Kirkland is a city of 90,000 people in the Seattle metropolitan area with a small downtown district of primarily small and independently-owned businesses. In 2016, the city adopted restrictions on plastic bag use at retail businesses, and the downtown business community wanted to inspire their customers to embrace the use of reusable bags. The City of Kirkland and the Kirkland Downtown Association partnered to create a reusable bag that residents would be proud to carry to show their local pride. The bag is not the shape of a standard grocery bag, prompting shoppers to choose reusable every time they shop, not just at the grocery store.

"I shop local, I shop Kirkland" - a high quality canvas bag to support downtown businesses and foster customer engagement with the city's small shops. I selected a minimalist, type-focused aesthetic to represent Kirkland's local businesses, which are primarily small and independent. Simple illustrated elements - waves and the peak of a distinctive local gazebo from Marina Park - hearken to Kirkland's unique lakefront downtown, the only small town downtown district located on Lake Washington.