Making a DIY Courier / Messenger bag

I like the bear that killed the elk, and worn its antlers as a trophy.

Its a boy thing.

I mean, "carrier pigeon".....that name will never catch on. ;)

Or the bear that fancied the elk, and they had a baby.

Romantic.

awesome stuff :) deffo Belk !

trying to decide between these two logos/names

carrier or belk?

I mean, "carrier pigeon".....that name will never catch on. ;)

+1

Belk is more distinctive.

I think the standing bear is the best.

Also from an IP point of view "carrier" for something that carries is descriptive, therefore you may have problems protecting your brand name further down the line.

My 2p.

I much prefer BELK as it's more personal and more fun. I agree carrier might be better for search engines etc. but i don't want to get too caught up in all that 'identity' marketing stuff.

this is just supposed to be a small company run from home, so I think i'm going with BELK as it's my favourite.

But i have just discovered there is a massive chainstore in america called 'Belk', obviously without the awesome bear/elk logo, but do you think that would be an issue?

I was thinking of intellectual property and someone ripping off your name.

RE the US store... hummm... it depends...

I'll get back to you.

Not since you named your polo team after a massive chainstore...

Unlikely. As long as you are clearly not competing. You choice of logo should help. Belk are large but not even nationwide in the US - limited to South east and Midwest. Besides, US retail is not so strong, could go Chapter 11 and save you any worries.

Let me know when you start doing the lock holsters :)

You're fine. Just did some checking. Mostly family owned, small and regional. Nothing to get concerned over. Worth registering a domain perhaps....

^ +1

As Belk are in the US and are in a different business, so unlikely to confuse anyone, you shouldn't have any problems.

FYI there aren't any UK co's who've registed the name Belk iether.

Check out the IPO for more info... also if you (or anyone else) has any IP queries there is a free service provided by Own-it

how much do you think it would be to register belk for ipo and maybe domain?

i'm new to all this

i'll be producing everything as soon as i have my labels!

seems like could be upwards of £200 to register a trademark?! not right now

Not since you named your polo team after a massive chainstore...

ha

belk.

got back from my ride from Bath to Bristol in the pissing rain - bag seems to have held up nicely - contents completely dry - me, on the other hand, soaked to the skin :)

was about to post something very similar danb! pissing it down in london, socks and shoes not waterproof. bag was perfect.

ok blogging about my bags at www.belkbags.wordpress.com

read it if you like

bookmarked :)

I am jealous of that seiko btw - although I have no room for one....

Blog looks great Snoops.
I thought they were going to be called Carrier?

I may have an issue with the buyer for my Singer indust machine if anyone is after one.

Cheers Joel, I had a change of heart. Went with my original and favourite idea.

snoops!
what can i say man?
sick!
they look proper good and pretty sturdy
might buy a lock holder sometime in the future?

sure, just contact me through the blog if you want to buy anything.

belkbags@gmail.com

good stuff :) inspired to make my own bag now!

snoops, well done mate. I love the tool bag.

has anyone found a good source for strap/back padding?

I have been using camping roll mats cut up - but they seem to deteriorate after a while and stay too thin and compressed - they are also not really as thick as I want them to be - being a skinny/boney guy I need as much padding as possible :)

Ideally what I am looking for is some thick padding that is pretty dense and that springs back rather than staying squashed after a while.
Also I am after some reasonably hard-wearing mesh for the back and straps to make them less sweaty - I am sure I have seen some that is slightly/lightly padded itself - this would be great paired with thicker padding in the strap I think....