Salvage Style

Boston-based history buff Alice Saunders has a thing for hole-in-the-wall antique shops, estate sales and flea markets. And her encyclopedic knowledge of wars and armies comes in handy when making friends with military collectors. All of which serves her well as the designer of Forestbound, a new line of bags made exclusively from reclaimed military laundry sacks, deadstock duffle bags and WWII-era tents. Even the hardware is salvaged. Then, it all comes together on an old German sewing machine from the 1960s. "I appreciate classic construction and utilitarian style," she says. "But mostly, I'm inspired by the materials—there's nothing that gets my creativity going like some waxed canvas from World War I or a leather blacksmith apron from the 1930s."

From $54, at Forestbound