Free Matt and Nat Bags, Free Speech

The Matt and Nat vegan leather designer bags made here in Montreal have a pretty active following, because they’re quite stylin and make you feel like you’re doing some good while looking so fine. They emphasize Choice - it’s written right on their bags: Choose to Make a Difference, a friendly fonty kick towards empowerment.

Indyish is excited to be receiving a sponsorship from Matt and Nat; I called them up to talk about advertising and after discussing our sponsorship policy with us (only indie, arty, eco or ethical) and explaining to me that they aren’t so interested in traditional advertising, they offered instead to give every member of my core and almost entirely volunteer team the bag of their choice. It doesn’t pay the bills, but it is exciting and it’s really nice for the team to be able to find something they’ll really like, and to own it as a gift attached to all their hard work. Seeing their choices made me really happy. Choosing my own was good too.

Today Tessa and I are going to pick up the free Indyish bags, and also to witness the probable madness of the first day of the Matt and Nat Spring sample sale. The sample sale runs for a couple of days, but the good bags will in all likelihood be snapped up today, and to add to the bargain-fueled frenzy, Matt and Nat have advertised on their blog that they are giving away a number of unique bags, designed but never manufactured, signed by the design team (the samples.) Some will have surprises tucked inside (wallets??!) Rather then deal with any wrestling or other unpleasantness in the office and showroom, these are going right out the window and into the arms of bag fans below.

So we’re off to Chabanel to grab our bags, maybe do a little garment district exploring while sample sale shopping and manic consumer voyeuring, and return with more to blog.

Over the next little while we’ll be blogging our bag picks from Matt and Nat, along with interviews and some research pieces into Vegan leather (what the heck is it? is it better for the environment than leather tanneries?) and how Matt and Nat creates and controls their image as an ethical brand.

There has been some debate and even anger and frustration around Matt and Nat (between the swoons and cheers from others) over the past year or so and we look forward to an honest and forthright e-exchange with Inder Bedi, owner and founder. If you have any probing questions you want us to ask, just post them below. We’ll do our damndest to seek and tell truth despite sponsorship, and if you think we’re full of it you’ll let us know. Indyish is experimenting with the kinds of relationships we can have with companies and we rely on our own moral instincts and your loud voices to guide us, so don’t hesitate.

To get to Matt and Nat on Chabanel,
just take the 55 bus up St. Laurent,
past the Trans Canada Highway,
it stops on the corner of Chabanel,
then you hang a left to number 225!