‘Catering to the Canadian customer’: UNpacking with U.N. Luggage

Travel can be an amazing thing: experiencing new cultures, seeing new places, gaining fresh perspectives. Even the act of planning a trip can be tantalizing – the anticipation of what’s to come.      

The actual travel, though, can also be a bit of a headache... airport delays, crammed spaces, lousy weather, and any number of other stresses that can pop up.  

Even deciding what to take with you can be a challenge but what to take it in? That’s easy! Just talk to the folks at U.N. Luggage – the one-stop travel shop.  

“A key right now would be dimensions,” says co-owner Jon Thiessen, when asked about the “ideal” travel luggage.  

The two main carriers in Canada – Air Canada and WestJet Airlines – permit two different-sized carry-on bags.   

His preferred – and personal travel bag – is the Global Carry-On Spinner by Briggs & Riley – which “cater(s) to the Canadian customer.”  

“(The bag) is built perfectly to fit both airlines,” he says. “It’s a maxed-out, legal carry-on.”  

BRIGGS & RILEY BASELINE GLOBAL CARRY-ON SPINNER (BLU121CXSPW 4) BLACK

Featuring one-touch expansion and a built-in tri-fold garment folder, the bag serves both leisure and business travellers well.  

“When they came out with this bag, they knocked it out of the park,” says Thiessen.  

First-class and family-owned

Since 1940, U.N. Luggage has provided top-notch luggage and travel accessories to Winnipeggers and beyond for decades. 

Thiessen’s own involvement with the store goes back to his childhood when his father purchased the company in 1985 and moved the store to its current location two years later. 

“I grew up sweeping floors, moving bags around, stocking shelves and that sort of thing,” Thiessen recounts.  

Eventually, he and his sister, Jen Goreski, bought the business and expanded the offerings at the store.  

“(We have been) evolving it from what used to be a wholesale luggage store into a luggage and travel specialty shop,” he says.  

Located in the heart of the historic Exchange District, U.N. Luggage is at 175 McDermot Avenue – or online at www.unluggage.com