Joined: 22 Nov 2007 Posts: 96 Location: N.E.Lincolnshire
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 2:24 pm Post subject:
Love the new leaflets, pol. A lot of information in a small space! Will be using these in the future with instructions to make a bag on the reverse. Thanks they're great!! _________________ Hold a true friend with both hands. Nigerian proverb
Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 1327 Location: London - Grand Union Canal
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 3:29 pm Post subject:
This may seem a bit weird, but I get a lot of pm's asking me how morsbags started so I thought I'd put a link to this article which gives a pretty good overview: http://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article2459-Guerrilla-Bagging.html Wow, how the stats have changed!! - good work everyone!
Also - just wrote this stream of consciousness for someone who asked so thought I'd put it here in case any of you are asked and are stuck for info:
In answer to your questions: We started morsbags literally overnight as I became totally frustrated about the number of plastic bags floating past us on the canal (we live on a barge) and I wondered where they all end up. I googled about a bit and found the sad and shocking truth of how marine wildlife is affected by plastic in the oceans and decided I could do something simple and immediate to personally not accept plastic bags from shops anymore by making my own from spare material.
After I'd asked mum to help me with the pattern, I realised that if I could make them, why couldn't everyone else? So, we decided to put the pattern online so that everybody could help themselves and make their own bags. Joseph, my fiance, designed the website that night and it just grew by word or mouth - more and more fantastic morsbaggers became addicted to the bag-bug and we've now made nearly 27,000 bags worldwide, potentially replacing over 13 million plastic bags - so the small actions by individuals really count.
There are so many wonderful morsbaggers who've rummaged in the back of their airing cupboards to find old material to which they've given a new lease of life, and who've perhaps liberated their sewing machines from lofts, and given up hours of their spare time. 'Pods' are sociable local groups who share a bottle of wine or a chocolate brownie or 5 while making morsbags, proving that being green can be great fun!
There are organised handouts where we guerilla bag unsuspecting shoppers by giving them a free bag, but for those who are not so confident it's a great idea to bag friends, family, colleagues, neighbours or even leave them in a local farm shop etc. The idea is that morsbags must always be given away for free so that people are more inclined to remember to take it to the shop with them and they are labelled so that the idea self-perpetuates and that people are led back to the site and will hopefully then start making them for themselves!
The pattern is so simple - all straight lines - so that anyone and everyone can make them. More experienced sewing bods add gussets, change the handle length, quilt, patch, add pockets etc ... anything goes as long as it's from reclaimed fabric so that material is kept out of landfill (and doesn't need to be produced for the bags - using huge quantities of harmful pesticides, water etc, and then needs to be transported - morsbags are local entities!) and they are strong and reusable.
I also think this new leaflet is better. I always try to get too much information on the paper, when really what we need is to space it out and just give the minimum to tempt them into the world of Morsbagging. Too much blurb and people won't read it. I also noticed that the 'drink wine' section has gone - I was discussing this yeaterday with someone who felt uncomfortable giving the old style leaflets to friends who didn't drink for various reasons.
Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 1327 Location: London - Grand Union Canal
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:15 pm Post subject:
I'm a bit confused AK - the drink wine section is still there - but it's a word doc. so feel free to change it for whatever feels more appropriate.... I'm just about to change the 20,000 to 27,000 and 500 to 665 - that's quite exciting progress!
Whoops, my mistake - I must of missed it. But I will take it out on my leaflets as a result of the feedback I've already received.
On the subject of the publicity blurb, I went to collect some donated fabric this evening. The lady donating was interested in making Morsbags herself, but didn't want to guerilla bag unsuspecting shoppers. I've had some bad experiences of doing this myself, so will probably change this part of the leaflet as well.
For me, one of the great things about Morsbags is that we are all individuals doing our own little bit in our own way. Bags might be smaller or larger, with or without gussets, handed out to strangers or friends. As long as they are recycling unwanted fabric and handed out free to reduce the use of plastic, it doesn't really matter.
Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 4:36 pm Post subject: Material request
Hi
We have only just started bagging and I have printed out small leaflets to go in the bags on one side is a request for material, cotton, unwanted sewing machines and help then on the other is a shortened version of why we make the bags picked from the Morsbags website. _________________ Bottesford Baggers have just started if you are interested get in touch.
Joined: 20 Jul 2007 Posts: 3989 Location: St. Agnes, Cornwall
Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 7:53 pm Post subject:
Hi bigbird 842 -that sounds great to me! We have "about morsbags" on one side & bag making instructions on the other, but a request for supplies is good too. Good luck with your bag distribution! _________________ Make a bag - you know you want to!
- please click on the link in pols first post on this thread for an excellent leaflet, useful for putting in your morsbags for the Valentines Day handout... the figures will need updating ( oh how far we've come ) but it's a word document so that is easy to do. _________________ Sazziej of Saz Bags ~
Joined: 20 Jul 2007 Posts: 3989 Location: St. Agnes, Cornwall
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 9:35 am Post subject:
Thanks for bumping this Sazzie - you've been doing lots of useful bumping lately
It's only easy to change if you have "Word". If you don't, you have to do lots of cutting and pasting into whatever you do have. I have updated the leaflet in Open Office, so if anyone else has that free software, contact me and I'll happily send it to you. _________________ Make a bag - you know you want to!
I have just printed off my gotcha leaflets, ready for the Valentines handout, I'm posting them in my own village, and have changed the leaflet to say the morsbag has been made in Bickerstaffe, in the hope of drumming up some support / pod members. _________________ Sazziej of Saz Bags ~
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- good work everyone!
oh how far we've come 