I first got my Fjällräven Kånken bag in 2018. I needed a bag, and I liked the style of those particular bags. I went with a nice neutral brown, with the purpose of having it always matching my outfit and my style. I also intended from the beginning to deck it out with patches, pins, and keychains as I came across them.
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| The Full bag, in all it's glory - including all pins and patches up to this point! (Sadly, the yellow tassel on the right came apart shortly after this photo, and had to be discarded). |
But, I purposefully avoided seeking out pins and patches intentionally just to collect. I only wanted to include pieces that meant something to me personally. And so, over the past 8 years, I have slowly and thoughtfully added the pieces that are on there now. Sorta like a mobile scrapbook journal but with pins & patches. As a result, I have a bag that means a lot to me, has seen me through many seasons of life, and isn't chock-full of meaningless over-consumed trinkets.
As an aside, this item turned out to be an incredible purchase as the bag has held up amazingly well, and I think it's one of my now-favorite Buy It For Life items!
Anyways, I thought I would set aside a post and give you a little tour of what is on my bag, and what each thing means!
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✧ I ❤︎ Boro Pin
This button came from a coffee shop called Boro Coffee Co. that me and my husband and oldest son visited when we went to Pennsylvania to visit my father who lives up there. The coffee itself wasn't the best, but it was a sweet trip that we took with my dad and we enjoyed the outing, and this button is a great item to remember the trip by.
✧ MABOI Missouri Pin
This is a very special keepsake pin coming from my dad. I always get a little forgetful when I think about what the pin is EXACTLY about, so here are my dad's words: "MABOI is a Missouri organization of about 400 members, mostly in the St. louis/St. Charles area. Building officials, building inspectors, fire marshals and fire inspectors, plan reviewers are all members. I was a member for 30+ years and also served on the board of directors. I was President 2000-2001." -My Dad
✧ Sump Coffee Pin
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| The skull is modeled after Scott, the owner and founder of Sump Coffee. Below is a coffee branch and a portafilter. |
This pin showcases one of my favorite coffee shops in Saint Louis: Sump Coffee. This shop is a favorite because I've been there the most times after Course Coffee. They have really quality drinks and also the shop aesthetic is so cool! If you're ever in the Saint Louis area, you gotta stop by this one. I will say, they switched to dark roast not too long ago and so I don't like the taste of their coffee as much as I did in the past, but they will still deliver a quality cup that's worth stopping by.
✧ Boy Scouts Patch
This is one of the only patches in that the design itself has nothing to do with me personally. This patch is special because I found it in an antique shop in Hannibal, MO on a little weekend trip in October of 2018 and thought the aesthetic matched the bag perfectly. I also just really liked the patch itself and it was a great take-home souvenir for the trip!
✧ The Mud House Button
When my husband Cody and I first got married, we did our honeymoon around Saint Louis, trying many different coffee shops in our area of Saint Louis and Saint Charles (there are a lot!). We called it a "CoffeeMoon". One of the places we stopped at was The Mud House in Saint Louis. I love that I got this button to not only remember the place, but I like having a button to remember the CoffeeMoon by.
✧ American Flag Patch
I don't remember exactly where I got this patch. I believe I got it at an antique shop. I have no idea why the flag is backwards, I can only guess it was sewn wrong during production. The symbolism in this one is obvious, in that it reflects my American heritage!
✧ NASA Apollo 11 Patch
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| I had a cool NASA pin on the day we went to this attraction as well, but unfortunately it broke awhile back and I had to remove it from the bag. |
This is a really cool patch that I got at the Saint Louis Science Center in August of 2018. They were doing a special exhibition about the Moon Landing and Apollo 11. It was a really cool event and they even had the full Apollo 11 Command Module on display! I have always been fascinated by space facts and space exploration, so this patch not only commemorates the cool trip to the Science Center, but also my love of space in general!
✧ Vertical Harvest Bible Chapel Gold & Silver Pins
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From age 8-ish to age 18-ish, I attended Harvest Bible Chapel, Saint Louis West location, which was part of a larger chain of church plants in the US, originally stemming from Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago, led by James McDonald (former pastor), none of which is any longer actively existing. At our church location, they gave one pin to those who had been there 5 years, and 10 years. I don't remember which finish (gold or silver) was given to which tenure. But, somehow I still have both pins even though it's been 10 years since I even went to that church. I must say it wasn't my favorite church experience, but I went there during the formative years of my teenage years and thus the church and especially the bible study experiences I had there had a great impact on my walk with GOD and on me as a person. So, I look back with general fondness on the whole period.
✧ Home Depot Associate of the Month Pin
Definitely the most damaged item on the bag, this is one of two Home Depot related items on my pin. I received Associate of the Month recognition a handful of times throughout my employment since 2019. I have always loved working there and enjoyed being with the people I get to meet while working, both customers and fellow associates. This pin commemorates my time at the stores, and working from home for awhile too!
