MAGICIAN'S HAT BAG (NOTEPAD DECEMBER 2010)

Ideas are magical things. They often seem to appear out of thin air. Sometimes I might be trying to come up with ideas to advertise a product, like a chocolate bar or shampoo, and all of a sudden, I’ll have an idea for something completely different. Occasionally they’re kind of interesting, but absolutely no use for the job in hand. And not what I’m being paid for. One such random idea fell out the ether in 2010. A bag design. No idea why I had that particular idea. But I did and like I always do, I scribbled it down.

For some reason the Magician’s Hat Bag idea stuck with me. It was playful and sort of made good use of the bag’s opening. Kind of interactive. So I commissioned an illustrator friend to draw the hat and then found a company that printed tote bags. A few weeks later 200 bags arrived. Over the years I’ve given lots of them away and some are even sold through an online shop.  I love the thought that they’re out there in the world and maybe even doing their bit to reduce plastic carrier bags.

As every advertising creative will tell you, 90% of our ideas end up in the bin. So sometimes it’s good for the soul to just to take a little idea and make it happen. Abracadabra!