Studio Visit ~ Chester Wallace

Before a recent trip back East I had the good fortune to pick up a Chester Wallace tote bag straight from its creator Patrick Long at his studio in Portland, OR. The Pdx cache of cool was apparent when running into the bags while traipsing about New York City. One with a red bottom stood out nicely against the green shelving in the Project No. 8 shop connected to the Ace Hotel. And once in Boston someone liked mine so much that they straight up tried to take it from me without me noticing. Which was a bit awkward, because I did.

I was after a specific one. Waxed Cotton has been a fabric that I have been aware of for a few years now. When I worked at a bicycle shop in West Newton, MA the older gentlemen there came looking for it by the way of Gilles Berthoud and Carradice bags that were popular among the Bicycle Touring crowd. Initially, I could not stand them, the bags. The rough, slightly greasy feeling texture of the bags was a bit of a turnoff. To the touch, maybe, but mostly because of the crowd that these bags ran with. I also could not wrap my head around the way that they called everything “cotton duck.” No idea why they couldn’t say “cordura” or “canvas” like the rest of us?

I might be a bit older and wiser now (probably not the latter) and for some reason I have a hankering for Waxed Cotton. So, when Patrick was telling me that he was starting to make his bags out of this material I wanted one. And more than that I wanted to see where they came from.

The sign on the door says “Illustrator” and if you ask Patrick (or see him featured on the Nau website) that might be what he tells you is his profession. But when you get him going you might think that he is a baker by trade, or maybe a silk scarf maker, and quite possibly he might be teaming up with a perfume manufacturer in the near future. And if you are very lucky (which at that moment, wide-eyed, I considered myself) he might tell you about his run-ins with J.D. Salinger back in the day.

Patrick’s studio is filled with inspiration. From the illustrated posters that he created for the Oregon Lottery during the Holidays, to a cheese list scribbled on a piece of paper. Even the handwritten type of a project for a Condom company, everywhere you look the creative process is apparent. I am used to the musings of bicycle related ephemera, but here is different. The clutter is almost bookish, with scraps of paper taking precedent over inner tubes. Where type becomes a conscious decision instead of an afterthought. And the feeling is very used, and very comfortable.

So, Illustrator? Certainly. Designer? Definitely. Bag maker? Yes, that works too, but, step into his office and you will see that there is more to Patrick (and his bags) than could ever be contained with any one of those titles. However, Chester Wallace is a title that seems to fit nicely.