Nail the next potluck with these popular reusable bags.
In our Featured Shop series, we shine a light on a standout shop from Etsy’s talented seller community, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at their process and story.
From backyard potlucks to park picnics, the season of outdoor wining and dining with loved ones is here! But the only thing worse than showing up to the party empty-handed? Arriving with your tasty contribution in shambles due to sub-par packing (think: leaking sauces or a squashed casserole). Here’s where reusable culinary tote line Aplat comes in. With clever bags made for safely transporting pans and plates, bouquets and baguettes—and bowl covers and pouches for stashing leftovers—San-Francisco-based designer Shujan Bertrand aims to celebrate and elevate the art of gathering. “I hope that our products continue to remind people to share a good bottle of wine and a good meal," she says. Cheers to that!
We chatted with Shujan about her earth-conscious approach to design and her tips for bringing loved ones together through food. Read on to see what makes the Aplat collection so special—and snag a bag (or two) for yourself.
Let’s get right to it! What inspired you to start a business centered around sharing and storing food?
One of the most important aspects of why I started Aplat was my experience living in Europe for a few years in the early 2000s. My husband is French, and he’s the grandson of a baker, so the rituals of bread are very important in the family. He and his family also make their own wine and pick their own fruits and vegetables from the garden. All the products, the brand, the name? It’s all in honor and celebration of our time in France: the slow living, slow making, slow eating.
SHOP: Dish totes from Aplat, from $40
SHOP: Sandwich and snack bag from Aplat, $17
SHOP: Two-bottle wine tote from Aplat, $60
SHOP: Reusable bread bag from Aplat, from $32
How do you use Aplat totes in your own life?
My personal love, having grown up biking on the beach in California, is to pack the dish tote (one of our bestsellers!) with a blanket and food and throw it on my handlebars. You can bike with the dish tote because it's shallow; it's not long, so it doesn't hit your knees when you pedal. It's the best biking tote or picnic tote, but I use it for everything—for groceries and farmer’s market shopping, too. It fits so much because the more you put in it, the wider it gets. People have even sent me photos of them using it for toy storage, as well as knitting and quilting projects.
In what ways do your designs bring people together?
When you bring a dish in a tote to a meal with someone, and then you leave the tote behind, it inspires that person to cook something and bring the tote back to you. So the tote is actually traveling from house to house and family to family, with something delightful and delicious to share. A lot of my returning customers say, “I bought one, but I ended up giving it to my aunt or my mom or my friends because they really loved it.” I think that's lovely. It's just about sharing good food.
SHOP: Dish tote from Aplat, from $40
SHOP: Assorted utensil pouches from Aplat, from $16
Photo by: Prisoner Wine
SHOP: Rectangular pan cover from Aplat, $32
SHOP: Small bowl cover from Aplat, $28
Before starting Aplat, you worked as an industrial designer, which means you’re well-versed in pattern making and prototyping. What’s your approach to designing in a more sustainable way?
The design practice I commit to is zero-waste on a pattern level. I design using mathematics, origami design principles, and pure geometry. When we spread the pattern out on a repeat over yards, I just have perfect rectangles and squares, so there isn't any waste except at the very, very edges. And I save every edge binding for shipping, packing, and Christmas ribbon.
Where do your ideas come from? How did your bowl covers, for example, come to be?
I really wanted to create bowl covers right off the bat, but my initial design had these wasted triangles and squares of fabric. And I didn't want to use elastic because it's petroleum-based, and it breaks in the wash and dry cycle because heat melts rubber. Since it doesn’t have a long product life, I held off. I really consider generational use and durability and quality. Then, one day, when I was cinching my son's sweatpants—he was six-years-old at the time—I thought, “This is it! I'm going to use a drawstring.” Using a 100% cotton cord and this drawstring method, I created the bowl covers.
SHOP: Medium round bowl cover from Aplat, $30
SHOP: One-bottle wine tote from Aplat, $62
SHOP: Denim bouquet tote from Aplat, $54
SHOP: Dish totes from Aplat, from $40
For what occasions do your customers purchase your bags?
One of my favorites is wedding gifting. We’ve had customers give wine totes for the bridesmaids and the groomsmen. One couple, from a family that loves food and cooking, gave denim bouquet totes filled with fresh-cut herbs to each wedding guest. And, of course, a popular time is the holidays—lots of pie baking! I really want to celebrate that moment of gifting something, whether it’s food, wine, bread, or something from the garden. For sharing and celebrating occasions, I hope that Aplat is the product that honors those special moments.
Follow Aplat on Instagram and Facebook.
Photos courtesy of Aplat, unless otherwise noted.
