Freitag Gives Their Recycled Messengers New U.S. Digs
Although it was back in 1993 that graphic designers Daniel and Markus Freitag came up with their idea for messenger bags made from recycled truck tarpaulins, it wasn’t until 2000 that the brothers actually opened a Freitag store—in Davos, Switzerland. Six others in Europe followed. Finally, in 2011, there’s a U.S. location.
Christian Wassmann‘s namesake firm was responsible for the New York space, an 800-square-foot corner that’s as zippy and eco-minded as the merchandise. As at every Freitag store, the main intervention is a storage wall, a Design Prize Switzerland Award-winning system specially designed for the brand. Fluorescent tubes form two slim lines angling across the black-painted ceiling. Below, a metal table found at the Brooklyn Navy Yard displays bags. Guest seating comes in the form of benches upholstered in, yes, used truck tarps.
