Mini Column: Our First Custom Color. Why Our Product Planner Chose TAMPICO's Bag

Now that December has arrived, our thoughts naturally turn to the end of this year and the start of a new one. Around the New Year, I always find myself wanting a new bag. And not one for special occasions, either—I'd rather have a bag that feels like a close friend, something to use every day.

This time, we're excited to introduce a custom color of the JUNIOR BAG XS from TAMPICO, a bag brand from Bordeaux in southern France. It's a bag that's chic yet perfectly suited to enjoying everyday life just as it is.

Why Our Planning Staff Chose TAMPICO's Bag

This bag was planned by staff member M, a devoted fan and longtime user of TAMPICO bags.

"I originally bought TAMPICO's PETIT PANIER XS about five years ago, and I've used it ever since. I've taken it everywhere—on days when I don't need to carry a PC for work, on long drives, or just for quick trips around the neighborhood. It became such a favorite. It's light and casual, yet the leather handles and beautifully French chic coloring make it perfectly suited for everyday use. On overnight trips, I could toss in a pouch and a single-lens camera, of course, but also things like a thin stole or binoculars that I wanted to grab quickly at a concert or baseball game—everything fit in easily without a second thought. It was so useful that I became a complete TAMPICO fan from then on.

▲PETIT PANIER XS (NAVY)

While visiting the brand's exhibition, I learned they were releasing the JUNIOR BAG XS—a slightly larger version of the Petit Panier. It's compact and unobtrusive, yet has a shape unlike anything else out there. It pairs beautifully with voluminous dresses and bottoms, and it was love at first sight. I wanted to introduce it to ZUTTO customers right away, so we arranged a custom color, incorporating the kind of details that only a devoted user would think to include for long-term wear.

The Custom Color Is a Washed Finish with Character—Chosen for Beautiful Aging Over Time

One of the things I love most about TAMPICO bags is how the leather handles and canvas fabric gradually soften and change, becoming a bag that's uniquely your own over time. The material is cotton canvas, and for two of the three colors, we chose a COTTON WASHED finish with a subtle, nuanced tone. I thought that with a washed fabric, the effects of aging wouldn't look like deterioration, but would instead let the bag age beautifully over many years of use.

▲COTTON WASHED BLACK / COTTON WASHED FORET

The washed-finish colors are COTTON WASHED BLACK and a deep green called COTTON WASHED FORET. The slightly relaxed, softened form gives off an effortlessly stylish air, making it perfect not just for spring and summer, but also for layering with autumn and winter outerwear and coats. The third color is GALET, the brand's classic, most popular shade.

▲GALET

GALET wasn't originally among the standard colors for the JUNIOR BAG XS, but we asked to have it included this time. Its refined greige tone evokes a chic French sensibility. This one uses a material that's iconic to the brand—a cotton canvas made by bonding two layers of thin cotton fabric together. Layering densely woven fabric this way keeps the look from feeling rough or coarse, while also increasing the bag's strength and helping it hold its shape beautifully."

The Cylindrical JUNIOR BAG XS: Easy to Pack, Easy to Access

The JUNIOR BAG XS has a clean, simple silhouette that flares out into a trapezoid shape from a square base. We often hear from people who say things like, "I love the idea of a mini bag, but I tend to worry and always end up with more stuff, so I need something bigger," or "I've started wanting something other than the usual A4-sized tote silhouette." As individual belongings have gotten more compact these days, this near-cylindrical JUNIOR BAG XS is ideal for anyone who doesn't usually carry a laptop—it fits pouches, tablets, wallets, bento boxes, water bottles, eco bags, and other small items easily, while still keeping everything easy to find and grab.

▲A Generous 20cm Gusset

The JUNIOR BAG XS is a curious bag—simple, yet carrying that stylish, effortless air so characteristic of France. Its slightly elongated silhouette makes it easy to balance with any outfit, and it doesn't get in the way when set on your lap while sitting on a train, or when it stands upright on its own during a car ride. Thought through this way, it really does seem like a rather clever bag.

You might not guess it from its appearance, but it's actually tall enough to fit a 500ml plastic bottle upright, and with a 20cm gusset, it's roomy enough for a bento box and a camera on your day off. The material also works well regardless of the season. And thanks to the leather handles and piping, which give a crisp accent to the casual feel of the cotton and linen, the bag never looks too casual—making it a perfect everyday companion.

Looking closely, the inside has two pockets with snap buttons, and the design is so refined you'll want to show off the interior too. The metal fittings come in subdued tones that give off a French sense of elegance and sophistication.

TAMPICO bags are still handmade one by one in France today. Since the bags are made mainly of cotton canvas, they're very lightweight, and with plenty of gusset space you can toss in your bento, camera, or a larger pouch without a second thought. The leather-trimmed handles keep the look from becoming too casual, which makes it easy to understand why so many ZUTTO staff members are fans of these bags themselves.

About TAMPICO Bags, Born in France

TAMPICO's origins trace back to a family business making leather "welts" (the narrow strip of leather sewn between the upper and outsole of a shoe), which the brand name comes from. The leather sewing techniques cultivated through that family business live on in TAMPICO's bag-making today, and thanks to those same connections, the leather used is of high quality. As for the production process, it's said that Nicole's family members continue the work together, each taking on their own role.

The love of Nicole, the designer and owner, is poured into every TAMPICO bag. The workshop where they actually make the bags is located in a town called Mussidan on the outskirts of France, an area that also happens to be home to the workshops of a number of renowned, celebrated brands. As for the general process, once Nicole has shaped the image of a bag, her partner Didier draws up the pattern and creates the actual sample. Their daughter Julie, too, has inherited her mother's artistic talent, and it's said that some designs have taken shape directly from her ideas.

TAMPICO bags are made with everyday, hard use in mind—meant for tossing things in and using without worry. Rather than a bag to be kept pristine "for the sake of style," it serves as an eco bag for carrying vegetables bought at the market, a travel bag for holding what's needed on a trip away, and sometimes even as a piece of interior décor for storing things. TAMPICO bags are a dependable companion, always close at hand in the daily lives of people living in France.