Five Favourite Things with Serena Guen, Founder of SUITCASE Magazine

In this series on the Sigrid Maria Journal, creatives from various fields are asked to choose and describe five of their favourite things. These are items that could have inspired their work or given meaning to their life in some way; objects that represent a moment in time, or that forms part of journey leading to where they are now. I think it’s wonderful to, especially in these times, be able to dip into what certain things mean to people. The objects we cherish often carry energy such as love, joy and hope, and can evoke memories as well as those emotions when we think of them. The idea is to tell short stories through objects, and that with just five items you can get an insight in someone’s life, take part in their journey and get to know them a little.

This week we chat to Serena Guen, founder of SUITCASE. Born in London to an international family, she was lucky enough to grow up frequently visiting her grandparents who were scattered around the world. As her father travelled a lot for work and was keen to share the experiences he encountered, he would often revisit destinations and bring his family along. Serena went to New York University for her undergraduate degree and ended up spending two years in Paris and two years in New York. She found the ambition and tempo in New York completely contagious, and as a result there and then decided to start her own business. Having always wanted to create a travel platform that really captured the beauty and variety of the world in an honest and accurate way, Serena had a vision of building something that merged Conde Nast Traveller, Monocle, Nat Geo and Mr & Mrs Smith. SUITCASE was started out of Serena’s love for travelling and wish to give people the tools to explore the world rather than just have the superficial experiences encouraged by package holidays and other travel magazines.

Fast forward a few years, and her venture SUITCASE has become one of the leading travel platforms in the UK, and growing rapidly in the US. She has won several awards including Women of the Future Award, Natwest Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Creative Industries) and Forbes 30 Under 30. Suitcase grew organically and steadily through the years thanks to an extremely hardworking team, and earlier this year Serena hired a CEO to run the business day-to-day as she took on the role of Executive Chairwoman.

I have been an avid reader of SUITCASE for years, and I love the personal touch that runs though the magazine. From the bite sized pocket guides, to reports of dream destinations and the incredible photo journal, you really can not only travel but explore the world from the comfort of your own home. This year more than ever, we need all corners of the world to connect, and SUITCASE is one of the things that makes it possible.

Follow Serena at @serenaguen

www.suitcasemag.com

Serena in the one of the T-shirts she launched this year in aid of the British Red Cross, designed by Tatiana Alida

PHILIP LIM COAT

I love this Philip Lim coat that I bought at Beacon's Closet with my friend Lauren Singer. Lauren is a big advocate for Zero Waste Lifestyles and owns a store dedicated to it in Brooklyn called the Package Free Shop. I've always considered myself too impatient to enjoy second-hand shopping but Lauren converted me by showing me what to look for. We literally walked into the shop and she picked this out for me. We actually filmed our visit for a little series in New York that we did! Watch it here.

Tracey Emin Print

My parents gave me a Tracey Emin print for my 30th that reads "True Love Always Wins" and has a picture of Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro. It's hung on a wall between my and my husband's desks and I am always cheered up when I look at it.

WEDDING RING

My wedding ring is so meaningful to me because of all that we went through to get there. This year we had to postpone our wedding four times due to COVID. The year was emotionally draining for many reasons but to be repeatedly given hope that we could get married and then have our hopes crushed was very demoralising. I think the biggest low came at the beginning of the summer when we had re-booked our civil wedding for the end of June (the same date as our initial wedding) – at this point we were told we'd be able to get married if we had two witnesses and could have no reception afterwards. We agonised over who the witnesses would be but were excited to get married. It seemed like it would happen – at this time people were beginning to go back to work and non-essential shops were opening, long story short, we were told we couldn't get married again and so postponed to 12 September. We had our twenty-seven guests and everyone working on the day tested before the wedding so that we could have some degree of normalcy (and fewer worries) and it felt like a special bubble of joy in a dark year. I was able to hug my grandmother for the first time in months. I don't think we could've had a better wedding.

First Printed Issue of SUITCASE

The first issue ever of SUITCASE Magazine is super special to me. I'll never forget the feeling of holding it in my hands for the first time. I was studying at the time and our tiny team put so much sweat and tears into it. I don't think I slept more than two hours for about a month before going to print. It's quite funny to look at now (we've come a long way) but it was the first step on a crazy journey.

Headband

Headbands and scrunchies from Geraldine London. I am too lazy to be good at doing my hair well. Before I discovered Geraldine London, I had one vintage scrunchie from my grandmother that I loved to wear in summer. I was so excited when Alexia Genta started her brand during lockdown – it meant that I could have more fun ways to look chic but without much effort. For my wedding she even made me a MacLeod tartan one.

Five Favourite ThingsNikie LundquistDecember 12, 2020Serena Guen, Suitcase, Travel, Magazine, Geraldine London, Headband, Tartan