Our Story
It All Started With £1...
About KLAS UK
Hi, I’m Lee, founder of KLAS UK.
If you’ve ever ordered from us, emailed with a question, chatted on social media or watched one of our videos, there’s a good chance we’ve already “met.”
But where did KLAS come from?
Like so many collectors, my story started with a single little diecast car.
When I was a kid, my mum discovered that a £1 Matchbox car was a brilliant way of keeping me occupied during shopping trips. Looking back, I was probably a nightmare to take shopping, because before long one little Matchbox became another… then another… and eventually shelves, drawers and boxes full of Matchbox and Hot Wheels.
That fascination never disappeared. As the years passed, childhood became adulthood, and one thing changed…
Adults have a little more disposable income than children.
What began as a handful of toy cars slowly became a proper collection. Then a serious collection. Then, if I’m being completely honest… an obsession…
And, probably like yourself, I absolutely loved it.
Life Before KLAS
For 26 years I worked in retail, managing stores for a well-known catalogue retailer (that doesn’t really use catalogues anymore!).
Retail was all I’d ever known. Making customers happy was something that I had a passion for. Exceeding expectations and making a persons day was so addictive to see.
Then 2020 arrived.
Like so many people, COVID completely changed everything. High streets emptied, stores closed and eventually I found myself being made redundant.
It was one of those moments where life forces you to make a decision.
Do you look for another job…
…or do you finally take a chance on doing something you genuinely love?
Where The Name KLAS Came From
I’d actually registered KLAS a few years earlier while selling on Amazon, but the name has never been about business.
It’s always and only ever been about family.
– Keeley
– Lee
– Amelie
– Sophie
KLAS.
Since then our family has grown with the arrival of Lincoln and Austin, who have added even more excitement (and noise!) to family life.
And yes… people often ask…
Were Lincoln and Austin named after car manufacturers?
We’ll let you decide. 
Keeley has supported every ambitious idea I’ve ever had. Whether it was becoming a professional drone pilot, taking up golf (there’s currently an expensive drone and a very nice set of golf clubs gathering dust in the loft to prove it!), or starting KLAS properly, like any great partner, she’s always believed in me.
Without her encouragement, KLAS simply wouldn’t exist.
Built By A Collector, For Collectors
When I decided to make KLAS my full-time business, I asked myself one simple question:
What would I want as a collector?
I’d bought plenty of protectors over the years. Some were too thin… Some felt like bricks, too thick and not crystal clear… Others damaged the corners of the card or simply didn’t look good on display… Some became brittle and yellowed over time.
None of them ticked every box.
So instead of settling, I decided to create the protector I wished someone else had already made.
It was a huge gamble.
Months were spent designing, adjusting measurements, testing prototypes, making tiny improvements and starting again until everything was exactly right.
Eventually the first KLAS Short Card & Long Card protectors arrived.
Opening those first cartons is something I’ll never forget.
They were exactly how I’d imagined them.
Crystal clear. Strong without being bulky. Designed to enhance the card rather than hide it… and the raised KLAS lip around the front window helped protect against scratches while adding extra strength where collectors need it most.
Most importantly…
They looked like they belonged on every single car in my own collection.
The Collector Community
Before selling them properly, I sent samples to fellow collectors for honest feedback.
I wanted real opinions, not compliments.
The response was incredible.
Collectors loved them…
Word spread…
Orders started coming in.
Those first few sales turned into hundreds.
Hundreds became thousands.
Today we’ve sent thousands of wax sealed thank you notes with tens of thousands of protectors to collectors across the UK and around the world, and every new product we release still follows exactly the same philosophy:
If it isn’t good enough for my own collection, it isn’t good enough to carry the KLAS name.
More Than Just Protectors
Since those very first protectors arrived, KLAS has grown far beyond Hot Wheels.
Today we design and supply protectors for all kinds of collectibles, from diecast cars to action figures and trading cards and we aim to protect everything in between. Every new product starts the same way it always has… by asking one simple question:
“Would I be proud to put this on my own collection?”
If the answer isn’t a definite yes, it doesn’t become a KLAS product.
But what makes me proudest isn’t the number of protectors we’ve sold.
It’s the stories.
Collectors sending photos of display rooms they’ve spent years building.
Customers telling us their prized collections finally have the protection they deserve.
Parents sharing pictures of their children discovering the hobby for the very first time.
One message, though, will stay with me FOREVER. It was the moment that, for us, we knew we’d made something truly special…
It was a few years ago, when a customer got in touch to make some enquiries and also to tell me that their young son had put KLAS Car Keepers on his Santa list.
Think about that for a second.
Not a toy…
Not a video game…
Not even Hot Wheels!!!
… Our protectors.
As a lifelong collector, that genuinely stopped me in my tracks. Something that started as an idea on my dining table had become part of a child’s Christmas wish. That’s a moment no sales figure could ever compete with, and it’s one I’ll never forget.
Moments like that remind me that we’re not really in the business of selling protectors… We’re in the business of protecting memories.
Because every collection tells many stories.
We’re just proud that KLAS gets to help protect yours.
We still know the thrill of spotting that one car you’ve been hunting for. We still understand the disappointment of finding bent corners or damaged packaging. And we still smile every time we see a collection proudly displayed exactly as its owner imagined.
Whether you’re protecting your very first Hot Wheels, completing a childhood collection decades in the making, or introducing the next generation to this incredible hobby, we’re honoured that KLAS gets to play a small part in your collecting journey.
Because long after the price tags have been forgotten, every collection tells a story. And helping to protect those stories is, and always will be, what KLAS is all about.
Still Collecting...
People often ask me if I still collect Hot Wheels.
Abso-bloody-lutely!!
But like many collectors, hobbies evolve.
Over the years I’ve found myself enjoying other collectibles too. More recently, thanks to the boys getting into Marvel, that passion has grown to include Kenner-style Marvel Legends figures and Topps Marvel Chrome trading cards. Building a new display wall has become just as rewarding as creating my Hot Wheels displays… and, of course, designing protectors to keep everything looking protected & KLASSY.
Collecting isn’t about one particular brand or one specific hobby.
It’s about the excitement of finding that missing piece, displaying it with pride, and protecting it so it stays looking its best for years to come.
That’s exactly why KLAS has expanded beyond diecast cars. As my own collection has grown, so has the range of protectors we design. Whether you collect Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Star Wars, Marvel, Formula 1 or something completely different, our goal has always stayed the same:
To make protectors that collectors are proud to display.
The hobbies may change…
They may evolve.
And they will probably grow.
The passion for collecting does exactly the same.
An Idea From a Passion, To Santas List...
Every order that leaves KLAS isn’t just another parcel to us. We know there’s a collector on the other end who’s excited to open it. It might be someone protecting the very first Hot Wheels they’ve ever bought, someone finally completing a childhood collection they’ve spent decades searching for, or a parent and child starting a collection together that they’ll hopefully still be talking about years from now.
That’s what collecting has always been about. It’s not just the cars, the figures or the display shelves. It’s the memories attached to them, the people you share the hobby with, and the stories that every collection tells. If KLAS can play even a small part in protecting those memories for years to come, then we’ve achieved exactly what we set out to do.
Whether you’ve bought one protector or hundreds, THANK YOU… you’re part of the KLAS story now… Part of the KLAS Family.
We genuinely appreciate every order. Every order is part of a special collection. Every collection has a story…. thanks for letting KLAS be a part of yours.