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Archive for May, 2010

  • Wed, May 5 2010

    What Is Compost?

    By jess at 3:20 pm

    In preparation for Compostapalooza, our partnership with Uncommon Goods to create the ultimate composting product, we’re running a series of compost education posts. Read up, then put those brainstorming caps on for kick-off on May 17!

    What is compost?

    Now that’s an easy one. Compost is basically what results from gathering a whole lot of organic matter in one place and sitting on it. Its technical definition is “the stable, humus-like product resulting from the biological decomposition of organic matter under controlled conditions.”

    Other questions? Happy to answer them for you.

    Why compost?

    Composting allows you to repurpose organic waste for growing new things. While all organic matter will eventually decompose on its own, composting speeds up the process, allowing for a speedier return of organic matter to soil systems.

    What can I compost?

    Food scraps, garden waste, weeds, manure, paper products… almost anything that originally came from the Earth.

    How can I compost?

    Easy. Check out this video from National Geographic:

    • 1 Comment
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  • Wed, May 5 2010

    Is That A Hammer In The Wall Or Are You Just Really Excited?

    By nikki at 3:01 pm

    Well both, really. That is a hammer in the wall. And we are REALLY EXCITED.

    You see, we will be rigging a 2000 pound 3D printer up to our 3rd floor model shop in the coming days. This means that one of the current walls will be coming down in order to make room for the delivery. (Yes, we will put the wall back up after the printer is safely installed). But for now, why not stick a hammer into the wall!? You know all those times you wished you could just throw something at the wall? Well for today and tomorrow, we are exercising that option…

    Who’s excited for our 2000 pound robot?! We know we are!

    • 4 Comments
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  • Tue, May 4 2010

    The Tao Of SEO: Part 1

    By matt at 5:32 pm

    Hey Quirks,

    Looks simple, doesn’t it? Just a search box and a couple buttons. A link or two at the top. A pleasant and simple page. Cute colors, too.

    But make no mistake. This page is the gatekeeper of the internet. By 2008 it saw 240,000,000 searches per day. It’s powered by data centers that require as much electricity as the city of Newcastle. And it has substantial influence in international politics.

    People come to Google to find what they’re looking for. In doing so, they’re relying on Google to sort the internet for them, decide what’s relevant and what’s not. Google sends millions of internet users to sites that it chooses. Those who aren’t chosen are at a severe disadvantage.

    And as a result, the art of convincing Google that your site is relevant to a query is a very big business. There’s a whole industry called Search Engine Optimization (SEO for short) which is exactly that. The job of an SEO practitioner is to reverse engineer Google, to figure out what makes it tick, and use that knowledge to send search traffic to your site.

    Since it’s a topic I find interesting and am pretty well versed in, my next few blog posts are going to be focused on what is SEO, how is SEO done, and what does all this mean for Quirky.

    We’ll get into the nerdy stuff next time, but to tide you over I’ll give you an appetizer. Behold the spheres and lines that rule the internet:

    Until next time, keep quirking.

    • 2 Comments
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  • Tue, May 4 2010

    Influence, Demystified

    By jess at 1:33 pm

    We’ve been working with our graphic designers to come up with a little something that we hope will more clearly map out the various opportunities for earning influence on Quirky.

    Here’s what we’ve come up with:

    What do you think? Constructive feedback appreciated!

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  • Tue, May 4 2010

    Carry One, Drink Two With HydraDuo

    By jess at 1:09 pm

    No, no, no… this isn’t the nine-headed beast from Greek mythology. This is something new… brand new. This is HydraDuo, our collaboratively-developed two-chambered water bottle, now available for pre-sale in the Quirky store. Buy yours now at a special pre-sale price of $17.50 (MSRP: $20) to help this product reach its 980-unit threshold.

    HydraDuo is a water bottle with two chambers for dual hydration on the go. Water and Gatorade? Apple juice and orange juice? Rum and coke? Carry one and drink two with HydraDuo.

