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After the live brainstorm last Wednesday, QDS intern Michael transcribed the mind maps co-created by QDS and the Quirky Community. Here’s what this week’s brainstorm looks like (click images to enlarge): Product 141: Baby Changing Pad Product 156: Extension Power Cord Product 163: Expandable Broom The entire brainstorm is embedded below (in three parts).
Hey Quirks, we will not be able to proceed with the name “Snowdozer” for Product 72. I wish we could share a full explanation, but have been advised not to. Influence for the previously chosen name will be taken away from the submitter and voters of that name. I will be contacting those people personally. A new name will be selected and awarded within the existing naming project. The product page will be updated accordingly.
We couldn’t help but feel left out of all of the positive community feedback that Netflix got when they changed their terms & conditions…. we were all like- ”We want in on that action” Kidding, of course. Because of the delicate nature of our business as it relates to intellectual property, etc… we at Quirky take changes to our T & C’s very seriously. We try to revisit them as infrequently as possible, and when we do make changes, we try to make them as infrequently as possible. I’m going to walk you through the changes that we will be making this week. Please note your account will be logged out this weekend, and you’ll be asked to log back in / re-accept our new and improved Read More...
In need of a bathroom attendant? Tandem is an expandable towel rack that opens up to three towel bars to accommodate guests, and slides smoothly back into one or two bars to save space. The wall mounted bars glide like drawers, making it simple to use. Now that’s a towel rack that truly extends itself! Charles Bailey submitted an idea for a towel rack that could transform according to your needs. Over 687 people came together to help make that a reality. Tandem is now available in the Quirky shop for $47.99 presale ($59.99 retail) with a threshold of 1000 commitments. Features: -Extends for use with 1, 2, or 3 towel bars -Glides open and closed in a drawer style -Streamlined, wall-mounted profile -Modern stainless stee Read More...
QDS is always thrilled when we can work with a beautifully flushed out idea like Jay Hyun Kim’s Retractable Whisk submission. No matter how complete an idea may seem, we dive into testing scenarios and existing products related to that idea. We tested many different whisks on the market (Open Ended, Balloon, French, Flat, Double the Balloon, Collapsible) in many different scenarios such as fluffing egg whites, making whipped cream, mixing pancake batter, and even making butter! We found that nothing works quite as well as the traditional Balloon Whisk; it contours to the edge and gets into the dips of the bowl. When whisking egg whites or making whipped cream, we were surprised that the Double Read More...
The last 24 hours have been amongst the most intense since we’ve started this company. As you know, Quirky works VERY hard to secure formidable retail partners. We have a high bar for partners, and in turn, they set a high bar for Quirky & our community. One of our newest partners, Radio Shack was due to debut the Pivot Power this week in their circular. We found out yesterday that they were planning on undercutting the entire retail marketplace by 25%, while ignoring the entire story of Jake and what quirky represents as a business. In the consumer products industry there are all sorts of mechanisms meant to avoid situations like this. Things like ‘MAP’ (minimum advertised price)- and well, good ol Read More...
So you found Quirky and you want to know how to earn influence. That’s great! Here’s a quick and easy guide to get you up to speed. First, let’s make sure you know what influence means. Influence is our way of calculating the amount of royalties that each person gets for his/her role in developing a product. For as long as we’re making and selling a product, influencers of that product are getting a share of the revenue. Now that you know what influence is, let’s break down how it translates into cold, hard cashola. Quirky reserves a portion of all product sales for the community: 30% of direct sales and 10% of indirect sales. Think of that reserved portion as the comm Read More...
Ben will be hopping on Quirky’s uStream channel tonight (Wednesday) at 5:30pm ET for a live Q&A session. Gaz is out of the office this week, but we’ll see if we can wrangle someone else from QDS to speak to your design related questions. Now’s your chance to ask all the questions you’ve been dying to have answered… and if you know Ben, you know that everything’s fair game. If you’ve got questions you want answered, add them to the comments on this blog post. To recap: What: Ben answering all your deepest, darkest questions When: Tonight, 5:30pm ET Where: Quirky’s uStream channel See you then!
Eval recaps sum up the research and discussion that go into selecting winning submissions at Quirky. The info in recaps focuses on general landscape, opportunities and concerns, with a strong bias for Quirky’s business interests. We will not tell people what to do with their ideas if we do not choose it, but this info should give general guidance to submitters and other inventors who want to understand our decision-making process. Although there were some promising submissions in this round, none quite hit the sweet spot of solving a big enough problem, could realistically be manufactured at a price point that we’d need to sell at, and/or fit current distribution channels. We enc Read More...
We’re thrilled to introduce Sally Rumble, a product design veteran, as QDS’ Senior Industrial Designer. Sally brings more than a decade of industrial design experience with world-class brands to Quirky’s design team. What drew her to Quirky was the notion of abandoning the ‘ivory tower’ where old design business models lie and jumping into the trenches to collaborate with the people. Most recently, Sally was the Vice President of Product Design at BUILT NY, a Manhattan-based company that designs fashionable and functional totes, bags, and cases. She spent four years at Smart Design as an Industrial Designer, where she designed products for companies like OXO International, Hewlett Packard, Lego, Schick, Bic, a Read More...
It’s time to streamline your coffee routine! Aroma is an all-in-one organizer that stores coffee pods and accessories like stirrers, spoons, sugar, and creamers within easy reach. The sleek bamboo pieces can be stacked in whatever configuration fits your space. This kind of sleek style can really open your eyes, even before you get the caffeine. Tim Hayes submitted an idea for a coffee pod organizer that could store all the things needed in preparing coffee, and could fit easily into a variety of tight spaces. Over 527 people came together to make a gorgeous item that could do just that. Aroma is now available in the Quirky shop for $39.99 presale ($49.99 retail) with a threshold of 1500 commitments. Features: -5 bambo Read More...
Prophecy has foretold that on Monday afternoon the top five voted submissions from the previous week’s Community Evaluation would reveal themselves in the form of a blog post. Congratulations to this week’s contenders: Product Round 158 Nick LaPoulas - Expanding Kitchen Tool Canister Angelo Cacchione - Sharpening Knife Rack Bengt Brummer - Collapsible Water Filter John Wiegert - Spare Parts Organizer FloydThree - Grocery Bag Transporter Personal Upkeep Brief Aliza Kalton - Vertical Shower Curtain Seun Ajanwachuku - Multi-size Nail Clippers Aubrey Avila - Quirky Hair Brush Jared Joyce - Ergonomic Nail Clippers Jim Siegrist - Vibrating Razor Case These brave submissions have conquered the hearts an Read More...