A lifetime of weekends away and I never wrote a word about a bag. Then a four-year-old tried to steal this one
Six things the Joyvana gets right that weekend bags get wrong, from a woman who does not review luggage.
Maggie Whitfield · Customer · Sydney · 5 min read
Let me be plain about who is talking. I am Maggie, I am 62, I live in Sydney, and I have never once sat down to write about a bag. What I have done is pack for a lifetime of weekends away, out of holdalls that sagged, cases that scuffed, and one wheeled thing we do not discuss. So this is not a review. It is a woman whose granddaughter has excellent taste, saying so.
The one I am writing about is called the Joyvana, from Perth Boutique, a small Australian boutique that has been quietly making the ordinary things a bit lovelier for years now. I packed it for one night at my daughter's, and within the hour a four-year-old had decided it belonged to her. When the boutique later asked if they could put my letter up for others to read, I said yes, on the condition I could be completely honest in it.
A soft quilted bag shaped like a camper van, in rainbow colours, with big smiling daisies down the side and a peace sign on the nose. Ridiculous, and I mean that as the highest praise. Read on.
Here is what a lifetime of packing taught me. Weekend bags come in two piles. The sensible pile, black nylon holdalls that sag like disappointment and all look alike on a rack, which no child has ever been excited to see. And the smart pile, stiff little cases that scuff, weigh a tonne empty, and hold less than they promise.
Saggy and invisible, or stiff and heavy. Those were the weekend options, and not one of them ever made anybody smile.
The Joyvana is the first bag I have owned that is neither, and having taken it on two overnights and one very insistent grandchild, I can tell you it comes down to six things.
The day it came. I ordered it expecting a flimsy novelty. I apologised to it within the week.
It does not look like luggage
It looks like a good mood. The whole scene is quilted and stitched across the bag, the camper van with its peace-sign nose, a rainbow, big white daisies with cheerful faces, colour everywhere. On a rack of black holdalls it is the only bag anybody smiles at, the only one children ask about, and the only one nobody picks up by mistake.
The van up close. The smiling daisies are what did it for the four-year-old, and for me.
The grandkids go mad for it and so do I. Gets a comment everywhere I take it, and it's impossible to lose in a crowd.
Bev R. · Launceston TASIt swallows a proper weekend
Two outfits, spare shoes, a wash bag, a book and the little presents I never arrive without. It all goes in without wrestling, and the wide opening means I can see everything at once instead of excavating. Packing stopped being the worst part of going away, and started being a job the grandchildren want to help with.
Packed a weekend plus treats for the little ones and it all fit with room to spare. Wide zip, so nothing vanishes at the bottom.
Kathy N. · Coffs Harbour NSWThe quilting is the clever part
Soft outside, so it squashes into a boot behind the car seats without argument, then springs back to shape looking unbothered. And the padding works both ways, what is inside travels cushioned. My reading glasses have survived two trips they would not have survived in the old holdall.
Soft enough to squash into a full car boot, but it holds its shape and keeps everything cushioned. Really well made.
Gail F. · Bendigo VICThe handles are part of the show
The straps wrap right round the body of the bag, so the weight is carried by the whole bag rather than a few stitches, and they carry the same rainbow all the way round, so even the practical bits are cheerful. They sit comfortably in the hand or over the forearm, and there is nothing to dig in.
The rainbow straps. Even the load-bearing parts got dressed up.
Two honest sizes, measurements included
The 40 centimetre one does an overnight, the gym, or a cabin bag. The 46 centimetre one does two to three days with room for shoes and a towel. The boutique prints the measurements plainly and even tells you most women are happier with the bigger one, which matches my experience of weekends and of life.
Got the larger size on their suggestion and it's perfect for overnights with the grandchildren. So glad I sized up.
Narelle J. · Gladstone QLDIt earns its keep between trips
This is the part I did not expect. It does the gym on Wednesdays, the sleepover at my daughter's, the day out with the grandchildren who now consider it partly theirs. The old holdall lived in a cupboard between outings. This one barely gets put away, and it turns an ordinary overnight into a bit of an occasion.
Packed for a Tuesday overnight. The van faces the door, ready.
The Joyvana, against the weekend bags you have been buying
You can find a weekend bag for thirty-odd dollars anywhere. I know, because I own the evidence. Here is the difference, laid out plainly.
Black nylon that sags like disappointment
Identical to every other bag on the rack
Thin walls, contents arrive rattled
Handles that dig in by the car park
One vague size, no measurements
Quilted and structured, springs back to shape
A rainbow scene nobody misses or mistakes
Padded walls that cushion what is inside
Wrap-round rainbow straps, comfortable in hand
Two honest sizes, measurements printed
About the price
The Joyvana is $59.99 for either size, down from $119.99.
I will pass on what the boutique told me, which is that they are made in runs, and once a run is gone, it is gone. Their words, not mine. What I can tell you from my side is that half price is usually where I start asking what is wrong with something, and several trips in I have not found it.
And I do not trust perfect scores, so I read the reviews before I ordered. There were eight hundred and sixty of them, sitting at 4.5 stars, which sounded like real people rather than robots, so I read on. The same six things I have just walked you through come up in them, over and over, in other women's words.
By the door, packed for the grandchildren round two. The presents are coming.
If you have a weekend, a sleepover, a grandchild's sports day or a Tuesday overnight anywhere in your future, and your current bag is a black nylon apology, this is the one I would put in your hands myself, while your size is still there. Stop dithering and go and look.
Maggie
JOYVANA | Quilted Travel Duffle Bag
- Bright rainbow daisy scene, quilted all over
- Swallows a proper weekend without wrestling
- Soft quilted walls that cushion and spring back
- Wrap-round rainbow handles, comfortable in hand
- Two honest sizes: 40cm and 46cm, both $59.99
- Part of a whole collection of designs
- Free Australia-wide delivery
Made in runs. Once a run is gone, it is gone.