We didn't set out to start a bag company - in May 2013 we just wanted to graduate.

After five years of architecture school, Megan and I had nearly completed a rigorous design curriculum - one that included professional residency internships in Austin and New York City. And, fortunately for us, we each found jobs upon graduation.

Our minds were everywhere but our last design studio. But that all changed when we started chasing an idea:    a reusable bag that isn't an eyesore.

By our final pin-up we were close. We had a prototype made of a material thin enough to be cut by a razor, yet strong enough to resist any further tearing.

Our classmates were dubious. "Let's see if it holds Karl,"  my friend Wes said flatly, and without hesitation all 25 pounds of Karl the Dog was lofted into a perfect teardrop bundle. The material didn't give.

With heads nodding in approval it was a relief to see our professors pleased.

We were closer than ever to finishing the semester and moving on to our new careers.

But also, we wanted to keep going.

So, over the next year we never stopped working. By September, after testing dozens more prototypes, we finalized our design .

By November, DO.GROUP, LLC was established.

And by January, we were patent-pending and doing our best to learn from as many suppliers, manufacturers, marketers, and anyone else who would talk to us.

Today, after having successfully secured a patent, outsourced our production, and worked the craft-fair scene, we have realized we will never be done learning by doing.

And that's a good thing! With each challenge we've come a step closer toward our goal of empowering young designers with the knowledge to bring their products to market.

We hope you'll join us on this adventure as we continue to put one foot in front of the other in order to give design to the world.

Design needs doing!

Christopher Ferguson and Megan Marvin
Co-Founders, DO.GROUP DESIGN

Wes and Karl the Dog, May 2013Austin, TX 

Wes and Karl the Dog, May 2013
Austin, TX