That's so Indian Lake Outfitters!

It's dark, dreary, and raining mad drops outside and there's no way to get around the gloomy nature of the day here at Gorilla Sacks. We all thought we were doomed for a damp day at the office, that is until we opened our emails to an unexpected and very bright little surprise. Our good friends at Comstor Outdoor sent us an article about a local store of theirs, Indian Lake Outfitters, carrying our very own Gorilla Sacks bags! We won't even try to reword what wonderful things they wrote.... read for yourself!


http://indianlakeoutfitters.blogspot.com/2011/10/gorilla-sacks-indian-lake-outfitters.html

Moped advertising? Say what?

Our friends at Coast 2 Coast Mobile Media just keep on surprising us with their crazy ideas. They recently showed up at our office on one of the coolest advertising contraptions we've ever seen... a mobile moped billboard! Here at Gorilla Sacks, we would consider ourselves to be billboard connoisseurs who know all the ins and outs of recycling these beastly signs. After Coast 2 Coast showed up this week, we had to tip our hats and pass the torch of ingenuity to our friends. After all, it's not everyday we see something new in a part of advertising that hasn't changed in years.

Moped advertising!

From Coast 2 Coast

There is just nothing quite like being in the Gorilla Sacks warehouse when we get a new supply of billboards. Our hearts start beating a little faster, our stomaches get tied up in knots, and we start getting a little jittery in anticipation of what lies within the folds of billboard material. Will it be a cool rock band, rapper or jazz musician? Will it be a new movie, t.v. show or news anchor? Well thanks to Coast 2 Coast Mobile Media we had a very exciting morning unpacking all sorts of great billboards. Coast 2 Coast Mobile Media was kind enough to recycle some very cool billboards with us so we can make even cooler bags out of them. It goes without saying that if it weren't for the generosity of the good people at Coast 2 Coast Mobile Media, we wouldn't be able to make such fantastic products. And that would be sad. Thank you Coast 2 Coast Mobile Media!!

One of the many awesome mobile billboards that Coast 2 Coast Mobile Media produces.

Bit by the recycling bug

Here at Gorilla Sacks we just love hearing that people have caught the recycling bug. We couldn't help but let out a yelp of glee when we received this photo from our friends at Comstor Outdoor. They wanted to let us know just how excited they are to be recycling their billboards into Gorilla Sacks bags. Well Comstor, we're excited too! There's no feeling quite like the one you get when you find an innovative way to help save the planet. We just hope the recycling bug will go right on biting!

Check out the nice things Comstor Outdoor had to say about us at 

http://www.billboardinsights.com/2011/05/comstor-outdoor-partners-with-gorilla-sacks-to-recycle-used-billboard-vinyls/

Dirty Beauty, Beautiful Bags

The perfect gift comes in a recycled bag... well, in a perfect world anyway. Gorilla Sacks just adores this Gorilla Sacks goody bag full of great items for some quality self-pampering time. Dirty Beauty put this gift bag together for EarthShare's Earth Day silent auction and we don't think they could have done a better job. Dirty Beauty makes all-natural skin care products (because "beautiful skin comes from the ground") and this gift bag is just full of their wonderful items. We think the only thing that makes this goody bag even more fantastic, is the awesome Gorilla Sacks bag it comes in!

Sir George

At Gorilla Sacks we definitely know what it feels like to get that entrepreneurial itch. That brief moment of clarity in an otherwise cluttered and constantly churning mind. So when we received a photo of a statue wearing a Gorilla Sacks bag, we knew this wasn't just another zany photo. This is the man of invention himself (well, one of them anyway), the man who made our morning commute to work possible... the man who invented paved roads. Yep, Sir George Bartholomew invented the modern day paved road, and for that our cars are truly thankful. Our friends at Comstor outdoor spotted George supporting his fellow entrepreneurs by wearing a Gorilla Sacks bag.

George Bartholomew, inventor of roads, entrepreneur at heart, and just darn cool guy sporting a darn cool bag.

On the road to fame...

