Friday 12 March 2010

Beautiful things: two for the price of one

   A while back I bought a designer handbag. Sadly not for me, it was a present for my wife. The bag itself is a beautiful thing, but it's not the subject of this post. Instead I'd like to talk about the packaging it arrived in. Normally when you order something online, it either arrives in a flimsy plastic pouch or a padded paper bag. This packaging is simply something that serves the purpose of keeping the dirt of transit away from the product and is normally disposable.
    Not in this case. This bag arrived in a pouch made from slightly thicker plastic, I'm guessing PVC rather than polythene. On it was the designer's signature pattern and printed instructions on where to cut to create a designer shopping carrier bag from it. A few minutes with the scissors and hey presto! my wife has two designer bags instead of one!
    I find this to be satisfying on so many levels. First, it's an attractive item in its own right. Second, it's a clever way to ensure recycling by making something disposable into something useful. Third, it's a brilliant piece of marketing. What girl isn't going to be pleased with an unexpected extra piece of designer merchandise? Repeat business and extra logo exposure elegantly combined.
    Orla Kiely, you are a genius!

6 comments:

  1. Oh very nice thinking there.

    Stace

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  2. It just ticked so many boxes all at once.

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  3. v good idea, that. I have a pile of packages that Boden stuff has arrived in, because that's too nice to throw away, though I have yet to make anything with it- I have vague plans of welding loads of nice plastic bags together to make bike panniers...

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  4. Packaging that's too good to throw away, the bane of my existence. It has always pained me to bin a Jiffy bag.

    (searches...) A heat sealer for three quid? Surely that can't be any good!

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  5. I use an iron and some brown paper

    http://etsylabs.blogspot.com/2007/05/long-overdue-fusing-plastic-bag.html

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  6. Ah, a laminate! This I have to try.

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