Seatmates: Steph Hon
On solving airport friction, having a dancer’s discipline, and turning 207 prototypes into a cult-favorite travel system
This interview is part of Seatmates, a Window Seat series decoding the travel habits, global itineraries, and design-forward recommendations of today’s most compelling tastemakers.
In a culture obsessed with doing more faster and faster, Steph Hon approaches travel with a different ethos: effortless harmony. She sees the items we carry with us not as simply “stuff in a bag,” but rather the physical baseline for how grounded we feel when everything around us is suddenly different.
As a former dancer turned founder, Steph looks at movement through a lens of total spatial awareness and beauty. That’s what led her to build Cadence, creating a sleek, magnetic ecosystem that solved one of my biggest issues with travel: the cheap, disposable containers we’ve been forced to tolerate for decades.
And I’m far from a neutral observer here! I’ve been a Cadence evangelist since my first order three years ago. It’s one system that has stripped away so much friction and anxiety from my packing routine. And Steph’s obsession with solving real-world friction shines through everything she touches, from her sharp product philosophy to her laid-back flight rituals.
Read on to learn why she thinks spontaneity requires structure, how to turn airplane hours into creative fuel, and the personal reason behind her aisle seat loyalty.
Tell us a little about yourself.
“As a person, I value flexibility, autonomy, and putting myself in new, unexpected situations. I'm grateful to be the founder of Cadence, a design company built for people going places. We make it easy to bring the products you use every day with you, so you can focus on the moment you're actually in instead of what you forgot. I used to be a dancer, and I've carried that love of movement and how we interact with the world around us.”
I’ve been traveling with Cadence for over three years now, and I always tell people that you cured me of a very specific kind of travel trauma. When you were living out of your tote bag in New York dreaming this up, was it a single catastrophic leak in your bag that broke the camel's back, or was it just a slow-burning frustration with how incredibly ugly and thoughtless that entire category of products was?
“This made my day knowing you have been using Cadence for three years. Thank you for your support of Cadence – you help us innovate and bring dreams to life!
And, I know exactly the travel trauma you mean. It’s death by a thousand cuts. I was traveling constantly, and not just for trips or long weekends. I mean to and from dance, to my boyfriend’s place, back home. Yes, there were leaks. And, there was the feeling of being a bag lady while wanting to be the woman at the airport with nothing in her arms, totally calm. I could not get there. I was buying travel sizes constantly, which is wasteful, and living with objects that were badly designed and didn’t reflect anything I cared about.
What it all added up to was mental weight. I couldn’t say yes to things quickly. I’d go into a whole mode days before a trip. And that felt completely contrary to being a person who’s always moving. We all want to be spontaneous, but spontaneity needs support.”
I read that it took you 207 prototypes, 4 patents, and going through 10 different engineers who told you the magnetic connection was 'impossible' before you finally launched Cadence. For anyone who has ever had a random idea in the middle of the night, what kept you from quitting after, say, prototype number 150?
“I had a burning conviction that the world deserved better products, and that mission fueled me then, and fuels me now. If you believe it to your core, nothing will slow you down.
I generally don’t believe in the word “impossible.” Put the right minds in a room and it almost never is. And if it is, I also prescribe by the mantra “do your best”. If you do your best, give it 100%, and it’s not possible, then you have nothing to feel bad about. But, I will say, this is rarely the case that something cannot be done.
If you truly believe in something, it does the work for you. It’s what lets you raise money. It’s what lets you pitch someone into joining your team. Belief attracts the right people and the right resources.”
You’ve built a brand around making movement seamless. When you step onto a plane, what is the one friction point in modern aviation that still drives you completely insane? Anything you wish you could take a stab at redesigning from scratch yourself?
“My dad immigrated from China, and I grew up drinking hot water and tea. It's just what we did. So before every flight I fill my bottle with hot water and cut it with cold, because hot water is the one thing you can't reliably get in an airport. Then I run out mid-flight and I generally avoid tiny plastic cups and not very clean hot water boilers. Maybe one day Cadence will solve this :)”
What’s been your most memorable stay?
“There have been incredible places and stays (Bonaire, where I got Scuba certified; Phi Phi Island in Thailand, where I went after visiting our manufacturers…). That said, I most love architecture that brings people together.
We did our off-site in Hilton Head last year in a beautiful house right on the beach, and Hilton helped make it happen. Getting that familiar, uninterrupted time with the team is rare, and that’s the stay I keep coming back to.”
Is there a destination or property at the top of your wishlist?
“I've spent time in China but never in Japan, and it's at the very top of my list. The design is something I deeply admire and am inspired by. The level of invention and problem solving is truly unrivaled. In the USA, I believe we are used to a world of businesses that invent problems to solve, or don’t actually solve a problem. In Japan, the products are world class, and so inspired they go above and beyond what you think is possible. I nerd out on this, and it gives me a sense of hope when it comes to great product.”
What are your must-haves when it comes to luggage and items you travel with?
“Rimowa carry-on. I love it.
Then the Cadence system, which is my 25 Capsules organized into 2 Parcels. One parcel for liquids, so skincare and haircare. A separate parcel for wellness, supplements and emergency medication, Advil included. And a third parcel for all my tech, which keeps everything neat instead of loose in the bag.
My go-to carry-on bag, which is Nothing Written, fits perfectly under my seat. I’ve used this on at least 50-75 flights and had to get the leather straps stitched a few times because I love it to death.”
What is your go-to airport outfit?
:Air Jordans. A COS set, black zip-up and matching pants, a t-shirt underneath for flexibility if it gets hot. Then a sweater tied around my shoulders rather than my waist, which is very Tibi and also practical for me, because I throw my neck out easily and I want something to put over my shoulders on the plane. Topped off with the Frankie Shop trench (thank you to Amy Smilovic in her creative pragmatist way of dressing, which recommends this).”
Do you have any rules or rituals when it comes to air travel?
:If I’m working, I treat a flight as some of the best creative time I get. The Wi-Fi may or may not cooperate, which honestly helps. It’s rare to have uninterrupted hours, so I use them.
After I get caught up, and if I still have time, movies back to back. Where else would you ever do that?
The rest is ritual. Full skincare routine on an overnight flight. Compression socks.”
Last question: aisle or window seat?
:Aisle, always. I had scoliosis surgery when I was younger. I'm completely fine now, but I wore a brace for two years, sixteen hours a day, and it left me minorly claustrophobic in certain situations. So I will live and die by the aisle. My team knows. And if I can, extra legroom. Always worth it.”
For more from Steph, follow her on Instagram. Interested in being featured in Seatmates or know someone who should be? Drop me a line here.
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Window Seat covers the intersection of luxury hospitality, aviation innovation, and the culture of modern travel, written by Tori Simokov, a writer and designer based in New York. For partnership opportunities: tori@v1projects.com. You can also connect with her on Instagram, TikTok, or ShopMy.