Review of Society6 Products: Tote Bag

Hi, everyone! I'm back with another review of Society6 merchandise.

Don't you dare call my super-cool eyeball tote bag creepy.

Don't. You. Dare.

Seriously.

How likely do you think someone is to pickpocket this bad boy?

It's watching you.

Your possessions are completely safe!

100% guaranteed!

(Safety of your possessions is NOT AT ALL guaranteed.)

Okay, so...try to look past the eyes (Is that a pun? Kind of...?) so we can examine the quality of the actual bag. Because you can purchase any of these other beautiful totes from my shop on Society 6:

* exaggerated Vanna White hand gesture * 

Okay, okay...I'm stepping out of car salesman mode.

This post is for artists that have thought about making their works available on Society6, but have questions about quality. Society6 ships straight to the customer so you don't really get a chance to inspect anything before you attach your good name to it. 

After listing a few of my pieces, I decided to order a few items...juuust to make sure I wasn't offering my customers crap products. I thought other artists might be interested to see real life photos of the merchandise as well. My first review was about Society6's art prints. 

And now I'm on to tote bags.

Tote bags are offered in three sizes: 13", 16", and 18" square. I ordered the largest size because I'm a packrat. Or am I thinking of pack mules...? Regardless...I like to carry lots of stuff. The 18" tote retails for $24.

As I mentioned in my last post, Society6 ships everything separately. The tote bag was the last to arrive -- it took about a week and a half to get to my door. It arrived folded in half in a waterproof poly mailer. I don't have much to say about the packaging. There would have to be some pretty extreme circumstances for the tote to arrive damaged to a customer. Like maybe a wild animal got freaked out by the all the eyes staring back at him and ripped the bag to shreds.

The description of Society6's tote bags: "Our quality crafted Tote Bags are hand sewn in America using durable, yet lightweight poly poplin fabric. All seams and stress points are double stitched for durability. They are washable, feature original artwork on both sides and a sturdy 1" wide cotton webbing strap for comfortably carrying over your shoulder."

I do like that these bags are made in America. I feel like that's a big selling point for a lot of US-based customers.

Here's a detailed look at the fabric:

It's definitely textured, a little bit rough...like canvas. It feels exactly like canvas.

In fact, it feels like water would just bead up and roll off, but I didn't confirm.

I was confused by "poly poplin fabric" because I thought poplin implied cotton, but a quick visit to Wikipedia told me otherwise. Poplin can be any fiber. Interesting. 

Quick glance at the hangtag. If your eyesight isn't 20/2 (eagle eye vision!), it just confirms the front, back, and lining are 100% Polyester.

The tag was easy enough to rip out without causing damage, by the way.

Here's a detail shot of the top edge of the bag. 

...and from the inside, where the handles are attached:

I don't really know what to look for here. 

The stitches seem even.

And...orderly?

I've already used my bag quite a bit and can vouch for the fact that the straps are comfortable. 

However, there are two things I don't like about the straps: they're not adjustable and they're only offered in black. 

...Actually, the adjustability factor I can get over. I'm 5'3" and I can comfortably carry this bag. I don't think I look ridiculous (Disclaimer: I have been known to unwittingly look ridiculous on many, many occasions.). On my frame, I think it looks like a stylishly oversized bag. I think it would probably work for nearly any body shape/height. Of course, there are also two smaller sized totes for customers to choose from.

Shoot, I forgot the measure the drop. Remind me to do that if this sentence is still here when the post is published. ;) It's a comfortable allowance.

As for the color...I wish Society6 would at least offer black OR white straps. I have plenty of art pieces that don't have black in them at all -- and once printed onto the tote, the black strap looks a little jarring. At least in the product photos on Society6's website. Maybe it's not an issue in person.

Back to details I like:

I like that my art is printed on both sides of the bag.

And I like that there's no seam on the bottom:

...and I really like that the sides at the bottom are gussetted!

 I think.

Is that the right term?

I was surprised to see this as there was no mention of it on Society6's website. I was expecting...a pillowcase with handles, basically. 

Just realized I forgot to measure the gusset too. Arg! Remind me, remind me. 

Moving on to the inside...I'm sorry to say there are no inside pockets. Not even a tiny zippered one near the top. In fact, the inside...

Literally.

It's not a huge deal because I'm not using this bag as a purse...but it would be nice to have some kind of pocket. For my doodads.

I wish that the bag had a closure of some kind. A zipper would be ideal, but I'd even settle for a magnetic snap. That's probably something more experienced sewers (as in those who sew, not waste drainage systems) would find easy to add themselves. But, we're talking customers -- and customers shouldn't have to add anything on.

Lastly, I just want to mention that I haven't laundered my tote yet so I can't attest to washability. To be honest, I probably won't clean it until one of my children leaves an open container of something sticky and gross in it. I'll get back to you on whether it's stain-resistant. 

So far, I've stuffed the bag with groceries, yarn, and art supplies and I've found it very comfortable to tote around town. THREE people asked me where I got it (!) so it's definitely a good way to advertise your art. Unfortunately, I'm sure most customers respond to that question by saying they got it on Society6 -- and not that the art is by you, specifically. But, hey, if your art is as distinctive as a bunch of eyeballs, you won't be hard to find, now will you? <3

You can find my shop on Society6 here.

If I missed anything or you have more questions, leave them in the comments!