Canvas and Leather: Enjoying the Aging of the fabrica Tote Bag

This time, we're featuring
the fabrica tote bag, created by
6SHiKi, a brand that makes goods using Kurashiki canvas.
With its meticulous design that's hard to find elsewhere,
and its striking color palette that looks stylish and understated when carried by adults,
we'll introduce you to the qualities unique to fabrica, along with the charm of its aging.

fabrica is a bag series from 6SHiKi (Rokushiki), a brand that
creates goods using Kurashiki canvas as its material.
While fully drawing out the appeal of canvas as a material,
it's an urban series that gives off a unique understated stylishness when carried by adults.

Using the rare "shuttle loom," which is no longer being manufactured,
Kurashiki canvas is produced consistently by craftsmen from twisting the yarn through to weaving, passed down through generations.
The lineup mainly features tote bags that pair this canvas with nume leather (vegetable-tanned leather).
When you first start using it, you'll feel the firm sturdiness that's characteristic of canvas,
but after about a month of use, it softens and becomes more comfortable to use.
The bags use pre-dyed No. 9 canvas—said to be especially difficult to produce even among canvas fabrics—treated with water repellent finishing,
and washed to create distinctive wrinkles.
The canvas fabric, manufactured through numerous processes,
pairs beautifully with the vegetable-tanned nume leather. 

The "shuttle loom" that produces fabrica's canvas
is very precious, as the looms themselves are no longer manufactured today,
though some makers also use it to weave jeans (denim fabric) or linen fabric besides canvas,

so some of you may have heard of it somewhere before.

To begin with, a "shuttle" is a tool called hi in Japanese,
used to pass the weft thread (yokoito) between the warp threads (tateito).
It's a wooden tool shaped somewhat like a pointed canoe.
Historically, it's said to be one of the technologies that greatly
contributed to the Industrial Revolution that began in Britain around the 18th century,
and the invention of shuttle weaving technology is said to have dramatically improved the efficiency of looms.

However, this shuttle loom
basically works the same way as hand weaving, using human hands and feet,
and compared to the latest computer-controlled looms,
it's a delicate machine that requires a great deal of manual adjustment.
It's understandable that the looms themselves have become so precious today.

Viewed from the outside, it looks like a simple, unadorned bag,
but the key point is the fabrica-esque design found in every detail—the kind you'd expect to find but rarely do.

What defines this bag isn't just its appearance, but the many clever touches inside as well.
It has two pockets, one large and one small, perfect for holding a phone or a pass case.
A nice touch is the metal fitting (D-ring) for attaching keys.
Larger tote bags tend to get cluttered inside, but
keeping small items in the pockets prevents them from getting lost in the bag.
There's also a pocket large enough to hold bigger items like magazines and files.
Furthermore, the handles are made with leather on the outer surface and canvas on the inner side,
combining different materials for a design that's easy to hold,
while the base section (hakama) of the tote uses a single piece of leather for a substantial feel—
altogether, a tote bag whose attention to detail reflects real craftsmanship. 

The colors come in four options: choco, ash gray, black, and khaki.
For the earthy tones like the bluish gray and deep khaki,
the paired leather provides a wonderful accent,
while the basic brown and black,
though standard colors, gain a contrast in texture from the leather—a different material—
resulting in a sharper, more refined impression.

All the colors can be used by both men and women.
For women, they can be paired with a feminine skirt
to add a touch of polish to the outfit,
while for men, they pair well with a casual weekend look
such as a jacket with cotton pants,
giving off just the right amount of casual flair—perfect as an accent to any outfit.

Left: M size
Right: L size

Comparing the M and L sizes, you can clearly see the difference in size.
The photo shows the size when carried by a woman who is 158cm tall,
and it seems the M size is recommended for women's everyday use.
Even the M size offers plenty of storage capacity inside, so it works well as

a casual work bag for those who carry a laptop…
or a mom bag for those who tend to carry lots of items…

and can be used for a variety of purposes like these.
It seems best to choose the M size for everyday use,
and the L size for travel or outdoor activities—
using each size according to the occasion.

Since fabrica bags combine leather and canvas,
you can enjoy two kinds of aging: the canvas softening
with use, and the leather developing a sheen as it becomes worn in.

The photo compares a brand-new tote with a staff member's personal tote that's been used for about a year.
The one on the right has been used daily for about a year.
You can see that it has faded nicely and taken on a lighter color.
It also looks slightly smaller,
which is because the canvas fabric has softened and become more relaxed.
(Though it looks smaller in the photo, both bags are actually the same size.)
At first, both the canvas and the leather feel stiff,
but they become increasingly softer with use,
to the point where the bag feels like it conforms to your body when carried on your arm.
This is a tote bag where you can feel this much aging after just one year.
It's exciting to think about how the texture will develop over time.

When you notice dirt or stains, be sure to care for each material in the way that suits it best.

▼Caring for canvas

・Use a soft brush to brush along the weave of the fabric
・Blot out dirt with a tightly wrung, damp cloth

By keeping up this kind of everyday care, you can help prevent dirt from building up.

If you need to use laundry detergent to spot-clean a stain,
it's best to choose a neutral detergent that doesn't contain fluorescent brighteners.
If the bag ever gets caught in the rain,
be sure to dry it in the shade, somewhere with good ventilation.

▼Caring for leather

Leather is used in two places on the fabrica tote bag: the handles and the base.
The handles may pick up dirt and oil from your hands, while the base may become soiled from being set down on the floor.
Part of the appeal of this bag is being able to enjoy the aging process
that comes from using it freely in everyday life,
so there's no need to be overly nervous about it getting a little dirty.
When you brush the canvas, go ahead and brush the leather parts too, to remove any dirt,
and protect the leather periodically with cream or wax as needed.

▼Click here to learn more about 6SHiKi