Reclaimed Tents to Sustainable Bags

I can’t quite remember why the obsession with tents began, only that it became a huge part of the Studio In Progress journey long before the brand ever launched. At the time, I was developing my sewing skills, constantly on the lookout for cheap second-hand fabrics to experiment with. I would search through charity shops and eBay listings trying to find something interesting to work with at a low cost.

So when my parents were getting rid of our old family tent, I knew I had to have it, even though I wasn't sure what I could do with it. After that first tent, things escalated quickly. Within a couple of months, I had sourced five more second-hand tents. I soon discovered that tent fabric is not the friendliest material to sew with. It slips around under the needle, doesn’t work well with an iron, and often resists the usual techniques you’d rely on in traditional sewing. So this is where the bag making truly began, with lots of trial and error, and lots of patience needed. 

Some of the earliest upcycled tent bags I made are still with me today, and the lessons I learned from that process shaped the foundations of the sustainable bags we continue to make now.

The tent journey began as a practical way to source materials, but I soon knew that I no longer wanted to buy new textiles because I didn't want to contribute to the endless cycle of overproduction in the fashion industry.

Instead, I wanted to prove that you could create something functional from materials that already exist in the world. The tents showed me that waste could be reimagined, and that the limitations these materials come with, are where you can make something truly unique. That choice continues to guide Studio In Progress, where everything is made slowly and with reclaimed materials.

Even though Studio In Progress has grown and evolved since those early tent experiments, their influence is still present in what we make today. Many of the bag shapes and styles we now offer were first prototyped in tent fabric. Not to mention the fact that our first drop of Large Crossbody Bags and Collectors Pouches are made out of reclaimed tents.

Carry a piece of our story with you...
Explore our handmade sustainable bags here.