DIY CAMERA BAG

Camera bags are, as if by some age old degree, generally not very chic. Bulky, boxy and always with added velcro and other bells and whistles that clash with your outfit and don’t fit your other possessions. In an effort to find a solution to the fact that I don’t want my precious camera to get scratched or broken when dropped BUT also don’t want to surrender all sense of style either – we decided to craft this removable camera bag insert. The best thing? You can use it with any bag you like – the new Coach Swagger worked perfectly! Read on to see how, and stay tuned tomorrow for how I wear it as part of my travel uniform.

You need:

• A bag with a sturdy square base
• Thick Neoprene (get in touch with our sourcing team here for custom orders)
• Ruler
• Chalk pencil
• Scissors
• E6000 Glue

How to:

1. Measure the height, width and length of your bag. An easy way to measure the width and length is to measure the base of the bag. When measuring the height of the bag, make sure you are measuring the from inside the bag and that it will fit under your bags zip if it has one.

2. On your neoprene, first draw out the base length and width measure measurement into a box. Next add the wings off the four sides according to the height of your bag. Lastly add a 3cm tab next to the left side of your wings. Cut out your box template.

3. Cut a slit on the bottom of your tab like this.

4. Apply glue to the bag of your tab

5. Stick it the neighbouring wing on the inner side and add a bulldog clip to the top and allow to dry.

6. To create the dividers, place your camera, lenses or additional camera equipment inside. Work out how many compartments you need and measure the length within the camera bag. Cut out double the length of neoprene you need, fold your neoprene in half and apply glue in the middle.

7. Apply glue to the bottom and two sides and then stick the dividers into place. You can place books on either side to keep the dividers in place whist it dries.

Pop the insert in your bag and away you go!

Photos by Nicola Lemmon