When did all this actually happen? Last week, as I was clearing out my sewing room to make room for new projects, I stumbled upon a thousand memories. How many hours have I spent in this room, at this table? I've thought long and hard about whether I could outsource the sewing. Would you like a little throwback?

On July 1, 2017, I registered my business with three-month-old Anna in a carrier. Oskar was in kindergarten. I sewed diaper bags in my free time and wanted to sell them through my own online shop. Dawanda wasn't an option for me, as the people there were selling owl fabrics, and I wanted to distance myself from that #owlfree. So I set up a website using a simple modular system, created an Instagram and Facebook profile, and sold a few diaper bags that way. In October 2017, I sewed my first diaper backpack, spontaneously named it "Hugo," and put it in my shop for €99. It had only taken 20 hours of work. Then nothing happened for a long time.

On February 12, 2018, someone ordered this backpack. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was having coffee with Anna at a friend's house when suddenly my phone beeped. I panicked. I didn't have a pattern and didn't really want to send out my only one. So why had I put it in the shop in the first place? To show what I could do. To have a "premium product." We joked at home for months that no one ever ordered it.

"Tired, unmotivated, everything was stupid. I was facing my first crisis."

Then it happened and I sat down at my sewing machine and sewed a second Hugo, which took days, then off to the post office to catch my breath. The next Hugo was ordered on February 17, 2018. And then on February 26, 2018. And on February 27 and March 1, even three more. And so it went on over a hundred times. I rotated things and made a lot of mistakes. The processes were inefficient, I was constantly running out of material and I had to rush into town to buy a zipper, for example. I could only meet the delivery time of three weeks with great difficulty. I'll tell you how it is: it wasn't always fun. Sometimes I hated having to sit at the sewing machine in the evenings. Then I received a complaint because I had made mistakes in the workmanship. Tired, not in the mood, everything was stupid. I was facing my first crisis.

I decided to outsource the sewing of the backpack's lining to the AWO (Association of German Unemployed Persons) in the neighboring town. This saved me a third of the work involved in making a backpack, and I still needed about three hours for a Hugo. Too long. I was still stressed, and my parental leave was almost over – how would that work? I had to close the shop or find a solution. So, in the summer of 2018, I wrote to the first textile producers, asking them to help me develop my Hugo into a series-ready diaper backpack. Most didn't respond at all; many conversations ended with the question of minimum order quantities. No, I didn't want to produce 10,000 units, but rather around 100. Besides, I didn't want Asian production and wanted to keep my design the same. So I continued researching and writing inquiries. Again, nothing happened for a long time; I muddled through and gritted my teeth.

On December 12, 2018, I accepted an offer from a bag manufacturer in Bielefeld. It involved developing a first prototype of my Hugo diaper backpack, costing €2,200, but not yet in production. That day, I had to decide whether "Anna and Oskar" was my hobby or my future. I still remember jumping around in the hallway with my phone in my hand, screaming, feeling an incredible weight lifted from me, feeling how free and happy I felt. I wasn't afraid.

"That day I had to decide whether "Anna and Oskar" was my hobby or my future."

What followed were months of waiting and "just carrying on." Trips to Bielefeld, testing phases, sending prototypes back and forth, and tweaking things here and there. Getting to know and evaluating materials, making decisions. I repeatedly asked other parents and anyone I could get hold of via Instagram: what do you want from a diaper backpack, what annoys you about your diaper bag? Every piece of feedback on my "old" backpacks was so valuable. Until April 2019, I sewed every Hugo that was ordered myself at home.

On June 4, 2019, I launched Hugo 2.0. Some of you may remember my Instagram story when I accepted the delivery from the shipping company with tears in my eyes. Until the very end, it was unclear whether we would be able to meet the schedule. So many were waiting for the new Hugo. So much hope for a big day. What if no one buys it? What if people don't like it? I had doubts right up until the very end, but I just kept going. We sold three times more Hugos than expected that day.

The feedback a few weeks later was overwhelming. Hugo 2.0 was a hit, being recommended, loved, and shared on social media.

In the summer of 2020, we asked for feedback on Instagram and received many messages. Afterward, we sat down together to discuss your suggestions, tried out a lot of things, and had new prototypes made.

The result: Hugo has been further developed into its third generation. And we think: Hugo 3.0 is the best diaper backpack ever!

You can read what exactly has changed and why here .