Objects of Substance – The Calico Sling Bag

Go it Grammar! Blue! Blue! Blue!

This is our war cry, with which we strive

To make th’ old Grammar the best school alive…

It is this phase of Go it, Grammar! Blue! Blue! Blue! which survived the creation of the full war cry in 1923 and became Come on Grammar! Blue! Blue! Blue! across the years. Interestingly, in the 2013 design of the calico bag, nearly 100 years later, this phrase was emphasised in a larger font. It was Grace’s war cry comment which impacted Salliann most strongly and she then decided to suggest to the OGA committee that the war cry would be the perfect choice for printing on the calico bag she was planning. With approval from the committee, a design was created after a lengthy discussion. The result was a cream, single-strap calico sling bag with the war cry screen-printed onto the front in royal blue. It measured 41.5 cm x 41.5 cm with a 98 cm strap. Not to waste a good idea, the OGA also printed a war cry tea towel and elegant letterpress, both framed and unframed. The company, Ecoshopper, produced a run of 300 bags in 2014. As the popularity and convenience of the calico bag grew, shortcomings of the structure of this version presented themselves. Parents complained of the fragility of the bag and the narrowness of the strap, and the Principal was concerned about the light colour showing every mark. The calico bag became a victim of its own popularity as girls used it daily and crammed more and more items into it. It soon showed wear and tear. So, in 2016, the P&F Uniform Shop suggested design changes that included two straps and a thicker fabric. The dimensions were: height, 40 cm; width, 38 cm; and straps, 65c m with a subtly different shape to better accommodate a computer. The manufacturer of this version was Weareco. The bag was still cream with royal blue printing and the shop continued to sell it on behalf of the OGA.