Hatchbag Team

Welcome to Autumn

The autumnal months are here in full force, with the shift in the weather being most notable in the UK. Autumn is representative of change, transformation and preparation. As the autumnal leaves transition into vibrant and striking colours, it makes us feel excitement for new beginnings. It is important to embrace the season, and celebrate all its festivities. Here at Hatchbag, we are seizing the autumnal season, celebrating Halloween and bonfire night, two occasions that are staff favourites. Autumn is also a great time to immerse yourself in the evolving natural landscapes and explore scenic areas that host a good place to hike.

Why our boot liner is perfect for Autumn

Our boot liners are the perfect companion for your autumn adventures, as we believe the cleanliness of your car is important to keep that ease and relaxation supplied by the new season. Whether it’s muddy walking boots or a smelly dog, our Hatchbag boot liner has you covered. The liner is made out of reinforced PVC, which makes it tear-proof, allowing for heavy hiking equipment to be transported without worrying about your boot becoming exposed. We pride ourselves on the quality standard of our product, and believe your boot should have the constant protection that you desire. In addition to the liner, you can also purchase an odour control mat, perfect for preventing those pet odours from lingering in your car.

Our boot liner, aesthetically, also can allow you to embrace the autumnal spirit, and match the oranges, reds and browns that are so prominent in nature. We offer our boot liners in a variety of colours, including those autumnal shades, allowing your car to have a seasonal feel. We showcase our range of colours on our Instagram and Facebook, so feel free to have a browse and see if our autumnal colours would compliment your car.

The most notable shift we see when we get to the later months of the year is the drop in temperatures and rise in rainfall. It is so important to explore the outdoors this season, but we understand that your car can suffer during these months. Without the sunshine drying your pets off, your car gets the brunt of your muddy return. We make our boot liners catering to customer wants and needs.

When cleaning your liner, it remains in the boot, making your job easier and quicker. The boot liner isn’t machine washable, however, cleaning your liner with simple cleaning products in the boot itself saves time and water. You can get rid of all that mud and grime quickly and efficiently. We want the journeys to your autumnal adventures to be easy. At Hatchbag, we take away the worry of your messy boot and guarantee full protection for your car’s interior.

The Great Outdoors

Enjoying the great outdoors is essential for these months as nature is beautiful and ever-changing at this time. After a brisk walk, a forest trail or mountainous hike, the Hatchbag boot liner is the perfect accessory to maintain your clean car. Whether it’s dirt covered walking boots or a muddy dog, our boot liner protects your car from the inevitable dirt in these colder and wetter months.

At Hatchbag, we are all lovers of the great outdoors and exploring nature. The crisp air filled walks and the stunning views allows us to feel relaxed, at ease and a sense of inner peace. It is so important to take breaks from the virtual world and enjoy nature, with the autumnal season being the perfect host for striking natural sights. Hiking not only allows you to connect with nature, but is a social activity that can be enjoyed with friends and family. Being outside in the fresh air is important for us, as it makes us feel better and happier. We would love to recommend some of our favourite walking routes and National Trust properties in the UK, so you can plan your adventures outdoor this season.

Embracing this season is so important and we would love to hear all about your adventures. Send us photographs of your autumnal adventures on our Facebook and Instagram, we would love to see what you get up to!

Hatchbag Approved Hikes and Locations

With autumn being such a great time of year to explore and appreciate nature, the Hatchbag team would like to share some fantastic areas for hikes, and also some National Trust properties that can be a warm and cosy shelter for the unpredictable weather. The UK’s natural landscape is unique, picturesque and vast. Exploring this and appreciating your time in nature is a nice way to change up your usual routine. Here are some of our favourite hikes/ walks and National Trust properties

Dovestone Reservoir, Saddleworth, Greater Manchester

Potter around the reservoir of hike up to see stunning scenery, Dovestone accommodates to all. Located in the beautiful hills of Saddleworth, Dovestone is a great place to take your dog and take in the beautiful landscape it is surrounded by.

