The start was creating hand painted bags  in Portland, Oregon, USA, in 2015 when German born designer Klaus Waltner worked at Nike and was looking for an artistic outlet which he describes as "functional art".

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Purchasing 2 industrial sewing machines from C.H. Holderby in Seattle gave him the tools to experiment and create what he had in mind.

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Over the years he kept creating and experimenting with paint and various materials that have been found along the journey.

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In 2023 he changed the branding from "KD Waltner" to "batabao", which is a fusion of the words  bag , tasche (German) and bao (Madarin) and a reference to milestones in his lives journey.

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The rebranding is symbolizing a new start, while utilizing  and enriching everything that has been learned along the way.

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"batabao" bags are created in Newton, MA, USA ​