My partner and I launched Passchal in 2004, which is based in Richmond, VA. Up until that time I was a welder and had not paid any attention to bags other the one that carried my laptop. To date, the majority of our sales have been from our website. We had to perfect the use of the inner tubes, which not only included design and incorporating other materials, but also finding an environmentally friendly cleaning solution that would eliminate the rotten egg smell from the inner tubes. We are finally looking for outside manufacturing as we have been handcrafting everything ourselves for the last 39 months.

The primary material used is discarded tractor inner tubes along with leather (all leather is meat industry by-product) and faux leather for lining. Each bag also has an interior light system. Our target audience are women & men of all ages that are looking for a unique item that is also functional and well crafted. The continued inspiration is watching an idea transform into a business that I still love getting up for at 5AM every morning.

One day my partner tells me she wants to make handbags out tractor inner tubes. By the way the only bag she carries is a backpack, so neither of us had any prior design experience or real fashion sense for that matter. The recycling aspect was the initial interest for me and the idea of turning tractor inner tubes into a visually appealing bag offered a challenge.  The inner tubes have various patterns which are different even on the same inner tube. Therefore, each bag although similar in design is as different as a finger print.

We had an opportunity to participate in the 2004 Bill Board Music Awards gift bag with our handle bag. A week before we planned to ship, they asked if we had anything for men also. I said yes and then got off the phone and ask my partner what's a man bag look like? At about 3AM four days before shipping, we put a flap on the handle bag which turned it into a Man Bag which I guess isn't really a nightmare afterall. One of our greatest achievements is getting emails and calls from customers saying how much they love the bags. That was unexpected and totally makes this journey worth all of sleepless nights. Also seeing our bags on the Today Show in 2005 next to known designer products was huge for us.