Whereas many mattresses today include polyurethane, formaldehyde and other materials with questionable effects on the environment and human health, Keetsa is an eco-bedding company that takes a thoroughly green approach to mattresses and other sleep products.
Keetsa mattresses are built with sustainable components including recycled steel, scrap memory foam bits, bamboo fabrics and unbleached natural cotton, while odor control and anti-bacterial properties are delivered using EPA-approved technologies based on silver and green tea. Since different Keetsa mattress styles use varying degrees of such sustainable components, the company uses a composite score called the Keetsa Quotient to summarize the overall greenness of each one. So far, so good, but maybe not entirely unique (other companies, like Greek Coco-Mat, also tout the benefits of sleep on natural materials.)
What we liked about Keetsa is that, going beyond their component materials, they've also developed a way to compress their large mattresses so they fit into convenient wheeled boxes (made from recycled cardboard, of course). Not only does that make them maneuverable by one person, but it also reduces transportation expenses and the products' resulting carbon footprint, and gives consumers savings of between 50 and 75 percent, Keetsa says. Which makes for a very integrated eco-approach. Once the customer unpacks the mattress at home, it will resume its full, normal shape within one to three days.
Keetsa's mattress prices begin at USD 385, and shipping is free. Pillows, protectors, foundations and mattress toppers are available as well, both through the company's two California showrooms and at a few select retailers nationwide. Keetsa is hoping to sign up more retailers soon; one to bring to eco-conscious consumers near you? (Related: Eco-friendly pack and move solution.)
Website: www.keetsa.com
Contact: joe@keetsa.com
Spotted by: Frank Marquardt
Earlier this year, we wrote about a sympathetic initiative by Paris airports, giving weary travellers a chance to recharge with a dose of full-spectrum light therapy.
Last week, IKEA offered fatigued Stockholm shoppers a similar form of respite by installing a Sovhotell (sleep hotel) in one of the city's downtown shopping centres. After checking in at Sovhotell's front desk, guests were asked whether they normally sleep on their stomach, side or back, and were given a pillow to suit their personal sleeping style. In addition to single and double beds, the Sovhotell also featured a bridal suite.
Guests were welcome to snooze for 15 minutes, and were given eye masks and headphones with soothing soundscapes to help them benefit from their sponsored power naps. According to IKEA, inspiration for the Sovhotell came from Japanese capsule hotels and from the fact that the shoppers in its own stores are occasionally found napping in the bedroom section.
No word yet on whether IKEA is planning to bring this shopper-friendly campaign to malls in other parts of the world, but we think it's a great example of the tryvertising trend: marketing a product by letting customers try it out in a relevant setting, without pressuring them to buy.
Website: www.ikea.com
Spotted by: Frida Berglund
Managing a rental property is no task for the faint of heart, and that challenge only multiplies as the list of properties grows. Fortunately, two companies on two different continents have come up with tools to help make the job easier.
Australian Streetfolio gives property managers a central way to manage their entire property portfolio themselves, without having to pay fees to an outside agent. A portfolio section gives an overview of all the owner's properties on a single page, including photo, cost, value, mortgage outstanding and other details for each. The property dashboard, meanwhile, zooms in with more detailed information about a property and its financials. Cashflow and analysis sections help manage those financials—including rent and taxes—while other sections provide at-a-glance details on mortgage, insurance and lease information, as well as contacts and reminders. Using Streetfolio for just one property is free; plans for more than one begin at AUD 7 per month.
From Massachusetts-based Investment Instruments, meanwhile—makers of Rentometer, which we covered not long ago—comes Rentomatic, a site that focuses on facilitating relations between property owners and tenants. A portion of the site dedicated to landlords provides a secure environment for managing properties, including quick views on upcoming or critical events for each; income and expense tracking tools specifically designed for real estate; and the ability to advertise multiple listings online, track important lease, rent and tenant information, and create detailed income and expense items. A separate tenant portion of the site, meanwhile, gives tenants a straightforward way to communicate maintenance requests, for example, as well as to make and track electronic rent payments. Launched in January, Rentomatic offers basic tools for up to 5 units for free, while the advanced plan costs USD 30 per month. Management of electronic rent payments costs USD 5 monthly per lease.
Once again, the web streamlines countless tiresome tasks in one fell swoop. That's the US and Australia taken care of; still plenty of room to spread! (Related: Using pictures to help tenants request repairs.)
Websites: www.streetfolio.com — www.rentomatic.com
Contact: media@streetfolio.com — www.rentomatic.com/contact
Spotted by: Bill McMahon
Faithful Springwise readers are undoubtedly already familiar with both being spaces and the pop-up trend. Now a new Dutch company is combining the two by offering pop-up work spaces in abandoned shops and vacant buildings.
The SpareSpace Foundation transforms empty inner-city shop and office buildings into temporary work spaces for copywriters, designers, artists and other young creative professionals. Featuring furniture by designer Jack Brandsma, SpareSpace equips each empty space with seven mobile units: four desks, one meeting table, a bar and a fold-out wall. All units are crates that can be folded in and out quickly and easily for instant setup; conversely, when the space is let or sold, they can be packed up and relocated to a new building within 24 hours. Spaces typically are available for several months, SpareSpace says; rental fees are EUR 150 per month to cover water and electric charges. Currently the project inhabits a vacant storefront at the Westerkade 24 in Groningen, the Netherlands. Beginning this week, however—to coincide with the Salone del Mobile international design event—it will also open another office in a vacant building at Via Ventura 6 in Milan, where it will stay through April 21. SpareSpace is a project by Nieuwe Garde, a Dutch creative agency.