Lyme Park, Stockport

Lyme Park is a beautiful location to walk around and immerse yourself in history, with tours of the house and gardens running through Autumn. The 1400 acres of parkland that surrounds the house is full of wildlife and beautiful views, perfect for observing the change in season.

Bolderwood, Lyndhurst, Hampshire

Located in the New Forest National Park, Bolderwood is a great place to not only walk, but see some interesting wildlife. You can watch Fallow deer in their natural habitat from the viewing platform and appreciate the biodiversity that Bolderwood has to offer.

Sherwood Pines, Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire

Sherwood Pines has a Gruffalo trail and Robin Hood Hideout play area, perfect for keeping your kids entertained in the great outdoors. With mountain bike courses and stunning views, this location caters to all.

Hardcastle Crags, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

This beautiful wooded valley is great for observing the natural landscape. It boasts waterfalls, streams and 15 miles of footpaths, perfect for an autumnal adventure. At the centre of the woodland, Gibson mill is located, a unique mill where you will find the Weaving Shed Café.

Get to know me

Hello readers! My name is Evie and I am a new starter at The Hatchbag Company. I have recently graduated with a degree in English Literature and have always had a passion for writing. Throughout my degree, I found a love for creative writing and story-telling. I am excited to use this blog as a space to keep Hatchbag customers updated on what goes on behind the scenes at our warehouse in Birkenhead. I am thrilled to take this next step and take on the role as Digital Marketing Co-ordinator!

I am excited to be working on the Hatchbag blog and would love for to this become a space for informative and fun content. In this blog post, I will be taking you through my first week at The Hatchbag Company. I was taken across three main sections of the business, and was able to watch first hand the whole process of creating UK boot liners that are tailor-made to your car.

My time in design (creating the Hatchbag boot liner)

My time with the design team, Sarah and Gabriel, was both educational and fascinating. We covered the fitting of the boot liner and how vision becomes reality. Design starts with a more logistical process, looking at customer demand for boot liners and researching if these car models would work at Hatchbag. The Hatchbag Company uses software to give the designing process structure. This helps the team in creating the best boot protector for your car.

Starting off with looking at customer trends, your comments on social media such as Facebook and Instagram asking for car models, gives  a great starting point for research. At Hatchbag, we want to create boot liners that you want! The Hatchbag Company does extensive research on the car models, so your boot liner that you receive is perfect. This reinforces why our boot liners perfectly fit every curve and contour of your boot. These intricacies are all resolved in the designing process. To understand the dimensions of your own boot to place an order, websites such as auto trader and net car show images of the specific car boots.

Once our detailed research is complete, the desired car goes on our landing page and published on this blog! The new car additions are always under the ‘We Want Your Car!’ section. This is available to the public for enquiries to be made on whether they want to have their car scanned in order to receive a free boot liner.

A scan plan is then made when the research of the car is complete, and the customer comes in with their car. The scan is completed with a 3D scanning camera, which allows for the design construction. The prototype is then officially completed!

In terms of a customer coming in for the free boot liner in exchange for their car being the tester, the design team then will fit the liner. We have a description on our website on how to fit the Hatchbag boot liner, so customers who purchase can also fit their boot liner seamlessly. If there are any errors with the boot liner, the liner has to go back to design where amendments can be made. This is then able to be signed off and becomes a completed car, ready on the website for a customer to purchase the tailor-made boot liner. Our social media pages will always keep you up to date on this!

My time in operations (watching the Hatchbag boot liner come together)

I joined Natalie to take a tour of the warehouse and better understand the manufacturing of the Hatchbag boot liner. We see this product on Hatchbag’s website as a completed, sellable version, but looking behind the scenes, the manufacturing of the boot liner exemplifies its intricacies and well thought out design choices. Natalie initially guided me through the ordering process, going through the website and exploring how the boot liners are customisable and tailor made to each vehicle. She explained the purpose of elements crafted specifically for the Hatchbag boot liner, such as the split, and highlighted the importance of the customer thoroughly reading the product guide to ensure the correct boot liner is made. At Hatchbag, all our boot liners are made to order in the UK, showing how important it is to follow the product guide.

