September « 2010 « a quirky blog

Archive for September, 2010

Thu, Sep 30 2010

Product Sashimi
By jess at 3:36 pm

This weekend in Philly, two chefs will teach a room of software programmers and developers how to slice sashimi.

Umm… random, much?

Let me clarify. This weekend in Philly, two software consultants will teach a room of software programmers and developers how to “slice” their product ideas into plans using a three-course menu of sashimi-inspired techniques.

FIRST COURSE: Product to Feature Areas

Which major areas of the system are essential to delivering a complete, coherent product? Slice your product to essential feature areas.

SECOND COURSE: Feature Areas to Stories

Which specific features are most likely to get people to buy and use your product? Slice your feature areas to concrete features.

THIRD COURSE: Stories to Examples

How can you describe each feature in a way that best helps programmers understand what to build? Slice your stories to executable examples.

Source: productsashimi.com.

The steps are simple, intuitive, and obviously applicable to the physical product ideation process as well.

So the next time you sit down to brainstorm for a new Quirky product, order in Japanese food (I’m partial to spicy tuna rolls) and try out these techniques.

And if you’re a tech geek in the Philadelphia area, register for this creatively presented course.
- Tags:
- conferences,
- ideation,
- product sashimi
Wed, Sep 29 2010

Ben To Kids: “Just Do It”
By jess at 3:28 pm

Last week, Ben paid a special visit to Miami Country Day School while in town for a conference. Read the Miami Herald article here — the kiddie quotes are too cute!
- Tags:
- little kids,
- miami,
- press
Tue, Sep 28 2010

Let’s Do This: Live Q&A
By jess at 5:52 pm

Join us on uStream for a live Q&A with Ben. Don’t be shy; ask anything!

UPDATE: Great questions, everyone! View the recorded version of today’s Q&A right here.
- Tags:
- q&a
Tue, Sep 28 2010

What Is Good Design? You Decide!
By jess at 4:58 pm

Make your design voice heard by participating in the selection process for this year’s 2010 People’s Design Award, sponsored by National Design Week and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

Chatter by:

- Nominating a new design.

- Perusing the submissions.

- Voting for your favorite.

And after your voice is hoarse, learn about the agenda for National Design Week, happening from October 9-17. The Cooper-Hewitt is sponsoring most of the New York festivities (and offering free admission!). Check out what’s happening in your ‘hood.
- Tags:
- competition,
- design,
- national design week,
- people's design award
Tue, Sep 28 2010

Throw Some Shrimp On The Barbie – Chad’s Here
By chad at 12:12 pm

First of all I want to thank you all for having me and please keep those great product submissions coming. Since meeting Ben and the Quirky team earlier this year, I have been very intrigued with the business model and the great potential it has.

My job here at Quirky is to head up our sales efforts and lead our push into mass retail and help get your products onto the shelves of some of the country’s largest retailers.

Previous to moving to NYC and working with Quirky I lived in Minneapolis, which by far is my favorite city (disagree if you want). I worked as a consultant and sales representative for a number of different companies, selling just about any product you can imagine to retailers like Target, Home Shopping Network, Sears, and Sports Authority.

Walk with me through just about any big retail store and I can point out a product that I had a part in someway/somehow. To be honest, I still get an amazing feeling seeing these products on shelves and I hope you can experience that same feeling sometime very soon.

I also see great opportunities outside of traditional retail and my plan is to try and explore various strategic partnership opportunities with companies who are well aligned with Quirky.

And yes, I’m originally from Australia, but please don’t think I just drink beer and fight kangaroos. I drink wine also!

Fun Facts:

1.     I was published as a case study in a book called “Startup Chat” in 2005.

2.     In 2006 I appeared in Australian Newspapers on average 1.3 times a week.

3.     I collect hotel room keys, wine corks, and receipts.

4.     The first product I sold to U.S. mass retail was a cupcake holder.

5.     I am starting helicopter lessons in 2011 and plan to have a Quirky chopper on top of our building by Fall!
- Tags:
- kangaroos,
- quirky team,
- sales,
- shrimp on barbie
Mon, Sep 27 2010

Quirk Of The Week: Matthew Smith
By shirley at 2:25 pm

Our newest Quirk of the Week is actually one of our oldest members! Matthew Smith joined the community last year when Quirky was just a lil quirkling. It’s something he’s used to, having been an early adopter of mp3 players (he has one that holds 32 MBs) and streaming video (he was one of the first 100 users of Hulu). In his time with us, Matthew has influenced more than half of all the products that Quirky’s worked on and has offered up a number of ideas for evaluation. He is a familiar figure on the forum who constantly seeks to learn from all the info and opinions he encounters there.

