Cotton, corduroy, canvas, oh my! Half of getting a project right is picking a material that actually fits. The Material Matters Series, runs down what these materials actually are, and when and how to best use them.
The first material in this series that isn’t really a material at all
First up, Rope Rope, which is the one entry in this whole series that dodges the premise a little, it’s not really a fabric or a surface, it’s more of an attitude that happens to be sold by the foot.
The Build
Before we get into the feel of it, the basics. Rope Rope is made of Paracord, a lightweight, incredibly strong rope made from woven nylon. The same category of cord you’d expect to find holding together actual outdoor gear, not the drawstring on a hoodie pretending to be rugged.
We have from 4mm to 10mm thick rope, depending on what you’re adding the rope to. That thickness matters, it’s substantial enough to register as real hardware the second someone picks it up, which is a big part of why the whole thing reads as intentional.
The Vibe
Rope Rope showed up at PPAI this year, and by the second day everyone working the booth had strapped some version of it to themselves. That’s the whole vibe of the material in one sentence, honestly. It’s got weight to it, it’s got a texture you can feel in your hand before you even register what’s attached to it, and it reads as something a person picked out for themselves rather than something a vendor handed them at a conference. Whatever’s on the other end, a wristlet, a tote, a Cord Sling bag, the rope does the talking before the logo even gets a turn.
The Case For It
“This reminds me of that one store, with those bags where you pick your rope and bag separately…”
Rope takes a shape everyone’s seen a thousand times, a tote, a phone sling, a little cross-body bag, and gives it the kind of detail that makes people stop treating it like a giveaway and start treating it like an accessory. It’s the move for the client who keeps asking for something that “doesn’t feel like typical promo” without quite being able to say what that means.
The Deets
Rope shows up two ways, standard on the Rope Rope collection bags and things like key fobs, so it’s already baked into the price, or as an add-on on open totes and hats, stacked on top of whatever the base item already costs. Worth knowing which one you’re quoting before a client asks.
There’s also a lot of color to work through, rope, tips, sliders, split rings, and on bags the webbing and hardware too. All great things and uber customizable but can be a tiny bit overwhelming, so having a plan is helpful.
Where It Shows Up
→ Rope Rope Collection, which includes the Phone Wristlet, Crossbody Phone Sling, Cord Sling Bag, and Sacoche Bag, built around rope from the start and available in 4CP Poly, Ripstop, Corduroy, Denim, Colored Canvas, and Laminated Non-Woven rPET.
→ Open Totes, where rope handles are now an upgrade option across most of the open tote lineup in both full-size and small, so an existing favorite can get the rope treatment without becoming a whole new bag. You can also add rope as an embellishment onto hats!
Next up in Material Matters, we’re grabbing something a lot more familiar and figuring out why it’s stuck around this long.