CSC Stories – The Travelling Satchel By Millie Baker, Creative Designer

As part of our #CSCstories project, we’re asking our team, friends and fans to share with us the story of their satchel. Millie from our Creative Design team has been all over the world with her 11″ Vintage Satchel and she had a brilliant idea about how to remember all the places she’d been whenever she looked at her bag.

“I decided, as alot of graduates my age do, that at the age of 24, with a degree in Illustration & Graphic Design (not quite ready put it to use), it was time to throw caution to the wind and go travelling. January 2012 was the beginning of a six month ‘Round the World’ trip, I cut my hair to ‘will dry itself’ length, bought a giant backpack and with boyfriend in tow, I went.

Having worked at The Cambridge Satchel Company for four months leading up to the trip, my lovely colleague Jess had arranged an embossed Classic 11" Vintage Satchel as a leaving present (this is of course, before she realised I would be back!).

This 11” Vintage Satchel became a trusty travelling companion everyday for the next 6 months. Here are a few highlights from our adventure together:

Arriving jet lagged in Bangkok

Diving the Thai islands

Eating bugs in Malaysia

Visiting Melbourne zoo

Watching an international Polo game in Sydney

Living & volunteering in a Bird Sanctuary for two weeks

Snorkelling with turtles on the Great Barrier Reef

Spending three weeks in a campervan on New Zealand’s South Island

Cycling along the Golden Gate Bridge in a sunny San Francisco

Soaking up the atmosphere in Las Vegas

Adventuring to the Grand Canyon

Working on a blueberry farm in [middle of nowhere] Statesboro Georgia

Day tripping to haunted Savannah & beautiful Tybee Island

And then the last stop before home – the city so good they named it twice – New York, New York!

It’s now five years later and my satchel been on many trips since, each one scrawled on the inside of the top flap with what started as my ‘best handwriting’ but over time has turned into more of a scrawl. I like how much of the world it’s seen with me and how even after five years, it’s still my go to bag from day trips into London to weekend walks with my dog.

Worth Knowing:

iPhones are great for photos but when you get home and want to print them BIG they aren’t that good. A small point & shoot camera is a worthwhile investment.

For worldwide trips, don’t pack for an American Summer AND a New Zealand Winter, just pack for summer. NZ is full of ‘Op Shops’ that are full of jumpers, and you can give them back when you leave.

Pack medicines (because who knows what paracetamol is in Malay) but buy toiletries as you need them.

Do take a ‘wrap around’ that can be a scarf/blanket – this will always come in handy!

Register with HelpX.net: a site to sign up and stay with local people in exchange for working on farms, looking after animals or painting fences for free food & accommodation and truly living like a local (this allowed us three months in Australia on 1 months budget!).

Remember you can charge your phone through the USB port on most TVs, this will allow you to use your adaptor to charge your camera or your iPod.

Make wifi calls over Skype or WhatsApp to avoid MEGA network fees (McDonalds has free Wifi all over the world!).

Keep a diary! Even if it just says ‘Wednesday 21st March; Melbourne Australia, went to BLAH, ate at BLAH, saw BLAH’.

Apparently a Tuesday at 3pm, six weeks before you fly is the cheapest time to book your flight.”

Millie