Matthew is involved with Quirky for all of the reasons that we love what we do here. “I am fascinated by the entire cycle of product design and hope that with the right idea – I may see one of my ideas fashioned into a useful, sustainable product one day.”

From spending his time researching the latest innovations to cycling everyday between work and home to spending time with his newlywed and their own adorable quirkling, Lily, this Idaho man is clearly no couch potato!
- Tags:
- community,
- love,
- quirk of the week
Mon, Sep 27 2010

Live Q&A: Sept 28 @ 6 PM (EST)
By jess at 2:08 pm

Do you have burning questions for the Quirky team? Ask, and we shall answer.

Join us tomorrow, September 28, at 6PM (EST) for a live Q&A session with Ben on uStream.

We’ll be responding to incoming queries on chat and Twitter. Got questions before then? Post ‘em to the forum.

Hope to see everyone there!
- Tags:
- q&a
Mon, Sep 27 2010

Brief #1: Let’s Make It Easier To Hang Stuff On Walls, Shall We?
By jess at 11:43 am

Put on your thinking caps… Quirky Briefs are live!

Watch the video and read the brief, then click here to submit your idea.

Remember, submissions are free!
- Tags:
- p62,
- quirky briefs,
- stuff on walls
Sun, Sep 26 2010

As Mushy As I Get
By ben kaufman at 6:55 pm

Its been under a year and a half since we turned on this here quirky machine, and almost exactly six years since this journey began.

Many of you have heard me tell the story of seeing someone wear one of my first mophie products, and immediately realizing how lucky I was to have experienced the feeling of ‘i had a part in that’. Shortly after, I dreamed of a place where I could involve as many people into the product development process as possible.

Well here we are. Over 60 products in. Getting ready to launch version three of our website. Doubling our design output. 30 employees that walk in the door every day and fight like hell to bring the best ideas in the world to life.

The last year has been about infrastructure building:

The building of an incredible design culture,

state of the art model shop,

world-class team & culture,

payment systems,

support systems,

manufacturing relationships,

warehouses,

influence engines,

collaborative tools,

financial war-chest, etc.

While these activities will never end, I’m enamored by the progress we have made. The next few weeks, and following holiday season will hopefully serve as further validation of what was called by the business world in 2007 as “wildly ambitious”.

Ha, OK- I’m going to stop. This is a totally nonsensical post, because I’m not saying anything. I can’t say anything……. yet. And it pains me so much- because I like telling you all as much as I can.

Just know…… that I know, what is coming… and because of it, I’ve had a weekend filled with retrospective moments.

Buckle up quirks. I hope to share incredible news with you in the coming weeks.

And hey, even if things don’t go as I think they will– we’re on an amazing journey and are all getting better by the day as a result of it.

Ben Out.
Sat, Sep 25 2010

Quirky Briefs Kick Off Monday
By jess at 11:28 am

Monday marks the launch of a new Quirky initiative: we are moving from developing one product per week to TWO products per week. Crazy, eh? We’ll be holding two concurrent ideation and evaluation phases each week: our regular free-for-all, anything goes round, and a more targeted brief-based project. Watch the video and read the description for Quirky’s first-ever brief below.

THE BRIEF:

Ever imagine how bland the world would be without stuff on our walls? Pictures, mirrors, clocks, shelves, storage, light fixtures, TVs, you name it — our world is a brighter and more interesting place because of our individual ability to decorate every inch of our homes.

But let’s be honest. Hanging stuff is not easy. Is it level? Will it stay? How do I reach all the way up there? How many attachment points do I need?

Sure, it’s not exactly rocket science, but it sure takes a hell of a lot more time then it should.

So we’ve decided to throw our collective hats into the ring. There’s got to be a better way.

We’re not talking about creating a better hook or adhesive — there are plenty of companies that have nailed that (“nailed” that, get it?). We’re talking about taking one step back:

Let’s design a product that makes it easy to hang stuff on walls.

Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll dissect the problem to its core and start identifying all the pieces that need to go together to create the ultimate solution: a single product that makes it easy and straightforward for any person to decorate their living space.

We couldn’t be more excited.

So put on your thinking caps…

We’ll post a link to the submissions page on Monday.
- Tags:
- quirky briefs,
- walls