Travelling Safely

Anti-Theft Travel Bag


This Article byRachel Wolfson in the Huffington Post was of interest to me since travelling safely is so important.  Every year we hear stories of women and men having had their personal belongings stolen.  What a clever idea to create a bag to travel safely.

Rachel Wolfson, Contributor

Digital marketing consultant, storyteller and fitness buff. I enjoy writing about blockchain technology, ICOs, cryptocurrency and everything in-between.

 

Two Sisters Create The Perfect Travel Bags To Help Women Travel Safely

12/15/2017 10:57 am ET

Photo Credit: Carmen Yuen

Arden Cove bags allow women to travel safely abroad and at home.

It’s not everyday that you wake up with an idea to create a product you think will disrupt a billion dollar industry. Karin Yuen, however, did just this. After studying abroad in Paris, Karin was shocked by the number of pickpockets she witnessed. In particular, Karin noticed that these senseless crimes were happening mainly to women travelers. Many of Karin’s friends and classmates were victims to pickpocketing. Karin, however, always used an anti-theft bag to keep her belongings safe. Unfortunately, her bag didn’t last long and developed holes and tears within a few months.

Karin quickly realized that today’s travel bags do not provide enough in terms of style, quality and function. As a result, Karin and her sister created their own line of travel bags, known as Arden Cove. The idea behind Arden Cove is based on Karin’s values of keeping women safe with high-quality, durable and stylish bags.

One year ago, the two sisters launched their bags on Indiegogo and fully funded the campaign in just 6 days. Women from around the world told Karin and her sister how they loved that Arden Cove bags help women travel safer at home and abroad. The campaign finished at 300 percent funded, raising $24,000 and far exceeding the original goal. Arden Cove went on to win Smarter Travel’s Best Overall Product of 2017.

I sat down with Karin to learn more about the inspiration behind Arden Cove and to hear her journey about being a female founder who created a disruptive product entirely on crowdfunding and bootstrapping.

Q: What inspired you to create anti-theft, waterproof travel bags?

When studying abroad in Paris, I was enthralled by the city that captured my imagination since I was a child. But, when faced with reality, I realized that there were many crimes, often with women travelers as the victims. Many of my friends and classmates were targeted by pickpockets throughout France. I even witnessed a number of crimes as they happened

Fortunately, I carried an anti-theft bag, but it was cheaply made and tore by the second month. I had seen women who had large, open top purses were vulnerable, yet the travel bags on the market were not providing enough in terms of style and function.

My sister and I wanted to create our own line of bags that would provide more. These bags would be secure, practical, durable, and fashionable. As a result, we created our own bags and eventually started Arden Cove.