Over the last 3 weeks…
In the last production update for MugStir, Jordan mentioned that we had sent notes to our production partner in China, and we were working toward making the necessary revisions for the T2 sample. We quickly got word from Asia that everything was understood and that we would move forward swiftly towards getting T2 samples. On September 16th, we were asked to specify handle colors for Mugstir: Mocha 728C, Blue 2925C, Pink 232C. Wow! It looked like they were going to send T2s in our specified colors. This was looking hopeful… maybe everything was coming together and the tea party could begin?
On September 19th, we got word that our manufacturer was having problems with the mold (again). It was becoming clear that this tea party was being hosted by the Mad Hatter. They promised T1s would be sent on the 21st; we didn’t get them until the 28th. Jordan got on the case and replied that while the overall shape was better, the flowing metal form of the original design was not being translated.
Beyond that, there were imperfections in the silicone and the handle was still not gripping the lip of the mug correctly (it would still move around when you took a sip of tea). Furthermore, of the colors we expected to receive, they sent… none. We got a red. Which is fine, but it ain’t Mocha, Blue or Pink.
On September 26th, we confirmed an order quantity of 9,000 for the first shipment. We needed to get the T3 right and kick this order off…
At the end of September, we were promised T3s by September 30th, which quickly changed to October 2nd. Finally, our Asia office received the T3 samples and AGAIN: a huge disappointment. No improvements appeared to have been made over the T2s: metal form was still wrong, there were still imperfections on the silicone, and it seemed that they weren’t even using a mold for the stamping, since parts were coming out in different shapes and sizes. We put our foot down on this one, explaining that we could not afford further delays or costs (it had, after all, taken us five months to source… a spoon).
In the next 3 weeks:
Our suppliers have promised us T4 samples this weekend, in the correct colors. That means we should have T4s in hand by October 18th or 19th. We’re hoping they make good on this promise and implement all the changes we called for. We are sticking with this supplier because we don’t want to retool a spoon a third time, wasting both time and money. Today we are resending all our comments to the supplier to make sure they are working towards our design specification for this product. We want to get this right.
The MugStir is available for $12.99 (for a pack of three) in the Quirky store.
). We added a bottle opener, bearing in mind some of the opportunities on the pipeline with our retail partners. We ditched a vinyl cover for the seat to cut costs; self-skinning foam can be UV-stabilized, and can take plenty of beating from the sun.
