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Cousins Leigh Hardy and James Spooner are designing beautifully crafted caravans from their base in East Riding, Yorkshire
What happens when you bring together two cousins with a love for caravanning holidays, and a wealth of engineering experience between them? A business like Carapods is born.
CaravanTimes had a chat with Leigh Hardy and James Spooner of Carapods to find out where their inspiration comes from, and how they’re revolutionising the concept of the teardrop caravan.
Prior to starting their own caravan business Leigh and James held very different careers, with Leigh working offshore on oilrigs and James working nationally as a contractor. Both were always actively involved in the caravanning world however. “We have each owned touring caravans in the past and enjoyed ‘outdoors’ type of holidays,” Leigh begins. “We both have a strong interest in the Volkswagen scene, as I own a VW 1978 late bay Westfalia camper which I restored and James is more new school with a VW T5 van which is tricked up.”
“It had always been a pipe dream in the past to create our own unique escape pod. With both of us coming from engineering backgrounds, we knew we had the knowledge and skills to produce a well made product. Then it finally became the right time for us to begin,” he continues.
There is a craze for all things retro in the caravanning world at the minute, and it doesn’t get much more retro than a teardrop caravan. Extremely popular in the 1930s, they fell out of fashion when roomier, more modern designs became available in the ’60s. Their compact size makes them ideal for towing however, and James and Leigh’s designs make the most of the space available.
What makes Carapods so unique is the ethos behind the business, along with the stunning designs. The business partners are adamant that they will not lose their core business values: “We would like the business to be successful, however we do not want to lose the ‘personal touch’ and would like to keep all our pods individual, bespoke, with fine attention to detail and work with our customers to ensure they get the Carapod they want.”
An intricate process goes into each Carapod, which starts with Leigh and James sitting down with the customers to discuss exactly what is required: “Initially we discuss their expectations and add their own personal designs to the pod. We then begin the build ensuring we keep the customers involved along the way.” Each pod takes roughly five to six weeks to complete, depending on the customer’s specifications.
Another important part of Carapod’s business is their commitment to ensuring everything is done locally: “We try to keep all our suppliers local. The whole build is performed by us, everything from the chassis to the pressing of the aluminium composite panels to the bespoke furniture and interior design.”
The cousins have received fantastic encouragement from their local council in East Riding, as well as the local Business Services Team, undertaking a range of courses with them, including a Chartered Institute of Marketing seminar providing them with the knowhow to write a marketing plan, as well as workshops looking at marketing and selling, financial forecasting and business planning. The future for Carapods is looking bright for the innovative entrepreneurs – almost as bright as some of their amazing designs pictured below.
