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Featured this week: everything from a new product for head-shaving men, to a New York bar with VIP rooms for rent. We'd also like to apologize to those of you who had difficulty accessing Springwise last weekend, and have included all ideas from last week's edition in case you missed them. Our next edition is due on 20 December 2006. In the meantime, check out our daily postings on www.springwise.com, send us your tips, and please don't forget to tell your friends and colleagues about us. Much appreciated! |
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2006 is turning out to be the year of the luxury lavatory – our August coverage of a chic Parisian sanitary stop was followed by last month's arrival of Charmin's public restrooms in Times Square, and now London joins the game, with a new public powder room opening its doors at 439 - 441 Oxford Street (opposite Selfridges). The big difference with its siblings in Paris and New York, is that this one is for women only. The five-star facilities, WC1, are more than just restrooms. For GBP 5, stressed out shoppers and women on their way from meeting to meeting, or work to date can relax, revive and be pampered. WC1 provides hair dryers, straightening irons, toiletries and cubicles that are roomy enough to change clothes in. Loos are sterilised and hygienically sealed after each visit. A large circular powder-room offers space and good lighting for touching up hair and make-up, and attendants are on hand to sell 'rescue products', from nylons and sewing kits to make-up and toothbrushes. For an extra fee, customers can book neck and shoulder massages in a treatment room. With crystal chandeliers, stone floors, dark wood, fresh flowers and carefully calibrated lighting, the entire ambiance conveys luxury and spa-glamour, reflecting the fact that WC1 spent GBP 1 million+ creating the ultimate boutique powder room. The Oxford Street outlet is the starting point for what is planned to be the first chain of branded women's facilities in the world. WC1's business strategy is to roll out a franchise network (67% franchise and 33% company owned), with two more outlets opening in Q1 2007, and a further 7 by the end of 2008. Time to send them an email if you're interested in setting up your own high-end haven. Website: www.wc1.co.uk |
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As a dedicated head-shaver, Abe Minkara tried every shaving product on the market, but none of them worked as well as he wanted. Discovering an underserved segment in the growing male grooming market, Minkara developed his own formula. His new company, Bold For Men, specializes in innovative skincare products for head-shaving men. (Why Bold? " We believe that the modern head-shaven man is not bald but rather bold.") Designed for use on dry skin, DryShave Gel promises a closer and smoother shave. It's non-foaming, making it easy for users to see where they're shaving. The product contains essential oil extracts that warm and prep the skin, and natural anti-irritant and antiseptic ingredients that reduce the risk of razor-burn. It doesn't include any of irritants commonly found in men’s shaving products, such as alcohol, menthol, mint or camphor. Bold For Men claims to be the first high-end grooming product to be marketed to head-shaving men. The only other comparable product we could find was HeadSlick by HeadBlade, so there seems to be room for a bit of healthy, hairless competition. Bold for Men's DryShave Gel (4 oz., USD 20.00) will be available for purchase starting 20 December 2006, and the company is interested in hearing from distributors and retailers. Website: www.boldformen.com |
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While many brands are racing to set up a brand space in Second Life (see: Aloft, American Apparel, Telus), iVillage is taking a different approach. Starting today, the online community for women will be hosting a biweekly Girls Night Out in Second Life. Every two weeks a different curator will lead a group of iVillage members on a tour through the metaverse, showing them interesting locations and letting them meet some of Second Life's most remarkable residents. Tours will also include music events, discussions and tutorials. The goal of the events is to showcase and highlight the community of women who are creating and innovating in Second Life. The initiative is being organized by Electric Artists and The Electric Sheep Company. In an interview with 3pointD, Electric Artists' CEO Marc Schiller points out: "Second Life has an incredibly rich community of women. I didn't really see that the brands coming into Second Life were addressing these women at all. What's needed in Second Life are not more branded islands, but letting people know what the great things in Second Life already are. This is about iVillage extending what they already are on the Web, a place to bring women together." Tours start in iVillage's loft, where participants can download a branded tour application (HUD). While the tours are geared towards women, all genders are welcome to join in. Which is just as well, since gender swapping isn't uncommon in SL. ;-) Website: www.ivillagegno.com Related: |
