Ikea built an empire out of a simple idea: furniture designed in such a way that it could be flat-packed to ease shipping costs and eliminate the need for a delivery truck. Today, that same innovation comes to purses, as the Milan-based bag label Up To You Anthology has created a flat-pack purse. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, along with leather and felt options. And yes, just like Ikea furniture, you have to assemble it yourself.
Designed by the prolific Japanese firm Nendo, known for taking surprising approaches to the design of everyday objects, the bag is called the Mai. Laser-cut from a single piece of leather, you fold the bag in half to assemble it, fitting the rivets into precut holes. And within about a minute of work, you have a fully functional, 3D purse.
Mai wasn’t developed in response to COVID-19. Up To You Anthology tells us that development actually started on it last year. But it was created specifically to be a bag sold through e-commerce. “Each bag had to be delivered to the customer’s house, so they designed a bag that could be delivered flat, to simplify this process,” a spokesperson explains. “And the customer would assemble the bag themselves. It can be fun!”
For a purse that runs around $300, saving the $8 between a USPS flat-rate envelope and a small flat-rate box might not seem like a lot. But especially as you get into international shipping, the difference jumps closer to $35. The fact of the matter is, competitive online companies are forced to subsidize or eat their shipping costs entirely, making it a huge expense for every online product company that doesn’t have the leverage of Amazon. And if these businesses are to survive the next two years, every dollar counts.
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