BUILDING THE

UNEXPECTED
Second Chances

A
t the age of nine, I was sent
to a juvenile delinquent
school for three years.
Sharing a home with chil-
dren whose parents were
prostitutes and heroin
addicts was an incredible
life lesson, as well as a fast
track to a street-smart education. This experience
would not only be the best three years of my child-
hood, but it would impact me for every decision I
would make in life.

The power of second chances is probably the most

important lesson I took away from this school. It is
something I have integrated in everything I do and
how I deal with my most challenging setbacks. It is
what pushed me to become an entrepreneur, not
because I wanted to disrupt the suitcase industry,
but because I wanted to build a finishing school
for juvenile delinquents. Building suitcases was
just my means to get there and the perfect training
ground to test out my unconventional approach to
building future leaders.

I believe every person should try and find one phi-

losophy they want to leave behind as a legacy. In
my case it is the power of second chances. It means
betting on the underdog, appreciating passion
over experience, eccentricity over normality and
respecting the gift of failure. Am I saying everyone
deserves a second chance? Of course not. I am sim-
ply implying, that from time to time giving some-
one that inspires you a chance, can be a lot more

Tough Love
rewarding than betting on the obvious talent.

The one thing that has differentiated me from most

of the juvenile delinquents who ended up in trou-
ble or in mindless jobs, was the belief others put in How the Corvin
me and a chance to prove myself. An incredible philosophy came into
gift that brings the best out in a person and one existence at a juvenile
I feel obligated to pay forward in both the team delinquent school
members I choose, and the life choices I make.
THE CORVIN CARRY-ON

A bamboo hard case, an aluminium

chassis, a single handle that allows
you to pick-up, open and pull your
carry-on. A suitcase that blends
functionality and beauty into an
iconic minimalistic design.
Our Story
A Decade In The Making
It all began in 2008, when I walked into a suitcase
shop in order to buy a new carry-on. A purchase
that would cost me $450 for something I didn’t
really want or like but unfortunately needed. After
spending an hour contemplating over the different
options (cheap and ugly, overpriced and ordinary
or designer branded and unaffordable), I ended up
buying a black four wheeler. It was the Caesar Salad
of suitcases, uneventful but it got the job done.
This experience bothered me tremendously as I kept
wondering why a $35 billion industry would offer
so few choices in products? I could understand that
they had to be functional, but so did shoes, and yet
we managed to evolve from all wearing sandals. It
was a unique opportunity that grew into a passion,
when every conveyor belt became a reminder of
an industry’s lack of creativity. It would take me a
decade to figure it out, but in the end I realised that
the only way I could reinvent the suitcase was by
changing the manufacturing process first.
The ‘power of second chances’ is the most
explosive force I know when it comes to a person’s
productivity. It’s a feeling I have experienced a
few times as an entrepreneur and my reason for
building such an unorthodox manufacturing team.
Corvin is built as an artisan accelerator program for
ex-convicts, juvenile delinquents and the homeless.
Headed by a group of talented entrepreneurs, we
teach these ‘forgotten citizens’ how to become true
artisans. A three year program that re-envisions
manufacturing by offering them the one thing no
other company will: a second chance.
MADE OF BAMBOO

Offering a unique combination of

strength, flexibility and weight,
Bamboo is ideal for absorbing
shocks and a noble equivalent to
leather at only half the weight.
How We Build
A Team
Like No
Other
Experience may make you
more efficient but passion
changes the world
A
successful entrepreneur
once told me: “get the
right people on the bus
and figure out later where
they sit” an incredibly val-
uable philosophy I wished
more companies would
apply. We tend to hire ac-
cording to experience and track record whereas
I prefer to hire based on passion, creativity and
drive. Experience is valuable if you are trying to
build something already in existence, passion is
what you need if you want to break new ground.
Our Artisan’s Accelerator Program is built to
achieve exactly that. By offering our recruits a
three year program with an assigned mentor and
an extensive support system we expect to increase
the productivity of our manufacturing beyond any
traditional assembly line. Our objective is to not
only motivate our recruits through an opportu-
nity, but to challenge them as individuals so they
may become future leaders within our company.
Most people are either book-smart or they are
street-smart. Rarely do we find talents that are
both. Hiring individuals that had to learn how to
survive on the streets and in prison, implies that
we are investing heavily in street-smartness. A
tremendous asset to us as a company and one we
leverage by focusing our accelerator program on
a more formal education, including artisanship,
marketing, communication, social etiquette and
general culture.
We offer our recruits a once in a lifetime oppor-
tunity, a career they can be proud of and a social
education. What differentiates our manufacturing
from other suitcase companies, is that we don’t
employ factory workers, we build entrepreneurs.
LESS IS MORE

With an interior volume of 42L

and a target weight of 3.5kg, the
Corvin Carry-On is distinct in that
it uses rich natural materials but
remains light and spacious.
The Carry-On
Made Of Bamboo
The three most important attributes of any carry-
on are its weight, volume and robustness. A
manufacturing challenge that we optimised by
using one of nature’s most impressive natural
resources: bamboo. As elegant as leather but at half
the weight, it is strong enough to build houses and
highly shock-resistant due to its natural bendability.
In order to protect it against scratches, we covered
it with a special coating and reinforced it with a
lightweight aluminium chassis. We wanted to build
a carry-on as tough as any hardshell suitcase but
with the looks of a designer piece of furniture.
Rather than spending our time on developing
various gadgets, we focused our efforts on a few
key points that were crucial to us. The wheels (we
invested in 100mm scooter wheels which allow our
carry-on to glide smoothly over any surface noise
free), the volume (our suitcase can carry over 42
litres) and a solid, rattle free handle.
From the beginning we wanted our handle to be
the central element of our carry-on, which is why
we designed our suitcase around the handle and
not vice versa as would be more common in the
industry. Engineered with its own ‘Gear Box’, our
handle is unique in that it allows you to: lift, open
and pull your suitcase by using a single mechanism.
Thibault, our young French industrial designer, had
a beautiful philosophy when it came to designing
the Corvin Carry-On. He called it ‘Honest Design’.
It meant that everything had to have a function,
if it didn’t, we stripped it. By focusing ourselves
on mastering the most important features and
integrating them flawlessly into the carry-on, we
made sure to build something pure, practical and
beautiful. It was the secret to our iconic minimalistic
design and why our luggage looks so unique. There
are only a few objects that are so beautiful in their
aesthetics that the brand of the product is irrelevant.
A goal we constantly strive for and hope to have
achieved with the Corvin Carry-On.
AFFORDABLE LUXURY

We are positioning the Corvin

Carry-On in a price range of the
premium luggage brands such
as Rimowa or Tumi, but with the
design, materials and quality of a
prestigious luxury brand.
For More Information
Corvin Travel GmbH
Schaffhauserstrasse 550
8052 Zurich
Switzerland

www.corvintravel.com

Christian Wehbe
E: c@corvintravel.com

For More Information