Recycled Material Exploration
In my material exploration, I looked at different options around my dorm room and online for upcycled materials. I knew I wanted to make it from a material that was durable yet flexible, waterproof, and long-lasting so I used a weathered, reusable Trader Joe's grocery bag. I used felt and t-shirts as padding as well as the lining for the inside pocket.
I happened to need a new laptop protector at the time so I looked to my previous sleeve for inspiration. In my design ideation and exploration I looked into three primary different designs: the shoulder bag, portable workspace, and the simple laptop sleeve.
One, I decided to decrease the number of pockets, more than two facilitate clutter and the accumulation of loose pages. The design brief required two, one on the inside and one on the outside so I limited it to these two.
Two, my previous case had the zipper along the length of the bag instead of across the width of it which made it difficult to charge the computer while it was still in the case. While commuting to and from school on the bus in high school, I would often use my computer to charge my other devices. To make any access to the ports as easy as possible, I designed the bag to be vertical with the zipper along the short edge.
I used the paper from the prototype to make a pattern for the hand-sewn final. Initially, I had planned on machine sewing the computer sleeve but the plastic-y woven fabric of the grocery bag did not hold the thread well so I ended up hand-sewing the entire sleeve. The final product has one pocket on the outside, a small one on the inside, and a zipper to keep the laptop secure and snug.
Years later, this sleeve protects my laptop from countless spills and backpack drops:)
