EDIT: Darcy--meant to put this in the product suggestions forum. Could you please move for me? Sorry!
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While I wait for Tom to make my ultimate bag (reference Vertical Messenger / Cafe Bag mashup post)... I have recently turned my thoughts back to my first love, the Medium Cafe Bag.
While this bag gets me through most of my daily/weekly excursion needs (sans carrying my widescreen laptop)... I find that it is conspicuously missing an accessory that would really help "batten down the hatches" on small items traveling and colliding in some of the larger pocket spaces.
For reference, I recently added the new "Kit" to my bag (which is a great fit, I might add) to hold some of my regular airplane items... digital camera, hand sanitizer, gameboy micro, etc. Additionally, the internal organizer pockets that are woven into the front side of the bag are excellent for holding any DAP of your choice, plus a cell phone and a few pens--while the large open pocket in the back of the bag is perfect for holding a magazine, boarding pass or travel itenerary (exactly as designed, no doubt.) See reference:

That leaves the front, zippered pocket shown here:
For those unfortunate souls who do not yet have a Medium Cafe Bag (my sympathies... but no tears, there is time for you to go and procure one) this pocket is a large open space. I like this versitility... for the occasions that I need to move my moleskine to another large pocket and make room for larger items inside the bag... or perhaps a small book. But there are times when I need additional "fitted" spaces for items such as flash drives, work badge, additional pens/markers... and while I love the internal organizer pouches that can be added to almost all of Tom's bags, this front pocket largely goes unused by me.
Ok, so what am I actually suggesting?? Well, my proposal is for an organizer "card"... somewhat like the folder insert that goes into other TB bags... but which would uniquely fit the 3 Cafe Bag models. It would have a stiff back (since anything purely fabric would bunch up in the pocket, and since there are no attachment hooks within this pocket) and the front would have multiple stitched pockets for various accessories. Perhaps you could do a 2x2 combination of the same sized pockets, perhaps you could split it vertically and have 2 same-sized pockets stacked on one side, with additional long pouches on the other for pens/markers. Or, perhaps you could have different models for different uses. I would undoubtedly purchase several for all my variously sized cafe bags.
Side note--perhaps this could be a fixed/stitched modification to future cafe bags? I know I'd pay $10 more for this option... and the great thing about fabric organizers is that they don't take up space you aren't using... if you shove a book in there, it will just press that fabric closed.
Just a thought!
-B
_________________________________
While I wait for Tom to make my ultimate bag (reference Vertical Messenger / Cafe Bag mashup post)... I have recently turned my thoughts back to my first love, the Medium Cafe Bag.
While this bag gets me through most of my daily/weekly excursion needs (sans carrying my widescreen laptop)... I find that it is conspicuously missing an accessory that would really help "batten down the hatches" on small items traveling and colliding in some of the larger pocket spaces.
For reference, I recently added the new "Kit" to my bag (which is a great fit, I might add) to hold some of my regular airplane items... digital camera, hand sanitizer, gameboy micro, etc. Additionally, the internal organizer pockets that are woven into the front side of the bag are excellent for holding any DAP of your choice, plus a cell phone and a few pens--while the large open pocket in the back of the bag is perfect for holding a magazine, boarding pass or travel itenerary (exactly as designed, no doubt.) See reference:

That leaves the front, zippered pocket shown here:

Ok, so what am I actually suggesting?? Well, my proposal is for an organizer "card"... somewhat like the folder insert that goes into other TB bags... but which would uniquely fit the 3 Cafe Bag models. It would have a stiff back (since anything purely fabric would bunch up in the pocket, and since there are no attachment hooks within this pocket) and the front would have multiple stitched pockets for various accessories. Perhaps you could do a 2x2 combination of the same sized pockets, perhaps you could split it vertically and have 2 same-sized pockets stacked on one side, with additional long pouches on the other for pens/markers. Or, perhaps you could have different models for different uses. I would undoubtedly purchase several for all my variously sized cafe bags.
Side note--perhaps this could be a fixed/stitched modification to future cafe bags? I know I'd pay $10 more for this option... and the great thing about fabric organizers is that they don't take up space you aren't using... if you shove a book in there, it will just press that fabric closed.
Just a thought!
-B
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