When analysing social media comments and responses, I have noticed that the main questions were based around the logistics of the Hatchbag boot liner. This included asking for measurements and questioning whether the vehicle would need extra additions to meet the consumer needs.  

I was then ready to observe the delicate crafting of the boot liners. I witnessed the precision and talent of the machinists and understood how their role transformed a design into sellable and desirable product. We first visited the cutters and welders of the PVC, the material used to make the boot liner. They created the intricate shapes that allow for the boot liners to be personal to each car. Large machines were operated in order to trace and cut the precise angles of the PVC, ensuring accurate measurements to perfectly fit the chosen vehicle.

We then saw the boot liners come to life in the sewing room. The liner initially starts as a jigsaw puzzle, with the highly skilled machinists using sewing machines to carefully attach the right pieces of Velcro to the right piece of PVC. This is then transferred to more machinsits in the Hatchbag team, where the pieces of PVC are then constructed into the shape of the Hatchbag boot liner. This is where design really becomes a visual reality. Even without being fitted in a car, you can see how all the specific design choices will complement the vehicle and protect from dirt, wear and tear and spillages.

The Hatchbag boot liner is then ready to be shipped! The order is packaged in a water resistant bag and is delivered to the customer in roughly 3-5 business days. Inside of the shipping bag, the customer will find the boot liner in addition to an information pack. The pack includes a manual that takes the customer step by step on the process of fitting the boot liner and any additional extras.

In terms of the behind the scenes of checking an order off, Hatchbag uses a specific software, where the necessary details are filled in and then the order can be marked as complete.

I was also able to shadow Gabriel and Sarah, who are our design team, and watch and assist the fitting of a boot liner. Hatchbag offers a system where if your car is classed as an unavailable model, you can bring it in to be scanned and then the liner can be fitted and you can take it home for free. All Hatchbag asks for is to borrow your car for the scanning and fitting. This example happened in my first week, where a car was brought in and the fitting took place to ensure all measurements and logistics were correct. The process of fitting the boot liner started with using a product called Autoglym, which acts as a cleanser to remove silicone build up. This helps with the Velcro tabs adhering to the sections of the boot where the liner is placed. It was fascinating watching how the meticulous cutting, welding and sewing all translated to the boot liner fitting perfectly in the car. The intricacies of designing the boot liner also made a vision come to life.

My time in customer service (helping the customers with the Hatchbag boot liner)

In my initial week at Hatchbag, I learnt all about customer service with Janine. One of the main things I took from learning about customer service was the accuracy and detail in which you phrase your responses. Many of the customer service queries were based on the functionality of the boot liner. This meant that responding to customers in a way that is easy to understand, but still hit the marks of successfully answering all of the questions, is vital.

What I really noticed this week, was that there is lots of interactivity between customer service, design and marketing at The Hatchbag Company. When customer service receives a high number of requests for a boot liner to be made for a specific model of car, design is then able to scan and create the boot liner. Marketing then has the ability to promote this addition to Hatchbag’s boot liner collection.

Customer service also involves being personable to customers and understanding about their queries. This is done through many websites that Hatchbag use, focussing on customer interaction to resolve any issues but also maintain customer relationships for repeat purchases and recommendations. At Hatchbag, we manage our customer reviews and love to reply to positive comments and resolve any issues that a customer has. Hatchbag always replies to reviews that are 3 stars or below, asking the customer about anything that could make the product better for them.

I have noticed that the care for customer opinion is at the heart of The Hatchbag Company, therefore using websites that join all reviews together allows Janine in customer service to quickly and easily reply. There are other websites that Hatchbag uses to look at customer feedback however, instead of reviews and rating, we use a website that compiles all of the comments, tagged photos and direct messages from all of the Hatchbag social media and places it in one inbox. This is fantastic tool to use as it keeps up the interactivity with customers by liking posts and comments, yet also allows for questions to be answered in the direct messages.