... well, sort of. We know we're not in Hollywood yet, but small business folk like us get pretty excited when the likes of our fave local newscaster talk about our very own Gorilla Sacks bags. That's right. Gorilla Sacks was recently featured on our city's very own "Good Day Atlanta" in a story about health-conscious makeup. The whole Gorilla Sacks family was awake all night in anticipation of the next morning's news show... and when we awoke we were like beaming, proud parents watching our little Gorilla Sacks children on television. Ok, maybe that went a little too far, but it was definitely awesome!


See whether your makeup or cosmetics have harmful ingredients in them at: 
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

Follow the North Star

Here at Gorilla Sacks we know we wouldn't be where we are without the generous support of friends of ours like those at North Star Marketing. North Star Marketing sends their retired vinyl banners our way so we might save them from a life underground. We know we can't save the world alone, so we thank you North Star Marketing for contributing to our efforts. We were even lucky enough to receive a photo of a Gorilla Sacks bag in action! 

How many bundles of asparagus can fit in a Gorilla Sacks bag?

Unexpected Turns

You know how they (we're not sure who exactly) say that life will take unexpected turns, so just hang on and enjoy the ride? Well, here at Gorilla Sacks, we took that advice literally. We can't say any of us thought we would be driving around forklifts and unloading semi-trucks. But when life brings you billboards, you get down to work and start making billboard bags. Here are a couple of pics of the Gorilla Sacks team gettin' down and dirty with a truckload of billboards.

Gretchen and Tim unloading the last two pallets of billboards... we slept very well that night!

Who ever said Atlanta is full of bad drivers?

Slopeside

Even though we're fast approaching spring, Gorilla Sacks isn't quite finished with winter yet. Our boy Eddie decided to take the quickly rising temperatures into his own hands and hit the wintery slopes of New Mexico for a last hurrah on his board before the snow hibernates for the summer. He packed his Gorilla Sacks bags and said his goodbye's last week before hopping on a plane bound for winter wonderland. As much as the rest of us at Gorilla Sacks are happy for Eddie, we have to say we're a tad jealous that he decided to take his Gorilla Sacks bags instead of us. Guess that just goes to show how great our bags are!  We miss you Eddie!

And the Oscar goes to..

Gorilla Sacks charted new territory today in our attempt to put together a video of our work process. Though we are certainly no professional videographers, we think our first attempt at Hollywood fame turned out pretty well. We depend on the generous donations of our outdoor advertising affiliates to make the awesome Gorilla Sacks bags that you all love so much. Without them, our efforts to save the planet from ruin might, well, be ruined! We just wanted to share a little love with one of those very outdoor advertising companies that keeps us hard at work, Comstor Outdoor. 


We hope you find a little enjoyment out of our shot at Hollywood stardom!

Our better half

You know that saying, "I wouldn't be who I am without my better half?" Well, maybe that's not quite it... but it's close enough. Well we here at Gorilla Sacks certainly know the meaning of that more than anyone. Gorilla Sacks would not, could not, will never be the awesome company we are without the hard work of our better half: our warehouse team. You may think the tough job of washing, cutting, and rolling pallets upon pallets of billboards doesn't seem like much fun, but these guys really know how to make it a grand ol' time. We often here the beat of loud music or the lovely solos of our ambitious young warehouse workhorses floating in from the back of the building, and we all find ourselves wanting to wander back and join the fun. 

Ian, Tim and Gabby standing atop Mt. Billboard

We all know how important hygiene is, even for billboards!

And the billboards are ready to go

The little things in life

You know that feeling we all get sometimes, just before we fall asleep, that life has become a redundant cycle of work, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, cleaning up the dog's poop, taking care of the kids, exercising (if you're lucky enough to find the time), calling your family for the obligatory once-a-week phone chat, and going to bed, only to wake up and do it all over again? Well lucky for all of us Gorilla Sacks working bees, we wake up each morning knowing things are going to be a little different that day. In the early A.M. hours we drive to work in anticipation of what advice Mr. C will give us today. While we're sitting in traffic two blocks away from our office, wondering why we shouldn't just throw our cars in park and walk the rest of the way, there is Mr. C's sign to brighten our mood and lift our spirits. And his sign makes us remember, it's those little things in life that make everything worth it. Thanks Mr. C!

