This week, we catch up with Pieter Laga, the brains behind Petal Drops, a Quick & Quirky product that recently hit threshold and is now available for just $5.25 in our online store.
1. What do you do? (job-wise, ya know, when you’re not on Quirky)
I work at a local advertising agency as a graphic designer and I do some copywriting, motion design and I know a thing or two about interior design.
2. Where are you from?
I live in Belgium, a small (yet complex) country in the center of western Europe.
3. How and when did you think up the idea for Petal Drops?
After influencing some products, I was confident I could come up with a product concept. I was playing with the idea of rain water — the fact that it’s better for your plants than tap water — and a way to collect it. Using a bottle was a logical step. Only I wasn’t sure about the shape of the funnel… until a few days later, when I thought of plant leaves. You can say form followed function, in this case.
Seconds away from paying 99 dollars and submitting my well-prepared pitch to Quirky, I saw a banner for the green QnQ challenge and realised, “Hey, my idea is perfect for this!” 24 crazy hours later, Petal Drops was ready.
4. Had you tried to make this thing on your own already?
For my idea submission I made dummies out of paper and experimented with the shape and size of the petals. Took some photos that I retouched and colored digitally, and included them in my pitch.
I couldn’t have made this a success on my own — I’m not a product designer, developer, or marketer. During the summer, I discovered Quirky and immediately fell for the concept. Now that I know Quirky, I keep a small sketchbook to write ideas down. Most of them are silly and will never sell, but I believe I have a quirky idea left.
5. From who/where do you derive your creative inspiration?
Books, magazines, documentaries, blogs… I believe a creative person is a curious person.
At the time I was searching for an idea it was raining for 3 weeks in a row. I guess this was part of the inspiration for Petal Drops. 
6. What do you wish Quirky did that it does not already?
I’d love to see a better organized shop — maybe separate from the main site and very intuitive for (non-member) buyers — focused only on selling our products.
+ More creative, totally unique crazy quirky products that people really want!!!
7. What’s your favorite deli meat? Cereal?
I am fond of grey North Sea shrimp from our coast. They’re delicious.
8. What are some of your quirks?
OK, I confess… I’m a Quirky addict.