The phone is the easiest and quickest way to communicate with customers. However, the digital age and the rise in social media presence makes for more traction and attention on the Hatchbag social media pages, making it necessary to communicate and post to keep up customer engagement.

Blog posts, just like this, are another way that Hatchbag likes to be interactive with customers. Things such as recurring questions and upcoming sales can be answered in this form, giving the upmost clarity to the customer.

My Future at The Hatchbag Company

My first week at Hatchbag has been fast-paced, exciting and educational. Every day, I am  familiarising myself with our products and the support from the Hatchbag team has made me feel so welcome. I am thrilled to be working on this blog and will also be able to interact on our Facebook and Instagram pages. I can’t wait to share more about our boot liners and what we get up to at The Hatchbag company.

We have a list of unavailable models for which we are looking to create bootliners and offer the Hatchbag boot liner for FREE*!

*To create a new boot liner, we simply require access to the vehicle it will be fitted in.

This will require two visits to our factory, roughly 3-4 weeks apart, lasting around 2 hours each visit! So that we can scan the boot,design and then fit a tailor made liner to suit the specific shape of your boot. 

As a thank you for your time, we will provide you with a Hatchbag boot liner FREE of charge with your choice of options** 

**Any mats will be charged. All other options are free. Factory Address is: Unit 1, Turbine Road, Birkenhead, Wirral, CH41 9HP

If you have any of the cars listed below and live in the North West, click on car link !

If you are interested, please contact us via email [email protected] and we will give you all the information you need.

The journey of a Hatchbag boot liner.

Today we want to show you what happens between clicking “Place Order” and the parcel arriving on your doorstep.

Here at the Hatchbag Company, everything is made in-house. So from the moment an order arrives in our online shop our team takes over.

As our boot liners are tailored to fit your car model exactly, we sometimes will ask you very specific questions during the ordering process on our website. We check that your order has all the information we need, and we will contact you in case there are any unanswered questions. Our Customer Service team will help you if you need any more help with the configuration or are unsure about the specifics of your car model.

Once we have all the information we need, production begins. Your selected colour material will be cut by a state-of-the-art cutting machine and then hand-marked by the cutter. This is a unique identifier for your personal order.

How many pieces make up a bootliner?

It differs from car to car, model to model. But here is an example of what a bootliner looks like when the cutter is done with it.

It is then handed to our high-frequency welders, who weld the first batch of hook and loop fastener strips onto your boot liner.

Yes, you can weld fabric, too!

Once the smaller hook and loop fastener tabs are safely welded onto the PVC, the individual loose parts of the cut-out material move into our sewing room. Our team of highly skilled sewing machinists will then sew all the prep work like darts and long strips of hook and loop fasteners into the boot liner. Darts make sure the boot liner will fit into all the recesses in your car and will hug the edges tightly. The long strips of hook and loop fastener are your attachment points for extras like Bootliner Extension or Bumper Flap. No robots involved!

Once the prep work is complete, straps for the headrests and our logo are inserted.

From here the boot liner moves on to the next team.

All the various pieces that make up the boot liner are assembled into the main product, your boot liner is finally talking its final form. Every piece is sewn into place and all is secured with a black border around all of the outside. This is called TAPING and gives the edges of the liner and all our extras like bumper flaps and tailgate cover a nice, clean finish.

Your liner is finished, so now it gets teamed up with the correct tabs and strips of hook and loop fasteners so you can attach your boot liner securely to your car.

Every car is individual, so our logistics team will personalise your fitting kit before your order gets packed for shipping. Some cars need more fasteners than others, some don’t need any at all, so we take care in putting together the correct tabs and strips for your fitting requirements.