No shots today, but thanks for the advice!

Spring is on its way!

Gorilla Sacks can't wait for the beautiful spring weather to arrive! We just love packing all our summer goodies in our Gorilla Sacks bags and hitting the streets (or maybe the beach) in our summer threads. We know we're not the only ones ready for summer, because we received a little love from the beaches in New Jersey this week. We know you're all itching for summer just as much as we are!

We love you too!!

Billboards Galore!

We know it's a little geeky, but here at Gorilla Sacks we just LOVE when a new shipment of billboards comes in. We can't wait to get the billboards out of the truck and open them up because for us it's like Christmas... so many presents and we have no idea what treasures we'll open. Delivery day is filled with Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dog, 50 Cent, some Crown Royal, and all the nice cars we could ever dream of. And to think we get another delivery in just two weeks! 


Unloading all of those celebrities into our warehouse can be tough work, but luckily we have just the man to do it. Gregorio is tough as nails and sweet as can be.

Gregorio unloaded 20 of those pallets!

What a guy!

Here at Gorilla Sacks we don't like to take ourselves too seriously, but when it comes to innovation, we put our game faces on. We take our work as eco-friendly innovators very seriously, in fact, so seriously that sometimes we forget we're not the only ones thinking about our products. We were recently pleasantly surprised by a Gorilla Sacks fan that takes the banana cake for not only using our recycled product, but repurposing it too! Talk about green! Atlanta native Brennan Collins turned our Green Mountain Messenger Bag into a pannier for his bike. How brilliant!

Brennan has kindly provided instructions for anybody who wants to make their own. Visit his blog to see step by step instructions and photos and you'll have your very own Gorilla Sacks pannier in no time!

http://formandfailure.wordpress.com/2010/08/07/diy-pannier/

It's officially official!

Gorilla Sacks has officially opened it's doors! Well, technically we've been in our office for over two weeks now, but nobody knew who we were. So we took a cue from the Gorilla Sacks dogs and decided we needed to mark our territory... so we put up a sign! Suite H is officially no longer a mystery office! Our bold new sign marks a site of innovation, hard work, fun team members, lots of billboards, cool bags and a determination to save the planet. Go team Gorilla Sacks!
 

Life is full of random surprises...

It's not often that Gorilla Sacks receives anything out of the ordinary from our mail lady, Sandra. But driving to work this morning, each on our own quest to get to work on time, we all noticed something different in the air, this day was going to be special. Low and behold, when Sandra's smiling face came to deliver our mail, there was a surprise...

Gorilla Sacks wants go thank Brent Leopold for the random, day-changing, week-changing, put-a-smile-on-our-faces letter and art he sent us. Thanks Brent!

Hello Lisa, 

This is mail art. Really a step better. I send art out to enjoy the process of random people getting art. My art is part of a local gallery, a lot of mail art shows, and found art. I got th eidea from guerilla advertising. Use your kraft to get your image out there. What I wanted is what the graffiti artists have done. Have art that travels! I don't think of fame, riches. I think of process and timing. I think my art is a gallery without walls. Still life is a sea, I don't want to feel I am laying in the sand, I want to see where the undertow sends me. Mail art can be lost, stolen, any random person can get it, trashed, but it falls where the hands send it. I found your company by searching 'Green recycled book bags.' I liked your logo, your bags' looks, so that is why you got this. Please keep the art safe, make sure if you do not like the image it gets in the hands of someone who does. 

Hope you will enjoy what I picked out.

Brent Leopold
www.google.com/profiles/foundmeart

Gee, looks like Lisa!

This painting is our favorite!

Green and clean!

Here at Gorilla Sacks we take special care to use only natural, safe and environmentally friendly cleaning solutions to clean our billboards. So we got to thinking, why are we treating our billboards better than ourselves? We deserve natural cleaning supplies just as much as our billboards do! So, we pulled our brains together and found recipes for all-natural, completely earth friendly cleaning products that we love. 

