Meeting people is something we all need to do - making connections is what makes us human. Post-pandemic, how we do that will have to change.
Hotbox was one of the first brands to see the potential of personal, portable storage, making it the perfect company to solve some of the issues agile workers or digital nomads face, particularly after Covid.
First came the Hotbox Origin storage box in 2003, followed swiftly by a range of personal storage solutions, including the Hotbox 1 storage box , the Hotbox 2 desk organiser and the Hotbox 3 messenger bag. All of them make it easier for flexible workers to juggle personal storage issues anywhere.
Launching the Shuttle in 2021 was the logical extension of the exciting and innovative range, bringing a portable dual-storage system that helps users with internal compartments to help separate work tools from personal things. The Shuttle means you can transport everything you need to be productive anywhere and decant quickly, wherever you need to work. In this way, it will answer many of the organisational and portability challenges digital nomads face.
The product of a collaboration between Hotbox inventor Jamie Rothwell and designer Rachel Forster and product designer Barry Jenkins of BroomeJenkins, the Shuttle brings real benefits to us all post-pandemic.
Barry explains: If you sat the Shuttle next to a generic backpack, you'd see significant points of difference. We hit on the concept of that relationship between work and life. If you want to be able to leave your life in a locker and take your work to your desk, you need to have some kind of organisation built within the product to help you do that simply and quickly.
So, how does the Shuttle help streamline your work - wherever you are? Compartmentalisation is the key to its versatility for digital nomads. There's a unique compartment at the foot of the bag and an accessible laptop compartment at the rear, enabling you to divide and free your work tools from personal items.
If you need to carry more, theShuttle's top section has a unique zip action that opens across the top and side to create easy access. You can expand this section by unrolling the flap. The top area can also be merged with the lower to create ample space for bulkier items like your coat or gym kit.
The bottom section comes with two new items the team designed especially - the Hotbox Tech Pouch and the Hotbox Folio. You can buy them separately for use in an existing backpack, bag or tote. Ideal if you can't bear getting rid of your Prada. Used with the Shuttle , you pull both out and carry them between meetings and hot-desks, taking just what you need without having to take a bulky bag with you.
That'll be sweet music to the hundreds of backpack users who have to lug everything they own - such as their make-up, gym gear, water bottle, iPads and other work paraphernalia - everywhere they go.
Users can stash larger items like a charger and a powerpack alongside earbuds, pens and cables in the Tech Pouch, which can lie flat or stand on the desk. The Folio works like a book you can open out to hold an A5 notebook in place, as well as small work tools and tech in its pockets.
Finally, the Shuttle's interiors are in an appealing pale grey, so you can find things easily - instead of diving into the deep, dark sacks that are most backpacks