Posts Tagged ‘manufacturing’

  • Wed, Feb 3 2010

    Today, the Bobble Brush became Quirky’s seventh product to reach its sales threshold (400 items) and go into production. Woohoo! We couldn’t have done it without everyone who influenced and committed to the product, especially ideator Spencer Sloan. Read a bit about the product’s production history, and get excited for the Bobble Brush to ship soon!

    Quirky’s Bobble Brush is a toothbrush stand that turns your toothbrush into a “weeble.” No more sink top germs on your bristles – this weighted structure keeps your tooth brush upright, bobbling, and grime free.

    The toothbrush insert slot at the top of the structure can fit most standard, non-electronic brushes with its friction-fitted, plastic entry point. The rubberized, weighted base will keep the Bobble Brush from sliding off a wet sink or tight bathroom surface. No worries germ-o-phobes – Bobble’s top and mid sections can be unscrewed and detached for easy cleaning.

    Feel free to keep one at every sink at home or bring it with you when you travel. Select your favorite Bobble color from one of the three: pink, green, or blue – or buy ‘em all for the whole family and give each toothbrush its own.

  • Tue, Dec 15 2009

    me
    As we always do when a product moves into manufacturing – it’s time to hear a few words from Stephen Stewart the original ideator behind Cordies – our on your desk cable management system

    1. When did you think of the idea for Cordies?

    There’s a little glass stand I have on my desk for my iPhone. I had used it to keep my laptop’s power cord on my desk when I unplugged it, as I was sick of fumbling around on the floor for it. The glass stand sort of reminded me of a paper weight, and so one day I had the brainwave of having a little weight specifically for cables. I think I was driving at the time the thought hit me.

    2. Had you tried to make this thing on your own already?

    No, though I had improvised with anything that happened to be lying around my desk.

    3. What do you do? (job-wise, ya know, when you are not on quirky)

    I am a lawyer, specialising in commercial contracts, IT and IP. Having advised on IP aspects of product design in the past, being involved in the whole product development process has been quite interesting for me. In my spare time, when not on Quirky, I spend a lot of time listening to, making and playing music.

    4. Where are you from?

    Belfast, Northern Ireland, though I now live in Leeds, England.

    5. Who/where do you derive your creative inspiration from?

    Ultimately my parents I guess, and my brothers. We are a creative family. Oh, and Slash of course.

    6. What do you wish quirky had that it does not already?

    A general discussion board so we can talk about things generally, rather than as comments on products or blog posts; a good description of the product selection process (i.e. what goes on after ratings); sales counters after presales; detail about the next steps for products after presales targets are met.

    7. What store would you love to see Cordies in?

    Basically as many as possible of course. But in terms of specifics, the Apple Store would be cool, as would the online gadget retailers (e.g. in the UK Firebox, IWOOT, etc) and tech stores, the big supermarkets….

    8. What is your favorite deli meat? What is your favorite cereal?

    Deli meat: ham. With cheese. In a baguette. In Paris. Cereal: Muesli with lots of extra nuts and fruit. But really I’d rather have sausages, bacon, soda bread, potato farls, scrambled eggs and black pudding, washed down with about five cups of tea.

  • Sun, Dec 6 2009

    As we always do when a product moves into manufacturing – it’s time to hear a few words from Jenny Tyler the original ideator behind the Beamer – our iphone case with build in light. Below is an interview with Jenny:

    JennyTyler_Quirky
    1. When did you think of the idea for the Beamer?

    I was chatting with a few friends about the Quirky site and we were all thinking of some cool inventions to submit. I had a Blackberry at the time and it had a flash and a couple of my friends had an iPhone. This being said the concept came from all of us…well everyone claims it to be theirs independently:) Either way, a month later I asked if anyone had submitted it and no one had….so I jumped on it. Everyone is really excited about it’s success so far…funny thing is I received an email from one of the members in the Quirky community the day it opened for voting detailing he was going to submit the exact same concept that week but ran out of time. I got lucky:)

    2. Had you tried to make this thing on your own already?

    No, but I have brought a product from concept to fruition before and understand the complexities and struggles that come along with it. This Quirky site is genius as it takes away all of the hard work involved in bringing a product from concept to fruition. I have so many ideas to submit, and am planning on making this Quirky site an integral part of my future product ideas.

    3. What do you do? (job-wise, ya know, when you are not on quirky)

    Presently I run an environmental firm, DF Technical & Consulting Services Ltd., out of Vancouver, BC. They have become an official dealer of my first successful invention www.canairi.com. 9 years of research and development later I brought to life an amazing stand alone real-time indoor environmental monitoring system for both residential and commercial buildings. Upon detection of any threats, our team is alerted in real-time via cell phone or pager so immediate action can be taken. Our core focus is Environmental Risk Management and our market niche is real-time leak detection for green-roofs and wall perimeters. It is going really well but believe me when I say this, the work entailed is at times overwhelming. I cannot stress enough how incredible Quirky is, it will change the world of manufacturing and offer all of the inventors an opportunity to get their ideas into the market place without having to go through the years of struggle myself and many others have undergone.

    4. Where are you from?

    I am from Canada but grew up sporadically in Trinidad and Tobago where the best half of my family resides.

