Quirky swept into homes across America this morning when Broom Groomer was featured on NBC’s Today Show. Us Weekly contributor Jill Martin showed how to use it in style by getting rid of dust bunnies while wearing a pair of stilettos. You can’t do that with any old dustpan!
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Quirky’s blowing up HSN’s YouTube channel with Click ‘n Cook and other awesome socially-developed products from the weekend’s premiere:
When Bill Ward submitted his idea for the Broom Groomer, we knew we had a hit. Months later, we catch up with him as his product is ready to ship.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I live on the outskirts of Charleston, S.C., with my wife and 1-1/2 year old son. We live in a totally peaceful setting on a tidal creek with wading birds, alligators, shrimp, crabs, fish, etc. My wife and I work out of our home, so we get to spend a lot of time together and with our son Daniel.
In 1993, I started a restaurant and hostel in Quito, Ecuador, named The Magic Bean (www.magicbeanquito.com) and met my wife there several years later. Currently, I oversee the business and I am an independent toy designer. I’m 42.
2. When did you join Quirky, and how did you find out about us?
I joined Quirky about a year ago after reading about it in an in-flight magazine article about crowdsourcing. It mentioned Quirky’s non-conventional business model and I could hardly wait to land so I could check them out.
After becoming familiar with Quirky, I searched through hundreds of my inventions for something suitable to submit. I chose the Broom Groomer, the dustpan with teeth, as my first submission. Because I had pitched my idea to several dustpan and home goods companies and been rejected repeatedly, my expectations were pretty low. When I immediately started getting all this great feedback, I was thinking, damn, this is looking pretty good. At one point, I remember thinking I could actually win, but at the end of the day, another let down. Then, I remembered seeing this message on the Quirky site that said, “Re-submit your idea for only $10”. That was when the submissions were $99. I waited a week, then re-submitted. When I won, it felt amazing. Being a prolific independent inventor requires an almost daily encounter with rejection. It’s just part of the deal. So I was floating on air when I saw that the Broom Groomer had won.
3. When and how did you think up the idea for this product?
In 2008, I was sweeping in my garage. At one point I was picking dust bunnies off the broom and I cut my hand on a piece of broken light bulb. I started thinking about sensible ways to clean the dust bunnies, and that’s how I came up with the idea.
4. Had you tried to make this thing on your own already?
I priced some molds in Ecuador, and talked to their biggest retailer about carrying the product, but never tried to make it.
5. What do you think of the final product?
I love the final product. When I had some CAD drawings done, I thought it was important to have an insert to receive a stick, and I can’t tell from the rendering whether or not the BG has one. It was fun to see the industrial design phase, and I think Quirky did a great job picking out the essential features and making a design that is practical from a manufacturing point of view.
6. In your opinion, what is the most innovative product ever invented?
From what I’ve read, the X Box 360 Kinect seems like an amazing product. I’ve played Wii and it’s absolute fun.
7. What inspires you?
Nature, imagery, children at play (especially my son Daniel), survivors.
8. What are some of your quirks?
Walking through 24hr stores at ungodly hours, obsessively searching for the perfect piece to build a toy prototype. As I type this, sitting next to me is a large white enema that will be used to test an air-powered rocket. Walking through pluff mud up to my mid-thighs just to get to a good fishing spot. Waking up in the middle of the night for peanut butter & CO cinnamon swirl peanut butter.
I guess they are more obsessions that quirks. Or maybe quirks are just obsessions in disguise.
9. What’s your favorite cereal? Deli meat?
Anything by Kashi; pastrami.
10. Any parting words?
Thanks for believing in me and my idea, Quirky!
Great news, everyone: we’re ready to push Travelstacks, Broom Groomer, and Wrapster out of our warehouse and into your hands!
In the words of Inventory Wizard Nancy “Pei-Pei” Chen: “soon people around the country will be sweeping dust bunnies via Handicrafter-stickered sexy ass Broom Groomers.”
A huge congrats to ideators Nancy Casimir, Bill Ward, and Matt Fleming. We did it!
Ho, ho, ho! (Too early?)