Who wants clothes that smell like chemicals? Not us! How about clothes that smell like lavender, or vanilla, or spices? Yes, please!

Laundry Detergent Recipe

½ bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated
1 cup Washing Soda
½ cup Borax
1 qt plus 1 gallon water
2 clean gallon jugs

Mix all ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer so soap dissolves.  Cool slightly. Meanwhile, put ½ gallon water in each jug, add cooled soap mixture, finish with water if needed.

You can add essential oils to this if you like scented cleaners. Just a drop of lavender or rosemary oil goes a long way. (Try eucalyptus, it's our favorite!)

February Photo Contest

It's that time again. Time to bust out your cameras and those beautiful pearly whites and show us what you've got! This month we want to see your most fashionable, awesome, streetwise, Gorilla Sacks inspired outfit. Of course, the best outfits begin with the best bags, so you'll have to sport your Gorilla Sacks bag too. At the end of the month, you could have one more messenger bag to add to your Gorilla Sacks collection. Check out February's photo contest details on our website: http://www.gorillasacks.com/pages/Our-Bandmates.html

And... cue the music... our January winner: IAN!!! A big round of applause!

Ian uses his Gorilla Sacks messenger bag for all of his college books. Lookin' good!

What would we be without our BANDMATES??

We know that Gorilla Sacks wouldn't be where we are today without our loyal fans. So today's post is in honor of all those who wear our Gorilla Sacks bags proudly, who sing for joy when they throw our messenger bag over their shoulder, who shout from the rooftops in an expression of undying, never-ending, all consuming love for Gorilla Sacks. Ok, perhaps that's a stretch, but we raise our bananas to those who make us fan videos...

 

New bags for everyone!

Here at Gorilla Sacks we just love giving back to the community in any way we can. We wanted to start the new year off with some good karma points, so we decided to give our bags to people who could really use them. After a little digging around to find people who would truly put our bags to good use, we found two very worthy causes that we know will benefit from our donations. 
  
The first is Totes for Tots, a bag drive that gives all donated luggage, backpacks and bags to children in the foster care system. Many foster care children have to carry their belongings in trash bags when they move between houses. Here at Gorilla Sacks we're up to our ears in bags and we just couldn't bear the thought someone not having a real bag to call their own. So we donated our Gorilla Sacks bags because we know they will be tough enough to withstand any challenge, just like the many wonderful kids in foster care.

Mary Campbell and Stacy Spriggs work hard everyday for the residents of Urban Residential Development Corporation.

The second charity we chose is Urban Residential Development Corporation. This is an absolutely awesome housing program for homeless and low-income residents. Many of these residents have been affected by issues such as mental illness, substance abuse or life-threatening illnesses like HIV/AIDS.  URDC is dedicated to providing not only housing for their residents, but also services to help aide residents in getting their feet back on the ground, such as counseling and life skills classes. We donated our Gorilla Sacks bags to the residents to use while grocery shopping or running errands.
 
We feel inspired by the charities that we found and we hope that you do too!

All moved in

Gorilla Sacks is all moved into our new office! Well, sort of. We're slowly but surely making the space our own. Although we're still unloading, the Gorilla Sacks dogs seem to be all settled in, especially our guard dog Reuben.

INTRUDERS BEWARE: Extremely dangerous guard dog awaits you.

Charlie chillin' in our new lobby.

The best things come in hardback copies

If you are looking for the perfect gift, look no further, we found the perfect item. It's the most beautiful, funny, charming and just downright awesome coffee table book we have ever seen. "Monkey Portraits," by Jill Greenberg, is a favorite here at the Gorilla Sacks office, because it will always give us a good laugh when we need one. In fact, I love this book so much I gave it to my father-in-law for Christmas (risky I know) and he loved it! If you really need to impress someone, might I suggest putting "Monkey Portraits" inside a Gorilla Sacks bag... you'll earn many many karma points.