    - Dual-lid top easily flips up and down to seal the contents of each chamber individually.

    - Clear design allows for easy viewing of contents.

    - Made of dishwasher-safe, BPA-free plastic, with TPE accents on the lid, handle and hook.

    - Easy assembly and disassembly.

    Includes: one outer chamber, two 8-oz inner chambers, a rubber stopper ring, and a dual-lid top, with a hang hole for attaching the bottle to sports equipment.

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  • Mon, May 3 2010

    This Tweet Is For Serious

    By ben kaufman at 7:34 pm

    • 6 Comments
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  • Mon, May 3 2010

    Compostapalooza!

    By jess at 6:09 pm

    Quirky and Uncommon Goods are proud to present… Compostapalooza!

    On May 17, we’ll be kicking off a very special accelerated product development cycle with Uncommon Goods, one of our very favorite online retailers of stuff that’s “anything but ordinary”.

    Our mission is simple: to create the ULTIMATE compost-related product. What does that entail? Why should you care? And what’s compost, anyway?

    All good questions.

    This week, in cooperation with the Lower East Side Ecology Center, we’ll be posting a series of blog posts introducing y’all to the wide world of composting. For now, feel free to check out these links, courtesy of Andrew at the LESEC, for a quick intro:

    How to Compost Indoors – http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-compost-indoors

    Martha Stewart – Composting (Outdoors) 101 – http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=e3c276ecfd22f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=compost&rsc=header_1

    Martha Stewart – Vermi-Composting – http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=0365e73537be1110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=compost&rsc=header_3

    Composting Indoors: Getting Worms to Work For You – http://www.gardenguides.com/2145-composting-indoors-worms-working.html

    Outdoor Composting – http://www.ci.ramsey.mn.us/Documents/Recycle/composting.pdf


    • 8 Comments
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  • Mon, May 3 2010

    Introducing… Milestones

    By jess at 4:13 pm

    If you’ve been browsing through our store lately, you may have noticed our new Product Milestones feature, which we unveiled last week during our Quirky Town Meeting.

    Or you may not have. That’s cool too. But you should definitely take notice now.

    This new feature will enable you to track the progress of items currently in production, as well become familiar with the process of bringing a product to market after an item has reached threshold.

    On the Quirky Store pages of products in production, you’ll now see an estimated launch date for the product, as well as the product’s current stage of production.

    You’ll also see a link that says View Our Design Timeline. That link will bring you to the product’s development history overview. Below the initial product pitch, you’ll see a series of gray boxes, indicating different stages of production, as well as estimated completion dates, actual completion dates, and notes.

    We’ll post a more detailed explanation of what exactly these milestones mean shortly… but for now, we want to hear your feedback. Let us know what you think on the forum!

    • 2 Comments
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  • Mon, May 3 2010

    Dolla Dolla Billz Y’all

    By ben kaufman at 3:37 pm

    Hey Quirks!

    My name is Joanna and I am joining the new salesforce at Quirky! It is my first official day on the job and I am bouncing off the walls with excitement. This place is filled with new product ideas every day and I can’t wait to tell retailers all over the US about them.

    The first thing that attracted me to Quirky was YOU. I love that the website is acting as a hub for inventors all over the WORLD to get together and collaborate. What product design company can compete with that? Secondly, the Quirky team is second to none. I am amazed at the brilliance, energy, ambition and integrity of every member of the team. It’s an honor to have been chosen as a representative of the company.

    What exactly will I be doing you ask?

    My job will be to take all those fabulous ideas you have created and get them into stores all over the US. That means I love products that are functional and unique (nothing like it out there) with large market potential. If we get the combo right, I will have an endless list of stores to call and the buyers won’t have to think twice about putting in an order. And THAT means more $ in the bank for you.

    With a community that is constantly generating new ideas and a killer design team, I am confident that this will be an easy sell. Keep up the great work and soon you may be seeing your very own invention in a store by you!!

    Looking forward to working with you all!

    Joanna

    • 7 Comments
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