Recycle, upcycle, revive your old adventure equipment with the VitaminseaStore
Our bags & accessories are designed and sewed in our bright and much loved VitaminSeaStore atelier… we weren’t always this fortunate to have a beautiful space to work in, but we had to start somewhere. After humble beginnings on the dining room table of founder, Ingrid, it wasn’t long before the table became too small for all the cutting and sewing. Next stop was to repurpose a bedroom into a sewing room, and not too long after that – realized that renting a small dusty garage in the St Francis Bay industrial area of Sea Vista was the only way to grow and have enough space to work with bigger projects. It was incredibly dusty there and it wasn’t a very safe area. We couldn’t work after dark or for longer hours if we needed to. It was in May 2021 that we made a big leap to our newly renovated, happy, neat, clean, secure and airy space…and we haven’t looked back since!
Our Materials
We are super proud to say that all our backpacks, bags and accessories are all born and raised as hardworking sails, parachutes, kites & tents and then transformed into something new and functional at the end of their former working life. We believe that all the adventures, sun, sea, smiles, memories, and adventures that they’ve already been through – remain in the DNA of these happy little items that we revive them into.
When it comes to parts of our products where we must add new raw materials, we take the utmost of care to ensure we use the highest quality “technical nutrients”. This gives us peace of mind knowing that when our products eventually (say over 10 or 20 years) become too worn to repair, the quality of the inorganic or synthetic materials that we have used will be of high enough quality and strength to be able to use over and over again in a continuous cycle.
Each VitaminSeaStore product is meticulously designed, sewn, and finished by our skilled and dedicated craftspeople: Our Head of Production, Christel Miles, is our very first employee and a 3rd generation seamstress. She is a world-class sewer and keeps her “next level” of quality going with all our stitching. The thought, care and skill that goes into each product is evident.
We carefully select and cut our textiles/ materials whilst considering how to get the most of unique details, beautiful panels, or useful little zips, pouches, and functional things such as Velcro – which can still be re used for many moons to come. Ropes, webbing, tell tales, hooks, rings, and dowels are all very exciting for us and we love finding new ways to showcase and use these rugged little treasures in a whole new functional form.
All our proudcts at the VitaminSeaStore are gently cleaned in sustainable wash cycle before they are sent off for their quality check, labelling and tagging.
How to go about recycling your sail / parachute / tent
Contact our acquisition team
At the VitaminSeaStore Atelier the acquisition team is a critical part of keeping our supply chain looking healthy. Jenny van der Merwe is one of our first employees and an expert in logistics and communicating. Jenny is also a master of keeping all operations at the Atelier running smoothly. There is no sail, tent, parachute, or tent too big, too small or too far away for the VitaminSeaStore to repurpose – we will collect them from almost anywhere! Once assessed by an associate team member you’ll receive a VitaminSeaStore product in return for your trade based on size
Email us: sunshine@vitaminseastore.com
Whatsapp us: 071 554 3435
Pop into out VitaminSeaStore Atelier Head Quarters
Should you be fortunate enough to be near our beautiful little village of St Francis Bay then please pop in and chat to one of our friendly staff. We will assess the condition of your sail, parachute, tent, or kite and see which kind of product it can begin its new journey as. Once assessed by an associate team member they will arrange your VitaminSeaStore trade based on its size.
VitaminSea Atelier
The Village Shopping Centre
1 Lyme Road South, St Francis Bay, 6312
Take Me Back
We complete our circular model by taking our products back at the end of their life span. Once our products have been thoroughly worn and are beyond repair, we encourage our customers to return them to us. We assess the item and suggest something new we could make out of it or recycle all the parts that can be saved back into our system to be revived again and in return they are given a trade-in value for a new product.
