10 days ago Jordan, Steve & I set sail for the wondrous and industrious land of Shenzhen, China. We boarded our flights with fistfuls of Ambien and a whole lot of giddy anticipation.
The plan for the trip: be on the ground in person when the tooling for the Cloak begins to be tested.
Last Sunday afternoon (a week ago yesterday) we saw what is called in the injection molding world as ‘first shots’ or ‘T1′. First shots are usually a crapshoot. Sometimes, your new tools will kick out near perfect parts.
Sometimes, you’re miles away from getting done… mis-calculated shrinkage (that’s what she said), uneven plastic flow, poor surface textures, etc.
The Cloak is comprised of 10 Read More...
Hello Quirks,
It feels good to be in NYC. I just moved out here from California. I grew up in Loomis, CA, a small town where cow chip bingo was a large share of fundraising for our high school athletics teams. For those of you who are international Quirks, I begrudgingly fit some of the California stereotypes. I lived on the beach for some time where I learned to play only terribly “chill” acoustic guitar riffs, surfed, and ate burritos which are now my go-to comfort food. I use the terms “bro” (pronounced breh), “dude,” “hella,” and “tight” with a sense of irony, yet they’ve snuck their way into most conversations unknowingly. I have yet to decide whether I will make efforts to drop my CA dialect while heading up i Read More...
Your children may not be old enough to join Quirky, but that doesn’t mean they have to miss out on the fun of inventing.
Point them to By Kids For Kids, a website dedicated to nurturing young inventors. There, they can read ideation tips, watch inspiring videos, and browse profiles of fellow innovators. They can also post their own invention ideas in the on-site Idea Locker and participate in design challenges sponsored by companies like Toys’R'Us, CosmoGirl! and the New York Stock Exchange.
Even if you don’t have kids, check out BKFK to be inspired by the creativity of these young’uns… then hop on back to Quirky and put that inspiration to use!
This Friday, we’re showing some love to our active community members in the Twittersphere. #FF ‘em up!
Products
@MugStir
@hydraduo
@TapeStamp
@StemGarden
@BroomGroomer
@Quirkycradle
@ClicknCook
Community
@QuirkyProducts
@FaresF
@SL430
@modstuff
@shawnee_
@matthew_h_smith
@JoshCalvetti
@waterbluffy
@qkarmark
@bikr
Please note: By no means is this a comprehensive list! If we missed you, add your handle in the comments.
Melissa has been with us a while, although somewhat under the radar… But, I think it’s about time for an official introduction. What many of the Quirky team notices is how clean the office is, especially on Friday and Wednesday mornings. It’s not magic. It’s not elves. It’s the work of our very own Melissa. She comes in after hours to stock the fridge with sodas and spiff up our office.
Tonight I showed her the Broom Groomer. She was immediately excited. “Oh, wow!” She tried it out and immediately saw the value, “How did they come up with this idea? This is really cool. You can use the comb to clean off the dirt and hair from the broom.” She wants one!
Melissa is amazing at what she does. Really great. She always a Read More...
My time at Quirky is coming to an end… it went by so fast! Working here is fantastic for so many reasons:
I get to design stuff every single day.
I am faced with a challenge each day.
I work with crazy smart and talented people.
BERTHA.
I start every day off in a good mood (thanks to Nikki and Jess, the “good morning!” committee).
The kitchen is almost always stocked with straws.
We get deliveries of delicious cupcakes, cakes, and chocolates all the time from the awesome community.
and the list goes on and on…
But my most favorite thing about Quirky isn’t confined to the office. My favorite thing is the way Quirky encourages people to express themselves. As the weeks go on I notice that the idea submissions ge Read More...
Hi, I’m new here. My name is Nathan Smith.
I am a Silicon Valley refugee. I grew up in a tiny town in California and moved to San Francisco after graduating from UC Davis. I worked as a programmer there for four years before coming to live in New York last Friday.
Although I am new to New York, and new to Quirky, there is one aspect of all this that is quite familiar, which is the desire to work together to create something great.
There is a strong technology subculture in San Francisco (although I’m not saying by any means that SF is the only place where this subculture exists). It is literally hard to walk into a bar in some neighborhoods without hearing someone talking about functional programming, or data mining Read More...
We came across this cutesy New York Times blog post, where artist Christoph Niemann illustrates his “life with cables”. Dude needs a PowerCurl… or Cordies… or Wrapster… or Sling Back… STAT!
That’s right, Quirks. It’s time to put your voting, rating, and commenting skills to work. Help Quirky and Uncommon Goods select the best compost-related product idea EVER — and collect influence while you’re at it!
Evaluate here.
Dear Quirks,
This past Saturday, I participated in the Hudson River Pageant to raise awareness of the special ecology of the river and its surrounding areas. The procession began in the marina behind the World Financial Center in downtown Manhattan and meandered northward along the water.
The performers were all dressed in intricate costumes that a team of volunteers had crafted during the year leading up to the parade. In addition to the beautiful clothing, everyone marching was painstakingly hand-painted to match his/her costume. I was dressed as a rainbow, and it took 90 minutes for an artist to paint and beglitter me. Around me, people dressed as aquatic creatures, elements of nature, and plant life rushed around Read More...
Turns out the Quirky community is into more than just creating cool stuff… they’re all about helping humanity too! Kudos to David Carlson for mobilizing the community to start a Kiva Lending Team of Quirky.com Community Members — Team Quirky, for short.
What’s Kiva? Simple. Kiva is a website that facilitates lending to microfinance organizations in the developing world. Learn all about how it works here, and join Team Quirky here. Oh, and check out the video to see how your small loan can go a long way.
A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.
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