The Idea Shop | Fuel for Entrepreneurial Minds | Fresh Ideas
fuel for entrepreneurial minds.
Think it's all been done before?
Think again. We've found entrepreneurs all over the world who have been transforming what we thought was all settled.
Here are this month's featured companies:
Naked & Angry: Customer-made Wallpaper
Combining one of today's leading consumer trends (customer-made) with a continuing trend in interior design (wallpaper), Naked & Angry just launched its line of user-designed wallpaper. Wall coverings constitute Naked & Angry's second series of products featuring patterns created by the brand's audience. Anyone can submit a pattern design, which is scored by other Naked & Angry users. The highest scoring designs are manufactured in limited runs, with patterns providing inspiration for what the actual product will be. (The first series featured silk neckties in five patterns.) Creators of winning designs receive a USD 500 cash prize and 5 free Naked & Angry products. Naked & Angry's five wallpaper designs are hand-screened in Chicago, in very limited quantities, and are priced at $60 per double roll.
Website: http://www.nakedandangry.com
Vending that kills the Frizz
Born out of frustration from hearing their female friends complain of frizzy hair, entrepreneurs Richard Starrett and Neil Macka took it upon themselves to devise a solution. They came up with the Straight Up machine.
Trading under the name Beautiful Vending Ltd., the two men filled a gap in the market: since damp weather can turn perfectly styled hair to frizz, ruining a night out for women fixed on having pin-straight hair. It took them a year of research to develop the Straight Up, a patented vending machine that lets women purchase short use of a ceramic straightening iron. The vending machines use the professional-grade styling tool and charges one British Pound (approx $1.85) for 90 seconds of use. The business is currently run solely in the United Kingdom, where 500 units have been placed so far, but Beautiful Vending is seeking to grow quickly and franchise opportunities are available worldwide. Press hype regarding the product has been huge in the UK, garnering much interest from club and bar owners. Straight Up machines will of course be a hit anywhere women preen and primp: restaurants, gyms, shopping malls, office buildings...Website: http://www.BeautifulVending.com
Source: Springwise Newsletter