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November 04, 2006

When it started out in the late 1990s, Built NY faced one tough competitor: the brown paper bag.

Nowadays, the New York-based company, which makes splashy neoprene wine and lunch tote bags, is selling its wares across the U.S. and in 20 nations around the globe.

That success stems from a simple, straightforward mission to make "smarter- and better-looking stuff" by focusing on and investing heavily in product design.

"Design informs everything we do," says John Roscoe Swartz, the company's co-founder. "It's the thing that sets us apart from any other company in our category."

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And where brown paper bags are normally balled up and thrown away, Built NY's tote bags are far more likely to steadily increase in value with time. Swartz said he hopes to one day join the ranks of consumer artifacts, collectors' items, and kitsch found in places like the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum or the Museum of Modern Art.

"Because expectations change over time, it's impossible to say if our products will still be in use 50 years from now," he says. "But it would be great to be included in the hall of fame of great designs from the past."

What's certain is that investing in design is bringing both immediate and lasting returns for small businesses and major corporations alike -- from Built NY to Apple.