It’s an update extravaganza! Here’s a post from Jordan on our status with the MugStir, a portable teaspoon that hangs onto the side of your mug.
What we’ve been doing:
It took a lot of effort to find the right factory for MugStir. We needed to find one that could form metal and silicone, plus one that hit our price point.
Recently, we were able to find a factory that hit those major points, and we were impressed by the work they’ve done in the past. We signed on, and yesterday, we got to review our first tooled (“T1″) sample from this factory.
The T1 samples show that the factory has a good handle on the materials, but they didn’t really follow the details of the design. The renderings of MugStir show off the product’s beautiful curves, which make the spoon an interesting object to behold from every direction. The T1 sample (as you can see in this image) lost a lot of that dynamic curvature. While the front profile looks okay, the side profile and cross section are stagnant and flat.
What we expect in the coming weeks:
We’ve sent notes to our partners in China, who will work with the factory to make the necessary revisions for the “T2″ update. We should have T2 samples sometime in the next week or so… we’ll let you know how they come out in the next update!
12 Comments
M Cavada | 09/14/2010 4:28 PM
I like the snugger fit over the edge of the mug.
William Fine | 09/14/2010 6:09 PM
Would using a plastic dip make more sense for the handle? It Would help follow the shape of the metal.
http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip
Joe Ernst | 09/14/2010 6:26 PM
Shape is everything with this product. When I look at the renderings, I imagine a heavy, forged spoon with the graceful curves depicted. I don’t think you’re going to be able to get away with a stamped steel piece.
Glad to hear you’re not happy with that first sample! Looking forward to the next one…
Judi | 09/14/2010 9:15 PM
It’s great to see something real. Looking forward to the adjustments to the shape, etc. MugStir definitely needs those beautiful curves!
Clinton | 09/14/2010 11:18 PM
It’s good to see something concrete, but disappointing that it’s so far off. Hmmm…this has so many hallmarks of a “factory quickie”, I admit I’d be on the plane.
Stalias | 09/15/2010 9:21 AM
I agree with Michael about the snug fit. It also looks sturdy and well-made.
And now a dumb question. I’ve heard so much about questionable materials (melamine, lead, other heavy metals) in Chinese products. Is this something Quirky takes into account?
vince | 09/15/2010 3:17 PM
Jordon – did you guys look at Die Casting and then Insert molding?
Might be easier to get deeper curves than by stamping it.
Username (required) | 09/15/2010 8:13 PM
Is this how the spoon suppose to look like. I think that the spoon needs more character and curves. The plastic makes it look cheap.
jess | 09/16/2010 12:14 PM
@stalias: We work to find the right sourcing and factory partners, so that questionable materials aren’t an issue.
@Username: Definitely not. In the blog post, Jordan mentions that the design staff wasn’t satisfied with this sample, so they sent it back for revisions. Hopefully T2 is closer.
pkrakow | 09/18/2010 11:21 AM
I agree with all of the comments about how the first sample turned out. It’s nice to see the samples along the way though.
I would recommend that you change the status note on the mugstir homepage. If you are still in the vendor selection or tooling stage of the process, it’s not fair to state that the mugstir is in production:
THIS ITEM IS CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION, WITH THE LATEST UPDATES POSTED ON THE RIGHT. THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE
Dave S | 10/03/2010 5:32 PM
Can’t wait to get my hands on the finished product. Thanks