Hasta La Motion!

Here I show two Billingham Camera Bags: 1) A bag that’s about 10 or fifteen years old and 2) a very rare bag that was made for the original Banana Republic when it was run by the founders Mel and Patricia Ziegler. It dates from about 1985 and features sewn in padded dividers and snap closures instead of velcro. In fact Billingham made bags in the mid-80s for various retailers. These bags have quite a following and there’s an active flickr group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1459808@N20/

M Billingham & Co was formed in 1973 by its present owners and is still a family business. We employ skilled people, some of whom have been with us for many years. Our first factory was opened in 1977 in Old Hill, just a short distance from our present premises in Brierley Hill.

You will have gathered that the area is rather hilly, it is also the centre of many varied skills. A visit to our local Black Country Museum is a must if you visit the area. Everything from bricks and horseshoes, to sections of Concorde have been manufactured in the locality. The area has been the Company home for over a quarter of a century

Conceived, designed and made in the United Kingdom, Billingham bags reflect an English preoccupation with excellence and attention to detail.

The company’s transition from a manufacturer of fishing bags to one of camera bags came about in 1978 when Martin Billingham, a keen photographer himself, discovered that the fishing bags he made were being used by New York photographers. So popular were the first models that, within a year, almost all production had switched to camera bags. more: http://www.billingham.co.uk/pages/about.php

Other camera bag option: Domke F-2 (many are made in the USA)