Hanging with the Crumpler Crew

Here is Donna with the new bag she bought. It's a Crumpler and she has shown me all the padding and compartments that make it cool. She allowed me to try it on, but, given its size, I look like a munchkin in it. Donna was pleased to have found a shop that sold them (George Street) as she only knew them from their web presence. Their web presence is worth a look – it features a very bizarre piglet and product descriptions such as:

The Salary Sacrifice
Okay, that’s it: we’re all gunna have to make some cut backs. No more celery for anyone. That’s right. You guys are gunna have to dig for big green sticks some place else. Hey, don’t stalk off when I’m talkin to you . . .

(that's a big laptop-carrying backpack to you, sir)

Once sensitised to the existence of Crumplers, I began to see them everywhere. My next chat at lunchtime was with John and he had a Crumpler with a reflective strip on it. His had been around a little but showed no signs of distress. At this point I still thought it a remarkable coincidence that Donna and John both had Crumpler bags. Yes, they were an all-Australian product and rather funkier to have than a hat with corks or a Driza-Bone oilskin.

But then it got serious as I caught two in one shot. The guy with the bag you can actually see part of is Mark, a student from Ontario who has four of the things. The muffled figure on the right is part of Bill, who was given a spanking new Crumpler as thanks for trekking out from England to talk about designing. (For some reason, no matter how many shots I took, I couldn't get a nice shot of Bill or the bag of the bag.)

Mmmmmm (to be read in a Homer Simpson 'I smell sausages' kind of a way). What's the chance that I come back to England without one? Viral product placement…