crackpacs

Edition 3 Feature (September 2021)
Words by: Matt Crack 
Location: Sheffield, UK 
Photo Credits: ©Matt Crack 

I am Matt Crack, founder and sole maker at crackpacs. I make colourful bags and backpacks from repurposed materials, mainly retro canvas tents. 

I grew up in the heart of England, UK, on the Malvern Hills, where outdoor adventure flows like the water. I was lucky enough to have a space, my own little maker’s shed, to store things that I had collected and to make, break, dismantle, mend and reimagine these old things into new. So, it was clear from the start that I was destined to make something for adventures. 

After completing my design degree, I started making adverts. For 10 years I worked in London as an art director in creative advertising, but I always had my own ideas and wanted the freedom to create on my own terms. I had a love-hate relationship with the city, and although my time there proved invaluable for the creation of crackpacs, I was always looking for the opportunity to escape. It took being made redundant (twice) for me to take the leap and start crackpacs four years ago. 

Plenty of time was spent plucking up the courage to go it alone; saying goodbye to the security of the monthly salary is one of the most difficult parts. There have been a couple of false starts along my journey: I love to make furniture, but it became apparent that I really didn’t have the space to do that in London. Instead, my search for something creative that I could do with what I had, and where I was, led me to the sewing machine.