ZOOM BAGS: STORY OF AN IDEA AND A SUITCASE
When you travel you don't want to think. Or rather: maybe you want to do it, you want to think about having fun, you want to think about the freedom of the plane, of flying over the seas and mountain ranges, cities and people; you want to think of the train running on the tracks, always parallel, always the two of them; you want to think of the car or motorbike, of those wheels that you steer on the hot asphalt of summer. You want to think about the future, when you'll be back and tell everyone what happened. You know that you will have to find the right words, the ones capable of making the most of your emotions, to make those who listen to you relive your experiences.
Traveling is this: being free, having the opportunity to learn the other . And then share, talk, transfer moods and impressions.
But not only that: traveling can also be a matter of necessity. Contemporary work often means being always on the move, constantly moving from city to city, like tireless worker bees.
Zoom Bags starts from here: from the intersection between functionality and the need for a story.
Chiara is tired. She returned home from a very long flight, specifically a business trip. Chiara is a career woman, an established designer with already had several experiences in top-level brands. But now that's not what matters: tiredness takes over, legs swollen, Chiara dives into bed. The rest can wait.
The next day Chiara was reborn, reconciled by the sleep of her mattress, by her soft sheets, by her own pillow which will always be better than that of a hotel. The morning is free, like the cloudless sky. Chiara knows that this morning is the time to put the pieces back together, to reorder thoughts and words, to recompose the puzzle of days gone by, the endless hours in meetings, the PC screens, the calls, the colleagues, the human interactions. Chiara, head on the pillow and eyes turned to the ceiling, takes stock of the situation: her mind foresees the steps to follow and imagines them before her. The first in chronological order, after an invigorating shower and a light breakfast, is to unpack your suitcase.
While Chiara's teeth are being methodically brushed, the suitcase is perched in a corner of the small living room: it sits there, motionless, waiting to be unpacked. It's one of those rigid, heavy, enormous suitcases. It's a "challenging" suitcase...
Chiara leaves the bathroom and goes towards the trolley. He finds it where he had left it, loaded with work tools, objects and clothes. Chiara opens it in two and the rigid armor of the luggage falls onto the white floor. Then he bends down, opens the zips and takes out the contents. Chiara moves decisively, now expert in this routine which she carries out with regular frequency: prepare, go, return, unpack; and then again, all over again, and again again. Chiara sighs.
The week passed between the washing machine, the dirty clothes on the waiting list, the desk and the wardrobe. However, the suitcase remains there – always – like a question mark at the end of a sentence: where do I put it now? The constant of space - always too little, always packed - and the suitcase that never finds its place: above the wardrobe no, under the bed the winter duvets and vacuum-packed blankets take up all the available space (and then, even if you wanted , the suitcase would be too thick to fit). In the garage! Oh no, I don't have a garage. The only little place could be right there, next to the wardrobe, in that little shady nook that has never been exploited. But no, nothing, it can't fit there either.
However, Chiara is a woman with a thousand resources and this is her morning, this is her moment. His mind begins to give birth to a brilliant idea, a vision that takes shape and opens up in his head: what if this trolley could be flattened like a box?
ZOOM BAGS: THE POP-UP SUITCASE
Chiara rushes towards the desk in search of her drawing pad and pencil. She must immediately put down on paper what's going on in her head. First of all, the point of origin: a “telescopic” suitcase. that Like a Zoom, it comes forward and then comes back, flattening as needed. Because space is important - Chiara knows this well - and a suitcase that folds flat, which can reduce its size by up to 50%, can fit everywhere: in the narrow space next to the wardrobe, under the bed (provided it is not already crowded), next to the ironing board in the storage room.
The trolleys take shape: on Chiara's block they reveal suitcases with an elegant design, with clean and essential lines. But not only that: color is needed! A trolley inspired by the colors of a trip to Italy from north to south, a tribute to the nature of the Bel Paese and to Made in Italy. And so here she is, imagining the white peaks of the Dolomites, and then across the Centre, in the green of the Tuscan hills, the blue Mediterranean, and then further down towards the red of Pompeii in the summer sun, and Sicily with its oranges juicy, up to the lava black of Stromboli.
The bold lines imprinted on the paper of his notebook define a shape but do not give any idea of the materials. And Chiara knows about materials and for her they are of fundamental importance: over the years she has developed a strong interest in innovative materials, carrying out constant research especially in the field of recycled and low environmental impact materials. For his trolleys he wants to use recycled materials for most of the components.
Chiara has her notebook in her hand with the guidelines and details of her ideal trolley!
This is where Chiara's Zoom Bags brand was born and her first suitcase with this concept, Pop-Up:
A light product, with an Italian design, sustainable. And which folds and shrinks.
Chiara is returning again from one of her trips. His trolley is now one of his Pop-ups. He opens the front door and places the suitcase in the living room. Not immediately – they say – tomorrow.
The next day Chiara is a new person again but the newness doesn't stop her from having to unpack her suitcase. He opens the shell of his Zoom Bags, opens the lining in chromatic harmony with the outside and removes his things. Chiara sighs and then smiles. She looks at her creation, happy. Chiara knows that finding her a place now won't be a problem. Right next to the wardrobe there is always that little shady nook yet to be exploited.