Janina Ballali: SAOLAS - the perfect diaper bag for mums when travelling

Janina Ballali: SAOLAS - the perfect diaper bag for mums when travelling
As a mother to a four-year-old, I'm actually already out of diaper bag days. Actually. Because even though I no longer have to have diapers with me, I still carry a lot around with me when we leave the house: drinking bottle, snacks, a change of clothes, my favorite cuddly toy. The longer we are on the road, the fuller the bag gets. And my things also want to be housed somewhere. Now, after four years as a mom, I finally have the perfect bag for this: my SAOLAS . The SAOLAS is not only incredibly practical with its well thought-out interior, but also beautiful and stylish.


The practically impossible task of finding a good diaper bag

Although our dwarf is already four, I hadn't found a perfect diaper bag until now. They were all too colourful, too childish, so I used a normal handbag. I still remember how stunned I was four years ago when, in my pregnancy euphoria, I would have liked to tick off the point “diaper bag” satisfactorily and couldn't find any bag that wasn't brightly colored. So my purse served as an emergency solution. But you could neither attach it to the stroller, nor did I ever find anything in it.

If I had heard about SAOLAS back then, I probably would have jumped as high as my huge belly would have allowed. When I heard about her for the first time four years later and saw the first pictures, I was immediately convinced. A diaper bag that offers a lot of space, is super organized, is of high quality and looks great sounds like the fulfillment of all mom's dreams. And now they really exist.

The many advantages of my SAOLAS

Highest quality

All bags of the SAOLAS brand - including the flagship model, the SAOLAS model - are hand-sewn in Tuscany. They are made of leather from cows kept under the strictest German organic standards. The leather of the bags is chrome-free, the colors used are natural and free of metals and pesticides. With the SAOLAS you can be sure that you are holding a bag that is free from allergens, environmentally friendly and – crucially with a diaper bag – baby-friendly, without any substances that are harmful to our little ones.

You can see it when you look at the SAOLAS and you can feel it when you touch it: With the SAOLAS you have a bag that you can use forever. It is high-quality, soft, yet stable and perfectly finished all round.

Sustainable across the board

An important point that is becoming more and more of a purchasing decision for many mothers and also for me: sustainability. SAOLAS brand bags are ethically made from front to back. SAOLAS has defined four building blocks, with their ethically impeccable treatment they ensure that the bags can be used with a clear conscience: environment, animals, people, circularity.

Only the least environmentally harmful and ethical materials are used to make the bags: premium organic leather, recycled materials, organic cotton, natural dyes. The search for even more resource-saving materials and more environmentally friendly alternatives continues and the CO2 footprint of the supply chain is continuously improved.
The leather complies with the strictest Biokreis guidelines and it is ensured that no animal is used just for the leather. The material for the bag's extension straps and stroller tags, as well as the lining and inner pockets, are made from recycled plastic bottles. The bags are manufactured under fair working conditions, and there are close contacts with all partners to guarantee fair, transparent working methods and the production chain. The aim of the SAOLAS brand is to create long-lasting products as a strong contrast to the omnipresent fast fashion.

Lots of space for everyone and everything

What I usually criticize about bags: They are too small. I don't have this problem with the SAOLAS. With her I finally have a bag that is really spacious. The dwarf's collected utensils fit in it, and even my own. That is not something that can be taken for granted, as a rule I have to choose between an overflowing bag and doing without what is important.

 

The SAOLAS is a perfect travel bag for me and otherwise a bag for family trips, long strolls through the city and shopping trips. You have a lot of space, especially because the bag is so wonderfully organized.

 

A well thought-out interior

After the lack of space, my biggest bag problem is always the chaos that prevails in it. But now the days of panicking and having to empty the entire contents of my bag at an airport counter, hotel reception desk or on a park bench are over. The SAOLAS is simply perfectly organized inside.

In the SAOLAS there are several small pouches that are easily attached to the inside of the bag with a magnetic button. The highlight: Each pouch is embossed with a symbol on the zipper so that you can find the content you are looking for quickly and easily. The inner baby food pouch is even insulated (twenty times stronger than neoprene) so food or drink stays warm.

 

The symbols on the zippers make it easy for others to use the diaper bag. For example, when the child is with grandma and grandpa, they don't have to rummage through the bag for hours for the items they are looking for, but can quickly find what they need using the symbols on the inside pockets.

There is also a larger inner pocket, which I love to use for a tray or papers. A separate compartment for a wallet or other small items can be found inside, as well as a key ring and a holder to attach the pacifier.

Of course, as the perfect diaper bag, the SAOLAS also has a changing mat that is even padded so that the little ones can lie wonderfully soft and protected. There are also two compartments on the outside of the bag into which you can put water bottles.

 The inner pockets also make it particularly easy to completely free the bag of children's contents when you are out and about alone. Out with the bag full of baby stuff, and you already have a large handbag for a trip alone, and the bag is just as quickly put away again for the time with children.

Compatible for all situations

The straps of the SAOLAS are so long that you can comfortably carry the bag over your shoulder. However, if the length of the straps is not long enough - for example because you want to put the bag across your shoulders - you will find a longer strap in the standard accessories. You can even convert the SAOLAS into a backpack. The equipment also includes two short straps with which you can attach the diaper bag to the stroller, or wonderfully to the suitcase.

Stylish look

I think the pictures of the bag say more than any words can. The SAOLAS is wonderful. Stylish, elegant, timeless - a bag for eternity. The SAOLAS is available in black and in a dark shade of grey, and the inner workings of the two versions are each in light blue and delicate pink, with the integrated changing mats being nicely patterned.

The details of the bag are in pretty, subtle gold. Visually, the bag is stylish, but at the same time it is so discreet that it goes with every outfit and every occasion.

Can be used with babies, toddlers, big children and also alone

The SAOLAS is primarily a diaper bag. But that doesn't mean that you can only use them for baby time. As the little ones get older, the things you carry around with you don't necessarily decrease. On the contrary: I have at least as much with me on the road with a small child as I used to have with a baby, starting with a drinking bottle and a change of clothes to a cuddly toy. And the bag is usually well filled even on trips with older children: snacks, hats, gloves and so much more has to find its place.

 

How nice that you can use the SAOLAS and their practical inner pockets for just about anything. And yes, even on the (rare) outings alone without a child, she is simply ideal. I am sure that I will still use the SAOLAS when our little one is big and has long since had its own bag, because it is also great for me alone to be able to organize all the contents of my bag so easily and clearly.

 

In my opinion, the SAOLAS is a perfect bag both when traveling and at home. Especially during our travels it is just so practical for me that I can no longer imagine being without it. For those who prefer a smaller diaper bag, there is the  PANTHERA : just as pretty, just as practical, but a little smaller. For traveling and considering the many things I always carry around for the midget and I, the SAOLAS remains my favorite and I can't think of a better bag for us to carry. You can either buy the wonderful SAOLAS bags online here or in the Leger Concept Store in Schwetzingen.