About Us

Stash Co is owned and operated by me, Cheryl Schulke. Some folks call me Stash. I work out of a century-old mattress factory about an hour west of Houston. 

More than just a girl with sketches, I utilize vintage hand-tools, boot-making equipment, and good old-fashioned American ingenuity to craft each of my bags. In 2010, I constructed more than 250 bags with my own hands. 

I've been building bags for about 5 years. In 2011, I moved into the landmark factory space and resumed a 100 year tradition of mindful hand production in favor of mass automated production. 

Last year I enlisted the help of several additional builders to assist at various stages of the process but I do about 99.25% of the labor myself including design, source, build, and sell.

My bags are carried on customers as far as Malaysia and South Africa. Ninety-five percent of my customers are repeat, collectors. Many coming back for three bags or more. 

Managing to remain a fairly underground brand, we do the majority of our sales at Urban Market (thrice yearly) and Red in Fredericksburg. The rest of our bags sell via the good new-fashioned rumor mill, a combination of web, email, and social media outlets. And all of that keeps us busy a solid 6 days a week.

We occasionally host killer acoustic concerts in the factory with friends such as Will Johnson, Sarah Jaffe, and Ryan Holweger.

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My goal in building these bags is to support local whenever possible and to recycle and save materials down to the last scrap for incorporation into future product. 

When considering things to make, I always consider the greater impact. The idea of producing stuff just for sake of production has never appealed to me. I am committed to utilizing the highest quality materials to ensure longevity and whenever possible I source supplies from old stock and gently-used sources. This is a bag that should last more than one lifetime. 

Special thanks to my family for supporting at every stage. Especially to my dad, my husband, and my daughter who all rise to assist whenever needed without question. Bringing three generations together to honor our past and blaze a trail into the future.