Kavoon Bags: Colorful custom bike bags from Lviv, Ukraine

YellowCrank will continue writing about Ukrainian brands and the people behind them. This week I am delighted to be able to introduce the bike bag brand Kavoon and its founder Nadiia Ovchynnikova.

Hi Nadia, great to be connected to you! Can you let us know where in Ukraine you are based and how the situation is at the moment?

We are from Lviv, Ukraine. It is a large city in western Ukraine. For now, there have been several missile strikes in our city. From time to time, an air-raid siren sounds. But in general, the city has a relatively calm atmosphere as far as it is possible to call it that.

Please tell us about your brand Kavoon and how you started it.

The story of the brand began in 2018. Back then my family and I went on a bike tour of Europe. Of the bags, we only had backpacks and one bike bag. The adventure with this bag started when we didn’t even have time to reach the border. Either I fixed it incorrectly, or it opened on the go, and things fell out. In general, during this trip, we realized we needed to do something in the field of bikepacking. Then about six months of research, developments, and tests passed. Finally, in March 2019, we made the first batch of bags. We gave this whole lot to friends to collect feedback. And in the summer of 2019, we went on a trip to Europe for the first time with our own bags. Gradually, our business began to grow. Now we continue to implement our new ideas and our customers’ ideas.

What was your first product, and was it challenging to develop it and get it working as intended?

Our first product was a bicycle fork bag. It was challenging to start like this because we were developing a metal mount for it separately. We had to try many types of mounts until we finally got what we needed.

Do you have any background in tailoring?

No, we didn’t have any background in tailoring before. Therefore, each bag was learned from scratch how to sew.

Did you have any “break-through” moment, when your company made a big step forward?

There was no breakthrough moment. We gradually moved methodically and tried to improve our work. Our collection has grown organically and now we just moved into a bigger workshop.

The speciality in our brand is the individual approach. Each bag we sew is a kind of request of a specific person.

The specialty of our brand is the individual approach. Each bag we sew is a kind of request of a specific person. That is why we are custom. The client can choose the fabric, color, print, or combination of colors on the bag. Also, a bag, such as a frame bag, we sew purely to measure for your bike frame. So we create a unique bag for everyone. Our bestsellers are ‘Stembag’ and ‘Barrelbag without valve.’ It’s because they fit all bikes and we don’t need measurements for them.

Your customer can choose between two materials, Cordura and X-pac. Can you explain the difference?

The Cordura we use is a thick, very abrasion-resistant nylon fabric with a unique weave, a water-repellent impregnation, and a polyurethane coating. The advantages are resistance to abrasion and temperature, and it does not deform. It is heavier than X-pac, though. X-pac is very common in the travel industry due to its lightness, strength, and weight. It has three layers: the nylon surface, a laminated layer for strength, and an inner polyester layer. It is waterproof. We have both fabrics available in a range of colors.

What are your best selling models?

The bestsellers are ‘Stembag’ and ‘Barrelbag without valve.’ It’s because they fit all bikes, and we don’t need individual measurements for them.

Through which channels can your products be bought?

We mainly sell bags through Instagram and our website, but you can also find us on Facebook and TikTok. We ship our bags all over the world, except russia [sic] and Belarus.

Back to the current situation. Even though you are relatively safe in the West of Ukraine, how is the war impacting your business?

Our team now continues to work every day.  Of course, while the air alarm sounds, the workflow is suspended, and we can not continue to sew bags. But we try to complete all orders on time. With the start of a full-scale war, we began a new line of work. Now, in parallel with bicycle bags, we sew some military bags – ammunition. I seldom get rest, even for half a day.

The head works constantly. And hands, too.

The head works constantly. And hands, too. To remember the day of the week, you need to look at the calendar. I think this is the case with everyone. If one of our sleeping bags warms up one of our soldiers somewhere, or the first aid kit in one of our bags helps one person, we will be extremely happy. We are confident that we will win this war and our country will continue to join the EU. We are a European state and try to carry the appropriate values. Our mood is optimistic, and we hope for an end to the war as soon as possible.

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