Grip it and rip it! Every cheesemonger’s new secret weapon is Grip Grater. And it’s shipping right now.
Inventor and designer Jim Young shared a little Grip Grater backstory with us. Read on for the ‘deets.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m an independent industrial designer living outside Seattle. I’ve been married eighteen years to my high school sweetheart and I have three adventurous boys. I left the nine-to-five world three years ago to start my own design consulting company and work on my own products. Design is my passion, livelihood, and hobby; but family comes first. When I’m not working on projects you’ll catch me volunteering in my community or out biking, hiking, or camping in the great outdoors.
2. When did you join Quirky?
I joined Quirky in March of 2010.
3. How did you find out about us?
I saw PowerCurl in a design magazine and was curious who “Quirky” was as a company. It was the TapeStamp ID Phase that sucked me in permanently.
4. When and how did you think up the idea for this product?
As part of my daily routine I would check into the latest brief at Quirky and spend a few hours ideating. Once I saw “kitchen brief” I knew I wanted to do a new grater. Our box grater gets used a lot, but it’s a pain to clean. So my solution really started with “how can we make a box grater easier to clean?”
5. Had you tried to make this thing on your own already?
I thought about doing this product myself, but ultimately I thought Quirky would do a quicker and better job getting it global exposure and distribution.
6. What do you think of the final product?
I think Gaz and team did a great job. I was lucky enough to see the T1 samples when I visited New York a few months back. Any product with a hand grip interface requires great care. The solution balances comfort, stability, and compactness. The grater blades snap in perfectly and I was thrilled to learn Quirky is offering four grater blades now.
7. In your opinion, what is the most innovative product ever invented?
Wow. I’m going to go with the pencil. That small stick of graphite has brought to life so many other innovations.
8. What inspires you?
The narrative of every product I do is often quite different; with each project I could be inspired by music, something man-made, or something from nature. What ultimately inspires my work is the passion to create something new. The process is a drug to me. I love to learn about new things, explore, fail, solve, and create.
9. What are some of your quirks?
I can’t eat toast unless it’s sliced in a triangle. I hate open cupboards and drawers. I know my wife has more quirks she can offer.
10. What’s your favorite cereal?
My favorite cereal is Cheerios with blueberries. I could chow down on a piece of deli meat anytime. Hard salami is heaven.
11. Any parting words?
Just wanted to thank everyone on Quirky for their support and friendship. I owe a big part of my success in 2011 to the staff and community here. I love you guys and your quirks just make the game much more interesting and fun.