Ger your copy at http://www.amazon.com/Monkey-Portraits-Jill-Greenberg/dp/0821257552

Our favorite Gorilla Grub

Here at Gorilla Sacks we couldn't help falling in love with kale chips! They have taken our office by storm because once you get your hands on these tasty little greens you won't be able to put them down. A word of warning: kale chips sound easy to make, but in reality are very hard to perfect. I have gone through endless bags (ok maybe just 4) of kale trying not to burn the batch, but it seems I am always 30 seconds too late. Make it easy on yourself and learn from my mistakes. Here is a foolproof recipe for basic kale chips. If you're feeling experimental, try adding some seasonings of choice, garlic salt, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, the possibilities are endless. 

These are tossed in olive oil with a little sea salt before going in the oven.

In a perfect world, this is what your kale chips will look like when you're done...

... and these are what mine look like. I promise they taste good!

Kale Chips

1 bunch of kale chips

olive oil

sea salt

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Tear kale into small pieces, rinse, and dry thoroughly. (A salad spinner works the best if you have one.) Pile kale on a baking sheet, drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss. Spread kale out on the baking sheet so there is only one layer of leaves (if you need to use 2 baking sheets to give them enough room you can). Lightly salt kale and place baking sheets in preheated oven for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, check kale for crispiness. If they aren't crispy, continue baking but check every minute or so until they are done. Kale is very easy to burn, so lean on the side of caution.

Don't be intimidated by how healthy they look, they are much tastier than they appear!!

Our new digs!

We just couldn't wait any longer to check out our new office, so we took a little trip to the new space. Actually, "office" is not accurate, Gorilla Sacks' new home is an enormous space, with lots of room for all of our toys, err, we mean work stuff. Check out our first visit to our new space. We just can't wait to make it our own!

Here is a photo of the back room. It's the perfect spot for all the fun events we're planning on having once we're all moved in.

Who are those good-lookin' gorilla girls?

Niche Magazine

Hooray!! Gorilla Sacks is featured in this month's Niche Magazine! Their article "Hand Bags" features seven artists who create one-of-a-kind bags you just won't find anywhere else. We absolutely love all of them, because hey, a girl's gotta have her hand bags! Check out the article at: http://www.nichemagazine.com/2010/12/handbags/

No days like snow days!

Wowee! How about that storm?! We are just beginning to crawl out of our dens and back to the office, but not before some much needed fun in the snow! We decided the crazy weather was the perfect time to play with our Gorilla Sacks. We grabbed our gear and braved the cold for some Gorilla Sacks adventures. 

Rapid fire!!

Ready to reload...

Who knew Gorilla Sacks would make excellent sleds? We did!

Look out below!

Project 'R' Cubed

Gorilla Sacks is moving! We have outgrown our current office and are moving to an awesome new space. In an effort to make our move to the new building as "green" as possible, we are furnishing our new space with only Recycled, Reused, and Re-purposed office furniture. We need help collecting new items for our space, so if you are interested in donating any goods to Gorilla Sacks that you think might look good in our new office, what are you waiting for, let us know! 

We have put together an idea board of what our ideal space might look like to inspire you. Here is a list of supplies that we need:

OPERATIONS

large packing table
metro shelving for supplies
industrial shelving for rolls of billboards
bins for components
platform dolly – wood or metal
convertible dolly – metal

OFFICE
whiteboard
chalkboard
file cabinets
bins for office supplies
shredder
office supplies

PHOTOGRAPHY
studio lighting
camera dolly and track
studio backdrop

RECEPTION ROOM
couches - mid-century modern style, Scandinavian modern style
occasion tables - modern style
large coffee table - modern, funky style
lighting
chairs

BREAK ROOM
dining table and chairs
storage cabinets
garbage cans with lids for recycling and composting
dishes, glassware, pots and pans
silverware
electric tea pot
coffee maker
dish rack

MISC
tools

If you have any of these items, or something that's not on our list but you think we might like, email us at info@gorillasacks.com or call us at (404) 688-5408. We can't wait to see the cool stuff you guys are willing to part with!