We’re releasing limited quantities of FOUR brand new products, just in time for the holidays:
Order confirmation e-mails got sent out this afternoon. We’ll be fulfilling all commitments on a first-come, first-served basis, and supplies are limited… so don’t wait to complete your order if you’re hoping to receive one (or all) of these products by Christmas!
And this is just the beginning. Keep your eyes on your inboxes in the coming weeks as we continue to move products out of production and into your hands for the holidays.
What we’ve been up to over the past 3 weeks:
Over the last few months we’ve been working to engineer and “productionize” the Broom Groomer. Since it’s “just” a dustpan (but really so much more!) it’s been a fairly smooth ride. We analyzed the handle to make sure it wouldn’t break easily when stepped on (you may remember when Jo-Money stepped on the handle of our first Bertha print-out and snapped it). We have also changed the “teeth” part so it’s easier to manufacture. Instead of co-molding it to the dustpan, or gluing it, the teeth will have plugs on the back that pull through to the back of the dustpan.
On October 6, we received our T1 sample back from our supplier, and it looked pretty good! Aside from a mix-up on the size of the teeth, there weren’t any glaring flaws (as T1’s can often have). A minor problem was that the Broom Groomer didn’t hang straight down, but the factory has assured us that will change for T2 and mass production. Also, the soft rubbery hang-hole easily pops out of the handle, so we are ditching the rubber so that the plastic will extend to the hang hole, and instead add a different surface finish. This way, we won’t have a brightly colored rubber piece falling off every time a retailer hangs this product on their shelves.
What we expect in the next 3 weeks:
After receiving the T1 sample on October 6, we moved quickly to send our revisions back to Q-Asia that very evening so they could relay the changes to the factory. We also sent them details on coloring and surface finishes. We should be receiving T2 samples the week of October 18. We expect that these samples will include the longer teeth, and will no longer have the extra rubbery piece in the hang hole. Hopefully the new samples will be shot in the right colors and have the spec’d out surface finishes.
We can’t wait to see them and show them to you.
Broom Groomer is available for $12 in the Quirky store.
It’s official: the Broom Groomer just became Quirky’s 17th product to hit production. Wahoo!
A big congrats to ideator Bill Ward (a former Quirk o’ the Week) and all the community members who rallied during the final sales push. They’ll get a hunk of the 25 percent pre-sales influence that was up for grabs, plus they’ll be able to say that they played a role in bringing this product to life.
Want a part of the action? While you won’t get any pre-sales discount or influence, you can still snatch up the Broom Groomer for the super-low retail price of $12.
The Broom Groomer is a sweeping improvement in dustpans.
Here is what makes this dustpan so awesome:
- A row of rubber teeth protruding from the back end of the dust pan to clean the broom’s bristles when you’re done sweeping. No more dust bunnies!
- A foot rest built right into the dustpan handle, so that your foot can steady the dustpan for hands-free sweeping.
The main body of the Broom Groomer is made out of hard, durable plastic, with rubber accents on the handle grip, wall-hanging hole, bristle cleaning teeth, and front edge guard.
Broom Groomer ideator, Bill Ward, swept into our lives early this year and made the world of Quirky that much better! Although his submission was not chosen in the first product round he entered, Bill believed in it and resubmitted. We’re sure glad he did.
Life outside of Quirky (is there such a thing?) consists of inventing toys and running a restaurant in Quito, Ecuador. Hard at work on a second product win, Bill draws inspiration from his wife and 17 month old son, as well as from people who overcome great hardships every day. His goal is to identify a problem, come up with a solution, and then sprinkle a little bit of magic into that solution. Even though he’s not fishing for a compliment, Bill certainly infuses the Quirky-verse with magic whenever he visits!
The Broom Groomer is available for pre-sales! Commit now for $9.99!
The Broom Groomer is a sweeping improvement in dustpans.
Here is what makes this dustpan so awesome:
- A row of rubber teeth protruding from the back end of the dust pan to clean the broom’s bristles when you’re done sweeping. No more dust bunnies!
- A foot rest built right into the dustpan handle, so that your foot can steady the dustpan for hands-free sweeping.
The main body of the Broom Groomer is made out of hard, durable plastic, with rubber accents on the handle grip, wall-hanging hole, bristle cleaning teeth, and front edge guard.
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