ARTIFACT Celebrates 15 Years!

It’s hard to believe, but this month, ARTIFACT is celebrating its 15th birthday! As we reflect on how quickly the years have passed, I feel incredibly fortunate - this journey has been challenging, rewarding, and, above all, worth it.

So, how did ARTIFACT begin?

It all started with a need for a well-made product and a desire to do something meaningful.

During the Great Recession of 2009, I lost my job at a startup doing work I truly enjoyed. After months of fruitless job searching, I took a placeholder job in customer support at PayPal. At the time, the job market was tough, and my eclectic résumé didn’t exactly scream “Hire This Guy” in Omaha, NE. I needed a plan.

I started by drawing a Venn diagram with three overlapping circles labeled:

1. Things I love to do
2. Things I’m objectively good at
3. Things people are willing to pay for

This simple exercise helped me connect seemingly unrelated dots. I knew I wanted to create something tangible and purposeful - something inspired by my fascination with well-made objects from the past, which is how the name ARTIFACT came to be.

While I was still brainstorming ideas, I ran into a practical problem: lunchtime at PayPal. Their office had massive commercial refrigerators for hundreds of call center employees, and on my first day, I noticed that nearly everyone—including me—was using a white plastic Target bag to carry their lunch. With only 30 minutes for lunch, at least 10 were wasted trying to figure out which bag was mine. Fool me once…

That night, I searched online for a lunch carrier that fit my aesthetic. When I couldn’t find one, I made my own: a waxed canvas lunch tote with a leather strap. That was ARTIFACT'S first product, the No.215 Lunch Tote

Around the same time, a friend introduced me to Etsy, a marketplace for artisans. In February 2010, I launched an Etsy shop called Artifact Bag Co. and listed my handmade lunch tote along with a few other carry goods. Sales trickled in. Then came a turning point: Michael Williams of A Continuous Lean featured the No.210 Lunch Tote. His endorsement fueled a wave of press—The New York Times, Uncrate, Gizmodo, and others—which gave me the confidence to leave PayPal and focus on ARTIFACT full-time.

Fifteen years later, we’re still here - still making thoughtfully designed, utilitarian goods built on our founding ethos:

Quality. Utility. Timeless Design.

These words, written in 2010, have guided us every day since. Many brands have come and gone, but our commitment to craft remains unwavering.

To everyone who has supported ARTIFACT along the way - thank you. We’re excited to keep making purposeful products for another 15 years.