The Birth of Kabin: From Cardboard to Revolution
In the midst of pandemic lockdowns, when many businesses were struggling to survive, Walter Craven experienced a moment of entrepreneurial clarity that would transform the future of office spaces. Confined to his London home with a wife painting, children homeschooling, and the constant cacophony of everyday life, Walter found himself desperately seeking personal space and focus. This frustration became the catalyst for Cabin – not just another acoustic pod but an experience designed to make people feel at home while at work.
The traditional approach to office privacy has always involved placing workers in backward-facing boxes, isolating them from their environment. Walter's innovation completely transformed this concept – literally. The Cabin pod positions users facing outward through glass, maintaining the connection with their surroundings while providing acoustic privacy and a sense of command over their space. This "throne-like position," as Walter describes it, offers workers something they increasingly value: choice and control over their environment.
What makes Cabin truly revolutionary is its thoughtful design elements, which address both acoustic concerns and psychological comfort. The faceted walls serve dual purposes – directing sound inside the pod back to the user's ears while preventing sound reverberation in open offices. The forward-facing orientation creates a sense of privacy without isolation, allowing users to maintain awareness of their surroundings. These design choices weren't arbitrary but emerged from Walter's own experience of desperately seeking focus during lockdown.
The journey from concept to product exemplifies entrepreneurial resilience. Walter's first prototype was crafted from cardboard delivery boxes, glue, string, and an old garden chair – humble beginnings for what would become a premium workplace product. When early feedback indicated his production design would be too expensive to sell and too complex to assemble, Walter didn't give up. Instead, he secretly developed an alternative approach, testing it with a prototype builder before revealing the new direction to his team.
Beyond the physical product, Cabin integrates technology that enhances the experience through an innovative mood system. Users can transform their environment with ambient soundscapes – from café chatter to rainfall, airplane cabin noise to the sound of passing trains – creating personalized focus spaces. The articulating table can be pushed away, acknowledging that productivity isn't always about typing on a laptop. Sometimes, it's about reading, pondering, or simply taking a moment to recharge.
Walter's story reflects his own upbringing in a family business. As the son of Boston ironworkers who built and maintained their small business for 52 years, he understood the value of perseverance and community connection. This appreciation for craftsmanship and relationships informed his approach to creating spaces where people truly want to be. The personal touch that distinguishes small businesses from anonymous big-box retailers finds expression in Cabin's attention to user experience and well-being.
The expansion of Cabin from the UK to the US market represents a full-circle journey for Walter, who moved his family from San Francisco to London after realizing he was "living to work" rather than "working to live." This European perspective on work-life balance infuses Cabin's philosophy – creating spaces that acknowledge our need for moments of reflection and recharge within the workday, not just productivity machines but human-centered environments where people can think, create, and simply be.