here in San Francisco.

We’re different—we do what’s right for our employees and customers. When a product goes out the door, we know we’ve put our best effort into it.

I’ve put my heart and soul into this company, and I love what it stands for. I hope you do too.

Gary: So there you have it—one company under one roof, making excellent bags. I'm Gary from WaterField Designs. Thanks for watching.