Sea Bags opens Punta Gorda, Florida, store

By Kristin Ely

The bag maker incorporated elements of its home state of Maine into the decor.

Sea Bags, a Maine based company that makes bags from reclaimed sails, has opened a retail store in Punta Gorda, Florida. This is the company’s 39^th retail store and 4^th location in Florida. The store is located in the popular Fishermen’s Village section of the city at 1200 W. Retta Esplanade, Suite N-25.

"We are very pleased to add Fishermen’s Village in Punta Gorda, Florida, with its charming waterfront location and great mix of retail shops and restaurants, to our roster of Sea Bags stores,” says Sea Bags CEO Don Oakes. “The waterside shopping venue, with sail and power boats docked at the building’s edge, provide a wonderful backdrop for our third gulf coast store and fourth overall in Florida.”

Oakes says Sea Bags brought a bit of Maine with it in setting up this store, including lobster buoys and traps from some of the company’s Maine neighbors as well as reclaimed barn board used to make a boat dock.

“We’re excited to be a part of Fishermen’s Village and look forward to welcoming locals and visitors alike to our newest store—both to touch and feel our products firsthand and to learn about our sail trade program,” says Oakes.

Incorporated in 2006, Sea Bags started by making fun, functional and stylish totes from reclaimed sail cloth in the historic Old Port district of Portland, Maine. Today, the company employs nearly 175 people — all dedicated to the mission of saving sails from landfills while creating a diverse line of totes, bags and home goods that feature material from recycled sail cloth.

Sea Bags flagship retail store is located on Commercial Street in Portland Maine, and the manufacturing headquarters and factory store are located around the corner at 25 Custom Wharf House on Portland, Maine’s working waterfront. Company-owned retail stores are located in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan and California.