Ever fancied having the freedom just to head off in search of adventure, not burdened with luggage or even lumbered with a car and a caravan but instead taking your own four walls and vehicle with you, all in one handy package? If the 200k followers on Chelmsford-based Vanpuravida’s Instagram page are anything to go by, you are not alone. And this award-winning company sprung from a dream that its directors, Cecile Hauderbourg and Jose Gonzalez Martinez, first followed for themselves before realising others might want to do the same.
Cecile’s from France, Brittany, Jose’s from the Costa Brava - and clearly wanderlust is in their genes, as they met in London in 2011. Settling there, they both had busy jobs, with Jose an electrician and Cecile working as an NHS midwife. ‘We wanted a family ourselves, but it wasn’t happening, so in 2015, within nothing to tie us down, we set off on a three-month motorbike trip across Asia. I'd backpacked in the past using buses and trains to get around, but this was the first time that I wasn’t dependent on public transport. The sense of freedom was amazing – we were soon ready for another trip!’
At this point, though, the couple fancied travelling in a little more comfort – so in 2018 they bought their first second-hand Mercedes van and set about transforming it, chronically the process on Instagram. ‘Doing the work ourselves meant it was far cheaper than buying a camper van would have been – Jose has lots of practical skills and I’ve always had a keen eye for design. And it was worth doing because our goal was to travel around Europe in the van for a year.’ In preparation, they headed off around the UK for various shorter trips, enjoying the freedom of van life. ‘But then I discovered I was pregnant!’ says Cecile. ‘It was time to put the van on the market and stay put for a bit.’
Having managed to sell that first van within two days, they realised they were onto something – ‘other people might want what we had’ - and they’ve not looked back since, with customers finding them via their Instagram page @vanpuravida.
‘In the beginning, we did all the work ourselves – I even did the upholstery!’ Those days, though, are long gone; a team of three along with Jose now work on the vans, while Cecile concentrates on design and customer liaison – and uses a professional local upholsterer (@theskullshed). While Vanpuravida’s craftsmanship doesn’t come cheap, everything the team creates is bespoke and prices still compare favourably to those of a motorhome. ‘Our clients come to us with the vans – we don’t recondition those as it’s too complicated. They all have a similar sort of budget – they’ll have spent £20k on that van, then they’re looking at around £40k for us to convert it according to their requirements.’ Plenty of people seem to be willing to pay for their services – each van takes around three to four months to transform and Vanpuravida next has a slot available in 2026.
With the van conversion business quickly up and running, Cecile and Jose moved out of London three years ago: ‘ We wanted more space for our son Joseph, who's now four, and we felt Chelmsford offered plenty to do, value for money and easy access to the capital if we needed it. We really like the theatre, the little river and living here, and now we have the workshop here, too, so it’s all very convenient’ says Cecile.
Vanpuravida’s speciality has always been designing to the client’s brief – and there have been some very specific requests regarding the interiors of the vans over the years. ‘We've had one customer who wanted a particularly rustic look to their van, and one of our first customers was a scuba diver,’ recalls Cecile. ‘He wanted somewhere in the van to store all his specific gear and to be able to refill his oxygen tanks, enabling him to go diving all across Europe. Sourcing fittings and furnishings is quite an art – we like to avoid things designed specifically for motor homes, so, for instance, I’ll spend time seeking out compact home showers that might work in a van conversion.’
And creating a bespoke aesthetic for clients isn’t always straightforward, given essential considerations: ‘If you’re to drive a van easily, you’re looking at a maximum 3.5-tonne weight, all in. So when we’re renovating a van, we’ll ensure everything we add to it comes in at a maximum of three tonnes, so there’s plenty of room for the weight of passengers and their belongings, too.’
In her working life, Cecile has long been a fan of ebay ‘not only for finding things, but for price comparison purposes, too’, but the internet auction site has recently taken on another importance in Vanpuravida’s life, after one of the team suggested they enter the inaugural ebay Van Conversion of the Year competition. Its judges included architect, George Clarke, someone who knows all about amazing spaces.
Consequently, Vanpuravida was recently named winner in the Luxury Van Conversion category for its work on Miss Mokum, a Fiat Ducato van they converted for a Dutch-English couple, Regina Post and Gary Whitaker. ‘Mokum is a nick-name for Amsterdam, where I'm from,’ explains Regina. The super-stylish bolt-hole on wheels boasts all mod cons, right down to the little details - for instance, Gary's a great wine-lover, so a key part of the brief was to fit a wine cooler into the van, as well as a fridge-freezer and pull-out mini coffee machine. Other tech in the van includes an electric bed from Lippert that lifts up at the touch of a button and fits into the roof space, providing enough leg room around the two mustard-coloured corduroy sofas to accommodate Gary's long legs. 'It's also possible to raise the bed only partway towards the roof,' explains Regina, 'So we can still get into it, but there's space for a couple of our kids, if they're visiting, to sleep underneath, or for our dog, Scruffy, to do so.' When the bed's in the roof space, the couple have a choice of fitting one of two table tops into the space it's vacated: one for just the two of them to dine around, or the one that seats up to six. There's a boxed loo that, with its lid down, be pull raised bed, but, shower-wise, the couple elected for more space inside so went, not for an internal cubicle but for a simple hose shower that can be tucked away. This can be pulled outside of the van for use al fresco - ideal for washing in warmer climes. Back in the van, a video screen, projector and a state-of-the art sound system mean that there's plenty to keep Gary and Regina occupied when it's raining. ‘Knowing that the speakers would be on show, I wanted something really attractive,’ explains Cecile. ‘Gallo Acoustics are top quality and they come in the copper finish that we've used as a design motif throughout the van. There's everything from a copper sink and copper light fittings and door handles, to copper piping, which we've used as poles for the window blinds.’ Attention to detail extends to a host of other finishing touches: leather ties for the blinds, and a richly patterned, tile-effect splashback made from material that's both heat- and water-resistant - real tiles would have been to heavy. Other practical features include energy-saving solar panels and an awning to provide a shady outdoor spot when the van is parked up.
With its warm green and mustard colour scheme, wood slatted ceiling and all the care that's gone into its creation, Miss Mokum has a feel of understated, relaxed opulence. Says Regina: 'I can't help but keep finding bits to give her an even funkier vibes - I'm thinking more fairy lights and sheepskin throws.' And how do the couple feel about owning a prize-winning vehicle? 'We're thrilled and delighted for Cecile and Jose - nothing has been too much trouble for them. In creating our dream home, they've had so many great ideas themselves - and they've run with our ideas, too, but made them even better. Now, we're really looking forward to heading off in Miss Mokum to our new home on Spain's Costa del Sol.'
Says Cecile: 'Hearing clients' reactions and seeing their faces when they see their completed project is always a treat. We’ve had post cards from all around Europe and photos, too, so we get to see our finished work in action. It’s really satisfying helping to create people’s dream travel homes. The only issue is that we’re so busy, it’s going to be while before we can convert another van for ourselves!’