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Ok, so this one isn't new. But it caught our eye, and seems like the kind of idea that deserves all the attention it can get. The Hippo Water Roller was developed in South Africa 12 years ago to help alleviate problems associated with water shortage. Many rural African women and children spend up to half their day fetching water. Besides wasting time that could otherwise be spent in school or tending to livestock and crops, the weight of full buckets and barrels causes serious back and spinal injuries. The solution? A 90 liter/20 gallon polyethylene barrel with a clip-on steel handle, a Hippo Water Roller can be pushed forward over most types of terrain and dramatically increases the amount of water an individual can transport from a water source. The drums are strong enough to withstand typical rural road conditions, and have a large opening that allows for easy filling and cleaning. Besides saving time and spines, being able to transport more water with less effort means that growing crops becomes a viable source of food and income. Priced around USD 75, the rollers are beyond the means of most people who need them. The product's manufacturers and suppliers, Imvubu Projects, work with the Africa Foundation to raise funds. From a (social) entrepreneur's point of view: Imvubu Projects is also seeking contact with potential franchise partners and can provide a complete manufacturing plant and training for anyone wishing to produce Hippo Water Rollers under license outside South Africa. Website: www.hipporoller.org Spotted by: Treehugger Comment on this article » |
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Back in June we covered Igglo, an innovative Finnish company that lets potential buyers earmark houses that aren't for sale. The concept seems to have caught on, as we recently spotted two related initiatives in other parts of the world. In The Netherlands, Elkhuistekoop.nl (Every House for Sale) encourages people to fill in an online form if they've spotted the house of their dreams and it isn't yet for sale. Elkhuistekoop then contacts the property's owners to find out whether they have short or long term intentions to sell. If an owner's dormant desire to sell is awakened, Elkhuistekoop hooks up the buying party with a real estate agent, and the agent pays a finder's fee. The service is free for house seekers. Elkhuistekoop is definitely less elaborate than Igglo, which took pictures of every building in Helsinki. On the other hand, it offers consumers an easy and discreet alternative to knocking on dream house doors themselves. In the U.S., online real estate service Zillow lets home owners take the initiative, by allowing them to set a Make Me Move price without actually putting their house on the market. Once owners set a price ("that magical number you just can't refuse"), potential buyers can contact them anonymously via email. It's then up to the owner to decide whether they really want to sell. Zillow identifies a few different reasons for owners to use Make Me Move. If they're thinking about selling in the near future, the service helps to start gathering interest. Or they may have long term plans to sell, but could be motivated to do so sooner if the right offer comes along. Zillow launched Make Me Move a week ago, and already has 3,682 prosperities listed with MMM prices. Website: www.elkhuistekoop.nl | www.zillow.com |
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Since hotel rooms have mini-bars, why not shake things up and create a bar with room-service? Located in New York's Flatiron District at 35 E. 21st Street, Room Service is a new nightspot with 9 curtained-off rooms ranging from petite intimate chambers to a roomy presidential suite that offers guests a grand 15 by 20 feet. The private spaces are furnished with couches, chandeliers, a mini-fridge, dvd player and a drawer stocked with mouthwash and condoms (one assumes for patrons to use after they've left the premises). Most importantly, guests are appointed a personal butler/bartender who's instructed to cater to any whim a guest may have -- whether it's a tailor-mixed cocktail, a pair of silk pyjamas or a manicure. Founder Chris Reda came up with the idea in part because he was fed up with bottle service policies at upscale bars and clubs, where patrons buy bottles of liquor or champagne to secure a table or VIP seating. At Room Service, guests rent a room for the evening (USD 350-800) and can then consume as little or as much as they please. It's a fun idea for the hospitality industry and presents a new approach to VIP treatment. Affluent consumers will no doubt enjoy another opportunity to feel like celebs, with the added amusement of coming up with unusual challenges for the butlers. (Jeeves! Fetch me a hard-boiled egg and a riding crop.) For more bar-side innovation, check out Bacardi Bespoke and member's bar for everyone. Website: www.roomserviceny.com |
