Gorilla Sacks rocks Denmark

Here at Gorilla Sacks we don't often get the chance to see our bags once they leave our nest. We lovingly make them and then ship them off in hopes that they'll live a long and fulfilled life as someone's carrying companion. We love when we hear what our Gorilla Sacks bags have been up to, which in this case is traveling the world! Brennan Collins is one of our favorite customers that not only puts our bags to good use, but goes the extra mile (no pun intended) to take his Gorilla Sacks bags EVERYWHERE! Brennan takes our Green Mountain Messenger bags and turns them into panniers that he can attach to his road bike. We recently made an extra large Green Mountain Messenger that he took on his two-wheeled trek across Denmark! How cool is that?! Check out Brennan's pic below... may it inspire you to travel too!

Brennan Collins, ready to ride off with his Gorilla Sacks bags in tow.

Apes in the Arts

You may have guessed by the name of our company that gorillas are very near and dear to our heart, and you'd be right. For those who are wondering how on earth messenger bags have anything to do with gorillas, let us explain. We here at Gorilla Sacks make bags out of recycled billboard vinyl, which saves the billboards from going into landfills, thus reducing waste and creating more land for our furry friends. We like to think we come to work each day not only to make great recycled products, but also to do our small part to save the gorillas' habitat from destruction. 


In keeping with Gorilla Sacks fashion, we have partnered with the Ape Conservation Effort (ACE), an organization that is entirely dedicated to the conservation of great apes. Naturally, we were thrilled when ACE asked if we would participate in Apes in the Arts (Thursday, July 12), an event to raise the funds needed to preserve ape habitats. This year our Gorilla Sacks bags will be in the silent auction, among artwork done by gorillas themselves. Yep, you heard us right! 


For more information about the Ape Conservation Effort and Apes in the Arts visit:
http://www.apeconservationeffort.org/about/

A little ATL at SXSW

No matter how you do the math, there just never seems to be enough time in the day for good music, cold brewskies, and a little face time with some downright cool people. Which is why every year people flock to Austin for the SXSW festivities. Since Gorilla Sacks couldn't put in the face time this year, we thought we'd send a little piece of ourselves over to Austin on our behalf. We boxed up our best, sent them off to Austin and left the rest to fate. Low and behold, our Gorilla Sacks bags wound up in some pretty cool hands. Check out some of our favorite pics from just a few of the awesome artists who played at SXSW sporting none other than Gorilla Sacks.

Dinosaur Feathers

Howler

We Were Promised Jetpacks

Simply Buckhead

We couldn't have been more pleased to open our mailboxes and find the newest issue of Simply Buckhead! Their March/April issue features local green companies and we were absolutely honored when they asked if we would be a part of the article. Here at Gorilla Sacks, we're dedicated to making the world a greener place, one bag at a time. We are delighted to see others that are dedicated to the same cause and are so thrilled that Simply Buckhead is showing Atlanta what we're all working so hard to do. Thanks Simply Buckhead!!

Fans in the wild!

There's nothing we love more than spotting our fans out in the wild. We found this lovely fan of ours, Carrie Freeman, at Trader Joe's using her Gorilla Sacks Classic Tote to carry her all of her groceries. Carrie is a professor at Georgia State University and bought her Gorilla Sacks Classic Tote back in 2009 the Enviro Expo. Since she's still using it two years later we didn't have to ask if she loves it... but we did anyway. Her answer was YES!!! 

Carrie Freeman sporting her Gorilla Sacks Classic Tote at Trader Joe's.

Happy New Year!

Well, it's finally here again. That time of year when we all reflect on the past 12 months and grab our pens to write down those things we want to improve. Here at Gorilla Sacks we pooled our resolutions and as it turns out, we all had some resolutions to improve our carbon footprint. We thought we'd pick out some of our favorites and share them with all of our Gorilla Sacks friends. 

Our first resolution at Gorilla Sacks showed up on more than one list this year. BAG THE PLASTIC BAGS! Despite the respectable effort by everyone here at the office to ditch plastic bags for good, we were all guilty of using a ziploc bag now and again. We recently launched our new line of eco-friendly food storage products, so we no longer have any excuse for plastic bagged lunches! Our first resolution is to eliminate all plastic from our lunches, including grocery bags, ziploc bags, plastic wrap, and plastic utensils. Now that we all have our eco-friendly lunch kits, this resolution is sure to last all year long!

We invite you to do the same. Get your eco-friendly lunch kit at http://www.gorillasacks.com/lunch-kit-grab-bag/

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!!