Things move on a pace. I have a theory about customers on the web and it involves group psychology. How for instance do you explain why having not sold a bag for months you sell two identical ones in a row. How for instance does the whole nation stop buying, all at the same time as they did last week, only to come back with a vengence this week?
I don't know, but I do reckon there is a PHD in it somewhere.

We have added and continue to add lots of new ranges to Blokesbags and over the next few weeks there will be in excess of 200 bags on there, all in time for Christmas. The most expensive so far is a beautiful piece from Steven Harkin (pictured above) which can be found here - scroll down to the end because it costs £495! It was apparently created for James Corden (he of Gavin and Stacey).

But there are many cheaper items including a leather pouch bag for just £12.99 and we will soon be adding a range of wallets.

We have also sourced some really natty shopping bags that fold up and fit in your wallet, that we will have branded with the Blokesbags logo and will give away with every purchase.

To say the house is full is an understatement, we have bags everywhere. A four bedroom house with two people and two dogs and no space.

Still onwards and upwards (hopefully).

Incidentally and apropos of nothing, we are still only eleven months in and I have just discovered that Blokesbags is in the top 4.2% of all websites in the world - or as I guess you should express it, on the worldwide web. In UK terms it ranks as number 69,251. Tidy.

I will get round to the ultimate guide to men's bags and a guide to choosing the right man bag for you, just give me time...

Bags for men - a changing market

It has been a while since I have had chance to write anything on this blog and that is because (thankfully) Blokesbags has taken off.

Hits are rising and sales are too which shows that men's bags are now part of every day life and attitudes have at last changed.

I keep reading elsewhere that men will never carry handbags. Not true! My best sellers over the last few months have been handbags - call them what you will, man bags, men's bags or whatever, but what they are in reality are men's handbags.

They have outsold messenger bags by quite a large percentage although I expect that to change as Summer gives way to Autumn.

We have some interesting decisions to make as we approach Christmas (which in retail terms starts around mid September) because we are running out of space at home. Our house might have four bedrooms, but there is no longer enough space for two adults and two dogs - not in between mountains of men's bags!

So we must decide whether to move out and find ourselves commercial premises. Big decision though because as with any new business, you need to keep costs to a minimum.

I will keep you posted.

Over the next few weeks I also intend providing my difinitive guide to messenger bags, shoulder bags for men, handbags, holdalls, briefcases, back packs and laptop bags, looking at which are on the up and which have had their day.

Watch this space!

Wow - where does all the time go? Ok a short spell in hospital having ridden my bicycle into a tree and a while longer in recovery, but what about the rest of the time?

Here we are approaching the longest day already and the year just feels as if it is running away with me. It doesn't seem to matter how many hours I work, there are never enough hours in the day or days in the week.

Http://www.blokesbags.co.uk is going well and preparations for Picnics in Peculiar Places on behalf of http://sendacow.org.uk seem to be coming together well but there are another two projects that I have not even touched.

The worst thing is, I cannot see just when I will fit it in, tomorrow is the village fete and I have to be there for the Batheaston Twinning Association and Sunday is our Godson's confirmation in Lichfield. That takes care of the weekend then!

Meanwhile I have around 20 bags that I have yet to put on line and let's face it, I am not going to sell them if people don't know they are there.

They are good bags too - everything from more Ashwood messenger bags, to Rowallan bum bags and some fantastic Pell Mell mock croc messenger bags, that are wicked.

Enough already, the more time I spend writing this blog, the less time I spend putting bags on line....

It has taken a while, but at last I have found a new range of wrist bags and travel wallets, given that the likes of Global Traveller seem to have missed the season. Their stock doesn't come back in until mid June, the holiday season started just before Easter. Go figure.

The good news is though, the new bags are from Visconti and are terrific value, the wrist bag above is just £34.99 and comes in brown or black.

The new travel wallet, perfect for the airport also comes in black or brown and is priced competitively at just £21.99 - you wont do better than that.

Over the next few days I will also be adding more bags from Ashwood leather, a range of shoulder and messenger bags in a couple of ranges - the new antiqued leather styles in tan or black and the more traditional Pedro messenger in brown or cognac and the Sligo, an upright messenger bag in brown.

At the top of the range I will also be adding messenger bags from Hansson which are beautifully made as only Hansson can, but weigh in at a premium price - £172.50.

Watch this space.

The Visconti Atlantic Mini shoulder bag. Its cheap, it is not the best example of a man bag, but it sells in huge numbers. It also, despite our best efforts, returns to us in larger numbers than any other bags. And the biggest reasons for return? It is too small. Or the strap is on the thin side.

Expectations are high for a leather bag costing just £10.99. The measuresments are clearly shown as 18 x 22 x 1cms and the strap is clearly shown in the above photograph. It is also true to say that as small as it is, it will still take your passport and it will be carry your tickets and other odds and sods you need to hand at the airport.

I have thought seriously about taking this one off sale, because of the hassle it causes, but I like the idea of having an entry level of just £10.99, particularly given that it is a leather bag, albeit not one of the best available at: http://www.blokesbags.co.uk

The best laid plans..

Http://www.blokesbags.co.uk is going from strength to strength, but each time I think I am nearing the end of my work, in as much as the site is up and running and just needs minimal maintenance, something else comes along.

Today I was due to photograph new stock and get it into the store - simples, as the meerkat, Aleksandr Orlov is wont to say - but just taking orders and tweaking the existing store content has eaten away the day.

More new stock is due in over the next few days including Thierry Mugler, Troop of London and Ashwood leather (see Pedro distressed leather messenger bag above). Great but more photos, more cutouts in Adobe photoshop and more descriptions in store.

Tomorrow is dedicated to www.sendacow.org.uk and organising Picnic parties and Picnics in peculiar places, which is great fun and will give me a much needed break from man bags, but it will be back to it with a vengeance on Wednesday.

One day it will be just a couple of days a week and that day is just around the corner (He told himself yet again....)

Difficult to keep up at the moment. Despite my best efforts on DIY site engine optimisation Google keep sending http://www.blokesbags.co.uk backwards and there are any number of people queuing up to tell me why - at the right price of course. The question is who to believe.

One company provided me with a list of sites to look at yesterday and all were below me in the Alexa rankings (Blokesbags is currently around 2.4m). I know I should be patient, but when you are working with something every day it is frustrating. Very frustrating.

In between time we continue to seek out new stock and have just found some very nice top of the line messenger bags from Danish company Hansson. They should be on line within the next couple of days.

At the other end of the price table we are also awaiting new stock from Troop of London, so watch this space.

I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure we must now have the largest range of men's bags on the web and if it continues like this, then I will become an expert in men's bags. Well who would have thought it?