✧ Home Depot Platinum Patch
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| This one the threads are coming off a little bit, I need to go over it to secure it onto the bag! |
This is the second of the Home Depot items on the bag. When you do something as an associate worth recognition, leadership will, at times, award a "Homer Award". It comes with a patch and a little paper with what you're being recognized for. Every 3 homers received equals a small bonus on the next paycheck as well! And every 12 homers is a milestone called the Platinum - with the Platinum you not only receive a small cash bonus, but you get to pick a prize from a collection of goods (So far, my three Platinums I chose - a knife set, an air fryer, and a food processor. They have items to pick other than kitchen items, but I always go for those! Yes, I still use all three!). The next time I reach 12 total homers, I will receive a Diamond, which is the highest award you can receive. Apparently you get an even nicer prize choice, and you get a pin with a real diamond in it. That will be a great future pin to add!
✧ MAMA & Stay The Course Keychains
These are the two keychains I currently have on my bag. The first one, Mama, is from a care box that was sent to me by a friend when I was pregnant with my first son, Malachi. I love having it on the bag, because being a mama is obviously a huge part of my life and who I am now. The second one is from Course Coffee Roasters, which I have praised on the blog many a time before. It is one of several pieces from Course on the bag, to commemorate my love for that place!
✧ Garnet Birthstone Angel Pin
I love that I have a birthday in January. I feel like a lot of people are born in May, June, July, you know, summer months. I don’t meet that many people who have birthdays in January, and it just makes me feel special because I LOVE Wintertime. Obviously, a January birthday is part of who I am, so I have this angel pin that has garnet, which is the January birthstone. I have no idea where I got this pin, but I think it's really cute and precious! It's the only "blingy" item currently on the bag.
✧ Blueprint Pin
This pin is another from a local coffee shop. This one is from Blueprint Coffee. I personally don't go there anymore, but I still like the pin and like supporting local coffee, so on the bag it remains. I do love the brake shop location, though, it has similar vibes to Upshot Coffee Brake Shop in St. Charles.
✧ Flower Pin
This one is one of my favorites on the bag, and it is the largest! It has three pin backs to it, it's so big. This one I got at one of my favorite nurseries here in Saint Louis. Rolling Ridge Nursery in the beautiful Webster Groves area. I have purchased several plants there, and one day I found this pin there on sale, and knew I had to get it! This pin signifies not only my fondness for a specific plant shop, but also my love for house plants in general (should I do a house plant tour next??).
✧ Teleo Coffee Pin
This is yet another local coffee shop pin. This one is for Teleo Coffee in Kirkwood, which we have been to several times. They have a really admirable set of values as a company, their mantra is "love your neighbor", and they are very community and locally focused. I also love that the pin kind of also represents the Kirkwood area, in that my dad used to live and work there before he moved to Pennsylvania in 2022. So in that way, Kirkwood is very dear to me!
✧ Course Coffee Patch
This is another of the three items on my bag dedicated to Course Coffee Roasters. They no longer sell this patch, and so I'm glad I picked it up when I did! What I would really love, however, is if they would make a patch of their compass logo, as that's my favorite design associated with their branding. But for now, this patch will do!
✧ St. Charles Patch
This is one of my favorite patches on the bag. This patch very obviously symbolizes my home and heart as a Saint Charles, MO resident. Me and my husband met in Saint Charles, fell in love, married, lived, and raised babies in Saint Charles, and it is truly a home to us! I am very happy to live where I do, and also happy that it is so close to the county I grew up in of Saint Louis. I got this patch at Joy's Collective Market, an antique and vendor market on our beautiful Main Street.
✧ Course Coffee Button
Ok, this is the last of the Course Coffee items on the bag! Lastly, is a button. Again, I would love this design as a patch or a pin, because I prefer patches and pins to buttons... but still, I'm happy to have this button and wear it proudly on the bag!
✧ Bird Patch
This pretty patch represents two things for me. First, my love of nature and wildlife/birds. I grew up birdwatching thanks to my mother who put out birdhouses and bird-feeders for us kids to look at and help maintain. As a result, I have a pretty good knowledge of the different bird species and an appreciation for birds in general! The other thing this bird represents is my employment at my very first job, at Michaels, for that is where I got this patch. Having got the job when I was only 17, I did a lot of growing up at that job, and had fun and benefited from the learning experiences. An additional thing I love about this bird patch besides it being so pretty, is I'm really happy with the placement! The tail fits perfectly in that little space between the pocket and the zipper, and the feet look like they are perched perfectly on the bag's front pocket, which I think gives a lot of character to the bag's trinket layout.
Well friends, that wraps up a tour of my bag decorations!
I haven't added anything new to the bag in a couple of years now. Again, I try not to go out of my way to find things just to collect and consume. I wait until the natural process brings me a new thing here and there that proves itself worthy of being on my bag (how many times have I written "bag" in this post?? LOL!!).
ALSO, I wanted to give a shout out to THESE PIN BACKS that I got on Amazon. I had so many issues with the regular pin backs that each of my pins came with. They were constantly breaking and falling off. But since I got the better pin backs, I have not had a single problem breaking or failing me in any way. So... if you are wanting to collect pins on something, I highly recommend those pin backs in the link!
Anyways....... Let me know if any of the patches, pins, or buttons stands out to you in any way. I am very curious what you think and if you enjoyed the bag tour!
That's all for now -
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