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Tourfilter is one of those innovative new business ideas that came about because a smart entrepreneur wanted to solve a personal problem. Founder Chris Marstall kept missing gigs by bands he liked, and needed an easy way to track concert listings. When he couldn't find anything user-friendly or complete enough, he built his own service. The concept is simple: a user sets up a (free) account, picks his/her own city, and then enters all of the bands he or she would like to see in concert. Twice a day, Tourfilter's software crawls through live music venue listings for each city it covers. If it comes across a band people are tracking, it sends them an email, and lets them receive show updates via RSS or iCal. Entering a list of bands is fast and easy, with the system giving instant recommendations based on other users' lists. Users can also listen to thousands of MP3 and RealAudio tracks by bands with upcoming shows, and browse recent music blog listings, organized by band. Not in a hurry to make money with Tourfilter, Marstall isn't very focused on revenue generation. Of course, it isn't hard to imagine this type of service bringing in money. Recording artists are seeing concerts as a much bigger source of income than CD sales, so advertising would be an obvious start, as well as add-on services such as sms/text-alerts or ticket sales. Great example of simplifying and streamlining information, of using technology to service local markets at low cost. And of an entrepreneur building a service for the fun of it, without focussing on immediate returns. Do what you love, and the rewards will follow ;-). Website: www.tourfilter.com Spotted by: zBiz.tv |
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The Loc8tor is a combination of radio-frequency emitting tags and a cellphone-sized signal decoder. Both tags and handheld transmit and receive radio signals. Each handheld device can monitor up to 24 tags, which can be attached to keys, kids, pets and anything else of value that has a tendency to get lost. When registering new tags, users can specify what they will be attached to: 'Wallet', 'Favourite child', 'Prize-winning Poodle', etc. The system has a maximum range of 183 meters/600 feet, and the handheld will guide its holder to within 2.5 cm/1 inch of the lost possession, using fully directional signals: left, right, up and down. (Particularly useful when kitty-cat is hiding in the attic.) Not just for finding things, Loc8tor's alert mode also makes it easy to prevent them from becoming lost. Attach a tag to a child, and then set a safety zone. If the child strays beyond a specified distance, the Loc8tor sounds an alarm. The panic tag also acts as an alarm button that a tagged child can press to activate an alert on the Loc8tor. Obviously, as stated by Loc8tor, this isn't a replacement for parental supervision. ;-) For business purposes, Loc8tor offers an asset protection system, which can monitor up to 6,000 tags. Suggested use includes monitoring keys within a building and tagging items considered vulnerable to theft: laptops, cellphones and warehouse stock. A new and innovative product, Loc8tor is currently only available for sale online -- a basic locating pack goes for GBP 59.99/USD 99.99/EUR 89.99, while the locate and alert system retails for GBP 99.99/USD 179.99/EUR 149.99. One to contact for wholesale and distribution deals! For more 'Lost & found in the 21st century', check out these tracking systems that we previously covered: Bak2u, Stuffbak, TrackitBack, Postbak. Website: www.loc8tor.co.uk |
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Coming to the rescue of eco-friendly gardeners whose choice was previously limited to stoneware or cheap plastic pots and planters, EcoForms of Santa Rosa, California developed attractive sustainable pots. EcoForm pots are made from by-products of renewable and sustainable crops, namely grain husks (primarily rice hulls) and natural binding agents (a combination of starch based, water soluble binders and biodegradable additives). Under average use and conditions, they'll last five years and are freeze and thaw resistant. Once discarded into a landfill, decomposition will take place, with the products breaking down into nutrient-rich organic matter with a PH value of 7.0. Combining sustainability with eco-chic, the pots have a smooth finish and come in a variety of shapes and natural colours, in both decorative and grower lines. The products were developed by Sweetwater Nurseries in cooperation with an Asian manufacturing partner. EcoForm is currently only available on the West Coast of the United States, sold at nurseries and green-minded retailers such as Whole Foods. Similar products are being developed and manufactured by British Earth Buddy, Canadian BioPot and Australian EnviroArc. However, sales networks are limited and this sounds like a growth market in every sense of the word. EcoForms welcomes enquiries from wholesalers, as well as custom orders from buyers interested in developing proprietary designs, styles, trays or colours. Website: www.ecoforms.com Spotted by: Marsha L. |