By making use of space that would otherwise be wasted during the transition from one paying tenant to another, SpareSpace brings the urban office within reach of budding creatives who otherwise might not be able to afford it. The concept should also find favour among real-estate managers, since it keeps buildings from looking abandoned or barren—which can only help get them rented or sold. It's a win-win all around—a concept to emulate in cities around the world! (Related: Digital billboards revive empty storefronts.)
Website: www.sparespace.org
Contact: info@restruimte.nl
Spotted by: Core77 via RK
Back in 2005 we wrote about the Snap Alarm, an award-winning optical smoke detector from FireInvent, and now the same Swedish company is taking fire protection a step further with its all-in-one Safety Box.
The Safety Box is designed to provide complete fire protection in a single package, and it comes in six different versions tailored to different usage contexts. But the fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, fire blankets and torchlights included aren't just ordinary versions of those items. Rather, they have been revamped for a modern, attractive look. The Safety Box Design, for example, includes fire extinguisher and Snap Alarm in black or white; black-and-white fire blanket in a modern, botanical design; plus an extra wall-mountable optical smoke detector. The Safety Box Exclusive, meanwhile, includes a chrome option for the fire extinguisher, while the Safety Box Kid includes a Snap Alarm in pink or blue and a fire blanket suitable for children. Pricing begins at SEK 1095 (USD 185 / EUR 115); versions for cars and boats are also available.
There will always be a need for functional products like fire protection devices, but there's nothing to say they can't be upgraded with a splash of colour and design and sold at a similarly upgraded price. FireInvent is interested in signing up retailers—one to bring to a market near you?
Website: www.fireinvent.com
Contact: info@fireinvent.com
Spotted by: Jessica Axberg
While ikeahacker has been around for a few years, offering IKEA fans a platform to share their home-made hacks to the Swedish giant's products, not every consumer wants to go the DIY route.
A new Swedish company calculated that out of IKEA's millions of customers, more than a few are willing to plunk down some cash to order smart, ready-made additions to their flat-pack furniture. Parts of Sweden currently offers add-ons to six of IKEA's most popular product lines, from various doors for Expedit units to wine racks for Ivar shelving. (Both shown above.)
Two years ago, we featured a similar company—Bemz, which is still going strong—that sells removable, washable slipcovers for IKEA's sofas and armchairs. What we remarked about Bemz also applies to Parts of Sweden: while mass class products definitely have their advantages, most customers are eager to add a personal touch to their living quarters. There's money to be made by feeding, and feeding off of, behemoths like IKEA.
Website: www.partsofsweden.se
Contact: service@partsofsweden.se
Spotted by: Frida Berglund
Robot vacuum cleaners are slowly taking off, and robot lawn mowers have been around for over a decade. What's new this month, however, is a mower that not only trims the lawn all by itself, but does so using solar power.
Sweden's Husqvarna just introduced the world's first solar/electric hybrid robot lawnmower, which has no exhaust emissions and uses approximately the same amount of energy as a standard light bulb.
Cleverly targeting time-starved consumers as well as tree-huggers, Husqvarna claims: "It's been calculated that using Automower Solar Hybrid to cut the lawn in an average garden can save 40 hours of labour every year—the equivalent of an extra week's holiday." Owners just lay out a boundary cable that tells the robot where to stop cutting, saving the delphiniums from an untimely death. Cuttings don't need raking, either: the grass is cut so finely that it can be left where it falls and acts as a fertiliser.
Combining two powerful trends—convenience and eco-friendliness—has to be a winner. Who's next? (Related: Indoor composting made easy.)
Website: www.husqvarna.com
Back in 2006 we wrote about wallpaper's renaissance and innovative wall graphics. While those offerings were intended primarily for indoor spaces, the D Garden Collection is picking up on the same concept and bringing it outdoors.
Paris-based D Garden Collection has its sights set squarely on terraces, balconies and patios with its textile banners, self-adhesive wall stickers and waterproof cushion covers. Banner designs are individually produced to the customer's size requirements from high-quality textiles and inks to ensure UV protection, resistance to the elements and machine washability. A variety of designs are available in categories such as "country," "grasses" and "geometrics"; a 200-by-50-cm banner, for example, is priced at EUR 140. Wall stickers, meanwhile, can be adhered to any glass or plexi surface, outdoors or in; when outdoors, they'll last at least 3 years. The standard sheet size is 30 by 42 cm, for which pricing starts at EUR 15; custom sizes are also available. Finally, D Garden Collection's cushions come in no fewer than 50 designs, with or without the inner cushion. Standard sizes are 50 by 50 cm, priced at EUR 60 each, or 65 by 65 cm for EUR 95.
No matter how tiny their terraces, consumers' desire for individuality and personal style remains super-sized. Plenty of room here for minipreneurs and others to make their mark on patios around the world!
Website: www.dgardencollection.com
Contact: deborah@dgardencollection.com