All that’s left to do now is ship your order out. Our courier collects daily and has a Next Day mandate within the UK, so your order is normally with you the day after it has left our sewing room.

If you are in Europe and USA, we aim to deliver your order within 6 to 8 days after it was placed.

We hope you enjoyed this little look behind the scenes and discovered something interesting in the making of a tailored car boot liner.

The Hatchbag Team

On Sunday, 27^th March the UK and Ireland will celebrate Mothering Sunday and we at The Hatchbag Company want to say a big THANK YOU to mothers all around the country!

This year, why not give your mother something that will not wilt or melt, but last a long time? Combine this with the most valuable present of all – spending time together – and you have a truly memorable Mother’s Day gift.

Here are some ideas that are suitable for every budget, but priceless every time:

Make it a fancy, luxury weekend breakaway in a SPA hotel, get a mud bath together and have a giggle reciting quotes form The Mummy during your hydrating full-body wrap.

Take a drive up to the nearest stately home and have a decadent afternoon tea, complete with that glass of bubbly and wishing you both could take the butler home to do all the washing up for you.

Or just have a long, good catchup and set the world to rights again during a leisurely stroll through a public park or gardens, or visit that local farm where you can pick your own flowers (and veg!)

Whether your Mum is outdoorsy, likes to garden or has a dog or two, a perfect gift idea could be a boot liner to protect her car boot from all the mud and dirt that comes with rainy walks, four legged friends and plant soil. The Hatchbag tailor-made car boot protector won’t let any dirt or water get into her car’s interior, it is waterproof and easy to clean (unless you want the car to join in the mud bath at the SPA weekend)

Check out our options on our website The Hatchbag Company

We would love to see whatever you decide to do, send us your memories on Twitter @HatchbagCompany, on Instagram @TheHatchbagCompany and on Facebook The Hatchbag Company.

Thank you, Mums everywhere, you are all superheroes!

As a car owner, it’s important that you do what you can to keep the exterior of your car looking its best. However, it’s just as crucial that you look after the interior of your vehicle too. To learn how to protect your car from the inside out, keep reading.

1. Invest in a boot liner

There’s no denying that the car boot is a convenient place to store items that we want to take from A to B. However, whether it’s your food shopping, a pram, a bike or even your pet dog, getting stuff in and out of your boot on a regular basis can be detrimental to your car’s interior. If you’re not careful, you could potentially damage the inside of your vehicle, leaving it looking tatty and tired more quickly than you’d like.

To avoid ruining your car’s interior, you could invest in a boot liner from Hatchbag. And if you want further protection then why not choose an optional extra such as; a bumper flap to protect your bumper from dogs jumping in, pram wheels or work-tools, or a tailgate cover, to protect the inside of your car boot door. All of these accessories will help to keep your boot clean and protect your upholstery.

2. Keep it shaded from the sun

We all know the ways in which the sun can affect our health - but did you know it could damage your car too? Not only can the sun’s harsh rays discolour the paint on your vehicle’s exterior, but they can cause the inside of your car to fade too, including the upholstery of your seats, and can even cause the dashboard to warp and crack.

The good news is, there are a number of things you can do to stop the sun from ruining the interior of your car. For example, you could use a windscreen sun shade. This accessory sits on the inside of the window and stops the sun from penetrating through the glass into the car. Usually, these shades are reflective too, helping to keep your vehicle cool in the summer.

You could also try parking your car in the shade, such as under a tree or, better yet, in a garage.

3. Clean it out regularly

When it comes to keeping your car spick and span, you’ll need to make sure you clean it out regularly, in particularly giving it a good vacuum. Over time, it’s easy for the foot-wells and sections between the seats to become grubby, so make sure to clean up any crumbs, stones and dirt that’s built up.

It also helps to use a suitable surface cleaner to wipe down your dashboard and steering wheel, and you could scrub away any marks on the seats using an appropriate stain remover. For the finishing touch, you could hang a fragrant air freshener from your rear view mirror.