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In March, we covered a five star hotel for cars: The Engine Room in Belgium. Besides offering secure and swanky warehouse storage for members' automotive treasures, the Engine Room is also a private club. Recently, the engine people added a third offering: The Engine Room Challenge. For annual fees ranging from EUR 15.000 to EUR 22.000, members have up to 10 weeks access to a range of exclusive cars. Automobiles to choose from include the Spyker C8, Aston Martin DB9, Rolls Royce Silver Seraph and Ferrari 456 MGTA. Membership fees cover storage, maintenance, taxes and insurance, as well as full use of the club's facilities. In short, members get all the fun of using an exclusive car, without the hassle and unexpected costs of ownership. Which will appeal to wealthy transumers, described by trendwatching.com as those consumers that are driven by experiences instead of the 'fixed', who increasingly live a transient lifestyle, freeing themselves from the bothersome aspects of permanent ownership. Although it's great to see them combining it with their other services, The Engine Room isn't the first to enter this space. An exclusive car sharing club we featured earlier is British ecurie 25, and trendwatching.com spotted a number of similar initiatives across the world: Classic Car Club, P1 Club, LuxShare Auto Club, Club Sportiva, Van Horrsen Group, Oversteer Spain and Ascari. Should give you plenty of inspiration for coming up with a fractional ownership scheme of your own ;-) Website: http://www.engineroomchallenge.be |
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What blogs, citizen journalism and YouTube have done for media, CrowdSpirit hopes to do for product development. The Scottish-French venture's focus is on harnessing the power of crowds to allow inventors and adaptors to take their products to market. By involving end-users in every aspect of a product's life-cycle, CrowdSpirit aims to set off a crowdsourced manufacturing revolution. How it works: inventors submit ideas for innovative new products and contributors submit problems for inventors to work on. Members vote, define a product's specifications, and can invest money to finance development. After a first prototype has been created, selected members test and help fine-tune in cooperation with manufacturers. Once the stage of product development has been completed, contributors continue to be involved, for example by acting as a product's ambassador and promoting it to retailers, or by providing product support, like translating instruction manuals. CrowdSpirit's primary focal point is electronics with a market price below EUR 150 / USD 190. If all goes well, this will be followed by more expensive electronics, and other sectors as the concept develops. A selection of inventions will be launched in parallel, so that the community can work on several projects at the same time. What remains to be seen, is how customer-manufacturers will be rewarded for their efforts. CrowdSpirit clearly states that contributors give up all intellectual property rights when they submit an idea or product, or when they help define a product. As trendwatching.com points out in its briefing about the customer-made trend (a.k.a. co-creation), "as co-creators get smarter and realise how much they're worth, expect kick-backs for co-created goods and services to go up. If you don't pay a fair share, talented members of the global brain will take their business elsewhere." Website: www.crowdspirit.org |
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As you know, Springwise is all about spotting and sharing good ideas. So we're always thrilled to hear from readers starting up a company (partially) based on something we've written about. Vincent Wek wrote this weekend to tell us about his new company – Home Sweet Home – which he was inspired to start after reading about eco-friendly cleaners Greenway Maid, featured here earlier this year. Home Sweet Home is dedicated to providing London with an environmentally friendly cleaning service, aiming to offer a deeper and healthier house clean. The company uses Ecover cleaning products, which are made from natural plant and mineral ingredients, have a minimum impact on the environment and are safe for cleaners and a home's inhabitants. Home Sweet Home also uses microfiber cloths, which clean hard surfaces with just hot water, saving the environment (and allergy sufferers) by minimizing the need for harsh cleansers. We hope increasing numbers of entrepreneurs in service industries will go for the green, and look forward to hearing from you if you're launching a business based on a new business idea you spotted here. Website: www.homesweethome.uk.net |
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