Wm. J. Mills & Co. is a canvas company located in Greenport, NY. Some of the canvas products they sell are sails, awnings, and bags. The canvas bags come in an array of colors and are super soft.
The Ice Bag
The Flight Bag
The Classic Duffle
The Gear Bag
The Sunbrella Duffle
Last Christmas I received an Ice Bag in teak tan from JCW’s sister. 
These bags have gone up in price by nearly 50% in less then a year...they must be in greater demand! Even with the skyrocketing price, I have my eye on the Gear Bag in Natural. Aside from my summer wardrobe of pink, I always tend to go for browns and beiges when it comes to accessories.
Wm. J. Mills & Co’s "Black Collection"
These bags are exclusive to EpauletNice work Andie...for finding these bags before the drastic price increase! xx
I am going to have to check these out- thanks for the heads up on this fabulous line! PS- you and your hunny look just adorable in your pics below :)
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We at Mills have raised prices during 2009, with much regret, but alas it was necessary. Maybe a little explanation would help. For the last 60 years, we built and sold our bag line only to existing WJM customers who came to our sail loft for a whole range of nautical products. At the time, we made bags from material left over after cutting large sails and architectual canvas. In short, the bags were priced not as a real product, but as a hobby, and a way to give people in our shop work in the slow winter months. (All of our products depend on the great skill level of our sewers so giving them good work year-round is a necessity to our ongoing business and our ability to sustain quality at very high levels.) Bags helped do this. However, as the bag business has grown outside of our East End of Long Island base, more and more orders came in and suddenly we found we did not have enough surplus material to fill the demand. Further, we found that we had to keep sewers making bags year-round, in addition to our core business. All said, we were forced to either raise the price to cover our cost or severely ration the product to a very limted production; available only a few months out of the year. We now are at a price level where we can supply bags year-round, although the number of bags is still limited at times due to the size of our sail loft,and limited further by our standards which require the production be kept at home where our skilled sewers and our in-house perfectionists can construct each bag as carefully as we always have. The price adjustment that was made will not be repeated in 2010, and we are content that, barring some unforeseen circumstance, the price level should not appreciable change going forward. Thank-you for your kind references to the quality and craftmanship that make our "Mills Bag" a unique, if not quirky, American icon. The bags and our company have been graced by a loyal following for 60 years, with 2009 being our biggest year ever. We even have retail stores around the country that are considering the bag for Spring & Summer 2010. All of our notice outside Greenport, NY comes from the Bloggers like you who appreciate what they see and pass it on to their friends. For that we thank-you and hope that we can continue to earn the trust of new friends of the brand as we grow.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely comment from george above. I have loved these bags since college when one of the girls in my dorm had one (she is a mills family member) and I told her I loved them because they were a unique departure from the regular L.L. Bean Boat Tote. I have wanted one ever since and I am so glad to see that they are now producing the bags in greater volume. The price is well worth these amazing bags and to support a great family business out in Greenport, NY. Well done mills!
ReplyDeleteSpecial thanks to George for commenting and filling us in on some Mills info...Yay for family businesses!
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