From Barbies to Bike Bags: A Story of Sewing, Adventure, and Resilience (with a side of Pickle Beer)
- Feb 4
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 5
"Several good friends and awesome riders inspired me to start my own company (shout-out to one in particular for being brave and starting his own photography business!). Ever since I launched Resilience, I've been crazy busy! The custom work is what gets me excited. I enjoy getting to know people, riders, customers, and creating something that they love."
Mandie Sayers grew up sewing with her mother and made custom clothes for her Barbies at a young age. As an adult, when she began cycling and going on bike adventures, she decided to try her hand at making custom bike bags to "fill a gap" she felt existed in the market.
A natural problem-solver, Mandie started designing her own fun, colorful, durable bike bags in different sizes, shapes, and designs to fit the various needs she had when out riding on her gravel and mountain bikes.
Before long, friends and strangers started asking if she would take orders and a side-gig was born! Then in 2025, Mandie officially launched Resilience Custom Crafted!
Why Resilience?
"From the idea that we can do hard things -- emerging stronger and ready for the next adventure or challenge. We confront the twists and turns in the trail of life with grit and the ability to push ourselves and vibrantly thrive. Resilience's gear reflects life."
Mandie believes that the foundation of the business grew from her first bike-packing experience: Virginia's RockStar Challenge (250 miles of gravel from Harrisonburg to Roanoke). "I didn't really know what I was getting myself into," she recounts, "but my gear helped me get through it. I came out of it knowing that I was able to accomplish something challenging."
She believes that throughout our lives we all go through different situations and experiences; our lives may change and may be different, but we have to feel the feelings and process them so we can emerge stronger and continue to grow. "It isn't about one, epic, live-changing event," says Mandie. "It's about life as a whole: both the positives and the negatives."
"I'm generally a resilient person. I really believe that every situation works out okay. If you are looking for the good, it will be there."
Resilience Custom Crafted is about more than just making cool bike bags. What Mandie loves about it most is the creativity and connections: Being able to "create something beautiful that makes people happy and is durable. Each bag is a little piece of art, connecting a person to their bike," she says. "I like working with people who are excited about their adventures! I enjoy hearing people's stories and creating pieces that they love."
This is why she focuses primarily on custom projects rather than producing large quantities of bulk items.
Mandie uses several at-home, portable sewing machines (non-industrial) and tries to buy her materials from US-based companies when possible. All of the fabric she uses is water-resistent. She enjoys creating unique designs and color combos that match her customers' bikes. She prefers to use a"quilted" style for her sewing designs.
What types of things do you typically carry with you on the bike in your bags?
Gravel Bike Bag: An OG Resilience "halfsie" bag (one of the first I made) and a small, top-tube bag
Mountain Bike Bag: A frame "pork chop" bag and a down-tube bag along with my trusty hip-pack
On a short ride (~1 hour) gravel/mtb: a flat kit; gels; phone; and keys
On a long ride (1 hour+) gravel mtb: gels, trail mix, hard boiled eggs, various dairy products, a toastada (the same thing I would eat for lunch), pickle beer
Mandie says the weirdest thing she's ever carried in her bike bag is a staple remover during the Marji Gesick 50. In addition, she's been known to carry hard boiled eggs, various dairy products, an entire tostada, and pickle beer!
For Marjie Gesick (referred to as the "hardest single-day mountain bike race in America" by professional rider and Marji alumn Jeremiah Bishop), you have to collect dum-dum lollipops and poker chips throughout the ride to present at the finish for it to be an official completion.
Mandie tells the story: "So I'm finding dum-dums and collecting tokens, stuffing them into my right hip-pack as I go. When I cross the finish line, I ride down the street past people cheering to the volunteers who are checking our tokens. I unzip my right hip-pack, reach in, pull out my 2 dum-dums, 3 tokens, and a staple remover!" recounts Mandie (she has no idea how the staple remover got into her pack). "Nonetheless, I got my finisher token and put my sticker on the finisher's board: 9th out of almost 90 finishers!" CONGRATS!!!
So what's next?
Mandie says she wants to eventually build a sewing-focused community around the brand. She is excited to introduce more people to sewing and design, encouraging folks to explore their creative ideas and learn to design their own items.
Starting this year, Mandie's mother will be helping with some of her larger projects and custom orders. She's looking forward to spending that creative time together.
She also plans to create a personal, bike-packing, custom bag set-up (stay tuned!).
Mandie Sayers lives in Culpeper, VA and is a member of CAMBO (Culpeper Area Mountain Bike Organization), a local mountain bike club that volunteers at our Dirty Kitten events every year. She plans to be at both Gralley Cat and DKGR with some of her bags (stay tuned for a fun Resilience x Dirty Kitten collab coming soon!). Check out the Resilience Custom Crafted website and social media pages (@resiliencecustom). Contact Mandie for info on ordering custom bags: resiliencecustom@gmail.com
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