    5. Who/where do you derive your creative inspiration from?

    I am most creative when I am alone unable to be influenced by others. I admire the most people like Howard Hughes, Albert Einstein and Richard Branson. These types of people have no limitations and have inspired me to do my best to never place any on myself. “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand. Albert Einstein.

    6. What do you wish quirky had that it does not already?

    1000 Retail locations across North America;)

    7. What store would you love to see Beamer in?


    Target, Wal-Mart, Best-Buy, Telus, Rogers, online iPhone accessory stores.

    8. What is your favorite deli meat? What is your favorite cereal?

    Lol…none of the above really…funny:)

    Stay tuned for an interview with Stephen Stewart of Cordies!

  • Sat, Dec 5 2009

    As of a couple of minutes ago, cordies, quirky’s on your desk cable management system, has hit its pre-sales threshold. This is quirky’s 6th product off to manufacturing. That’s awesome, quirks! Congrats to Stephen Stewart and all cordies’ influencers.

    We will keep you posted and give manufacturing updates soon!

    glory-1

    Cordies is an on-your-desk cable management system that organizes your assorted computer cables while also keeping them weighted down so they don’t slide off your desk when disconnected.

    Cordies’ playful form, small size, and quirky colors makes it a product that you’d like placing on your desk.

    Each cordie (spanning about 3.5 inches wide) has 3 individual loop spaces enabling you to store many cables at once. You can stack cables on top of one another inside each loop, leaving ample space for your power cords, USB cords, cell phone charger, audio cables, headphones, firewire, and more.

    Cordies are made of weighted yet flexible rubber, allowing for a perfectly sturdy grip.

  • Thu, Nov 19 2009

    Screen shot 2009-11-19 at 11.41.44 AM

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    For those who have pre-ordered mat poprocki’s digidudes:  check your inbox for your order finalization email.

     

    Digidude is on it’s way to HQ for fulfillment, and we should have it in your hands shortly after the thanksgiving holiday.

     

    Congratulations to all for bringing yet another product all the way from sketch to store!

     

  • Wed, Nov 18 2009

    IMG_0361IMG_0360



















    Check out our progress as-it-happens over at our fresh new flickr account.


    Quirky HQ has been transformed into a temporary warehouse as we attempt to ship all 1200+ powercurl orders that have piled up over the past few weeks.


    Shipments are going out in the order of which the orders were received, so please be patient.  We expect to have shipped all orders by the end of the week.


    Congratulations to Jeff who should be receiving an extra special care package by 10am tomorrow morning.


    We’re totally psyched about the product and think it has a very bright future.


    For all of you who are influencers, your money should start hitting your account by the end of the week if it hasn’t done so already.


    As always, hit tiny dino with questions.



    Back to packing Boxes,

    B & Team



  • Fri, Nov 13 2009

    Another product moves to production. We hit our pre-sales threshold of 500 units and we’ve moved Beamer into production. Go Jenny Tyler and all of our Beamer influences! Off to the factory with our 5th product!

    Final_render-2 Final_render-5

  • Thu, Oct 15 2009

    Check out our latest images of the DigiDude family. These things are looking great!

    To view the full family check out the DigiDude product’s page.

    g-bling-money-son

    1ichomp

  • Tue, Sep 22 2009

    Hello Faithful Quirks.


    I have some news.  I made a video to share this news with you, however i dragged on for 4 minutes of jetlagged induced enthusiasm.  Most of you won’t listen to a 4 minute video– so here is what you need to know.


    1. I’m in Hong Kong
    2. The Split Stick is very awesome
    3. I ate dim sum today


    I suppose you want more detail?  Fine!


    1. The Split Stick is now production approved, and I have a few in my possession
    2. The colors to start will be dark gray, orange, and pink (others will follow shortly thereafter)
    3. We doubled the memory capacity of the product from 2×2 to 4×4. You heard right…. 8 GIGABYTES TOTAL. That’s some large black bean curd, people.
    4. The packaging is kick-ass, and carries marc’s photo along with the names of all 377 splitstick influencers
    5. The factory will begin shipping to the US within the next 5-7 days, and then we will turn around and ship things to you within a few days of receiving them to our office/warehouse.
    6. You’ll be able to choose your etching prior to shipment
    7. I ate dim sum today
    8. I’m awfully redundant.

     

     

    Until I return,

    Ben




  • Tue, Sep 15 2009

    When we started quirky we thought it would be fantastic if we were able to produce all of our products locally.    But just like any startup business, plans change due to circumstances.


    When the split-stick hit threshold a few weeks back, we immediately knew sourcing a memory-based product in the US would be a tough task.  That, above & beyond meeting our promise to deliver the a quality product to customers within 8 weeks.  Oy.


    Luckily, we were able to find a manufacturer in china who was able to meet our demands on quality and timeframe, and began working with them immediately.


    Our desire to transition manufacturing back to the US is a very strong one.   It requires an incredible amount of speed and quality on behalf of the manufacturer, something we are willing to pay a reasonable premium for.


    If you are a manufacturer anywhere in the world and love what we’re doing and think you can keep up… let us know.


    Keith (our lead engineer) and I are boarding a plane to Hong Kong in a few hours and will provide a few video updates for you along the way.    Splitstick has just finished tooling and is going into production/assembly this week (which we will be  there to oversee) and Digidude has a production ready prototype which I will share with you later in the week.


    Things are really coming along.   We’d appreciate hearing your thoughts on our decision  – Ben





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