From Floordrobes to Fabulous: The Journey of Creating HeyChesto Suitcases"
The idea to build suitcases came from a family holiday with our four children. They were all under the age of 14—excitable and very messy. On the way to visit our friends, they informed us that our whole family would be sharing a single room. That was fun and exciting; we were accustomed to many camping trips. However, this time I had bought them each their own cabin-sized suitcase, and because we were actually staying in a house and not a tent, I decided to iron all their clothes.
I suddenly had visions of the room becoming a “floordrobe,” with everything I had painstakingly organised ending up sprawled across the floor. I don’t know who I thought I was kidding, imagining they’d keep everything tidy in a room shared with others.
We played a game on the journey—who could come up with a solution to avoid the floordrobe. Then I had a vision of each of their suitcases having built-in shelving, so that once they’d reached their destination, the already packed shelves of clean, ironed clothes could be pulled up and clicked into place. Voilà—a travelling wardrobe. Fabulous!, I thought. I’ll make one.
After trawling the internet in vain for this type of suitcase, I realised my mission was to create one. “How hard can it be?” Over the next year, I poured my heart and soul into making it a reality. I met so many wonderful people, worked with some fabulous entrepreneurs, and even had a meeting with the head of luggage at John Lewis. He loved the concept and wanted the suitcases displayed at the entrances to John Lewis, with people demonstrating how they worked. I was ecstatic and determined to have them manufactured in the UK—something that, in hindsight, probably held me back for some time.
Long story short—by the time I had a business and a product ready to sell, the luggage buyer had left, and the store was financially struggling.
The first shipment, however, was a fabulous moment! We had so many pre-orders to help cover the shipment. They were a game-changer for us all, and this is when the business was officially named HeyChesto. So many of my friends bought them, and we’d constantly be stopped and asked where we got our suitcases. It was so much fun!
A few months later, though, about five cases were returned because they were tricky to open, which was a huge concern. As a result, I decided the next shipment would forgo the built-in shelves and instead feature a beautiful suitcase with a stunning interior.
We will bring back our shelved suitcases, but in the meantime, the shelf-less versions have become real head-turners and fabulous travel companions for all your adventures.
This is where we are now. I’m excited about the future and can’t wait to take you with us on the next stage. Thank you for following!
