Survey Results
over 7 years ago – Sun, Nov 20, 2016 at 07:47:49 AM

Drum Roll, Please

Survey Results Are In

It's likely no surprise that Cranberry was our top vote-getter, at a whopping 36.2%. But what did surprise me was that Pine wasn't #2! It did very well at #3 with 30.4%, but guess what color edged it out by just one vote to get 31.9?

Aqua! And to think, this color was almost an aftertought for me. Shows what I know.

Our others, in order of preference, were Royal, Midnight, Graphite, Alpine, and Sunset.

If you're concerned that my math is off, don't worry -- the percentages are expressed as "x% of respondents chose this color among their choices." So because many of you were able to choose multiple colors, it won't add up to 100%. Even Sunset was chosen on 10% of surveys.

I had half expected one color to get a lone single vote, but that didn't come close to happening. Thanks for playing!

Design & Pre-production Update

Our design team is now working on taking the concept we posted on our Facebook page and turning it into assemblies for production. The factory is eager to get their hands on those designs so they can verify them and get ready to start mold production.

As we get design updates, we'll continue to post them on facebook so make sure to give us a like! Kickstarter doesn't allow us to post or share computer renderings of products, with good reason, so we're sharing these there.

Stocking Stuffers

Check out the edlee Sunglasses campaign as they are offering a Buy One, Share One offer. Back their project to get a great pair of bamboo or wooden polarized sunglasses AND send a second pair to anyone you want for free. Help their Shared Experiences campaign by sharing a pair of sunglassses on them.

That's it for now! Keep spreading the word, and watch out for the crazies on Black Friday!

Lots of love, Bret and the Wrap Buddies Team

 

 

 

A quick survey
over 7 years ago – Wed, Nov 16, 2016 at 11:22:55 AM

Hey, backers! It's pre-survey time! (Not backer surveys, yet. Those come later.)

Yeah, we're excited too...

We Need to Plan

We're curious about the color choices and their relative popularity, and this is one of those questions our factory will start asking soon. THIS IS NON-BINDING. Like Bret's household cats, he's curious and just can't wait til the end to see how this is going to shake out. 

We've put together a quick Google survey listing the options and letting you choose as many as you'd like. This isn't linked to Kickstarter in any way, so we can't tell how many sets you've requested -- but if you could, please limit your choices to just the number you've backed. If you're up in the air and just can't decide, then go ahead to pick your favorites and decide later. We won't tell anyone.

Thanks. :-) 

You can find the survey here.

Stocking Stuffers

We thought we might bring you some other projects that might interest you from time to time. When we find things worth passing along.

Wirelinq: a Smart Android USB Converter Cable for Car Music

 

New plug-and-play car USB converter cable. Connecting your Android phone to the car stereo for music, controls and text display. Enjoy digital sound quality while driving! Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/j68yju8

Help Preserve the Legacy of an American Treasure

 

Sure, he's grumpy. And a bit of a curmudgeon. But his stories have thrilled and touched millions, and his legacy has informed movies and television forever. Harlan Ellison is now going on 83 years old, and Jason Davis is working to produce digital versions of the author's preferred texts for over 35 of Ellison's books, including never-published stories and essays. Harlan is one of my all-time favorite authors, so please give this effort a look at http://bwortman.us/2f049PR.

That's it for now! See you with survey results in a couple days!

Bret and the Wrap Buddies Team

Wrap Differently
over 7 years ago – Mon, Nov 14, 2016 at 03:14:58 PM

Good morning! We're nearing the halfway point of our campaign!

This morning, I thought I'd pull back the curtain a little and show you where Wrap Buddies started. Like most great ideas, it began with me scratching my own itch, so to speak.

Born out of Irritation

Some years ago, I got frustrated while wrapping gifts using the craft table I built for my kids as a platform and stormed out to my wood shop. A short while later, I returned with two blocks of wood with dowels sticking out of them and slots cut into them so they'd fit around the tabletop. I stuck the roll of paper between them and basked in the glow of adoration from my loving wife who later that evening told me I ought to sell them.

Six years passed as we used these every year, and I kept trying to solve the problems in my head: How to make them fit any table, not just mine. How to prototype them quickly. How to manufacture them in quantity.

Then I read about 3D printing. When I started working on them, it was something out of science fiction that was prohibitively expensive. By 2012, it was becoming affordable, so I took the plunge and began toying with a 3D printer.

This allowed me produce some units and try them out. What seems to work in a 3D model inside a computer doesn't always work out in practice. I also destroyed a lot of chip clips for their springs & pins, which I repurposed to my own uses.

The first designs were solid-body with a permanently-attached post. 

We then moved to a more open look, with a detachable post, shown on our campaign page. These I gave to some beta testers for use during the Christmas season of 2015. Their experiences with usability informed our designs.

Now our design team is focusing on a design that features an integral (but shorter) post which allows the two pieces to press-fit together for storage. If you haven't seen them yet, head on over to our facebook page and check them out. The pictures there aren't of actual units, they're just computer renderings, so the final design may yet shift a little further. They do give a good indication of where we're headed. While you're there, give us a "Like" to be sure you get notified of any updates we post there.

Stretch Goal Status

We've had some movement toward our first stretch goal, and we've been trying hard to get our story out to media, but at the same time, we really believe that Thanksgiving is important and needs its time. We'll start pushing harder the end of next week, but word of mouth is still our most valuable source of backers. Feel free to use any of the links below to share our campaign with your friends & family.

 

 

 

Bret and the Wrap Buddies Team

Weekend Fun!
over 7 years ago – Sat, Nov 05, 2016 at 09:34:42 PM

It's a long weekend for my family; the kids have an extra two days off from school thanks to the election, so of course, it was time to crank up my smoker and make some pulled pork and a brisket.

Another way to use Wrap Buddies!

Since I foil-wrap my pork shoulders for a while, and wrap my brisket in butcher paper (Aaron Franklin has too many people lining up for his brisket to be wrong about this), so of course I pulled out a pair of Wrap Buddies to secure my foil & butcher paper for use!

We've got some folks coming over tomorrow for lunch. I'll let you know how the 'que goes over with them!

Stretching

We've got about 40 days left before our campaign ends, and $15K is going to be a stretch, but I'm convinced we can get there. I'd have loved to have a tape dispenser while wrapping that brisket!

Your friends could use these too. Share them with anyone you know who wraps things!

Bret & the Wrap Buddies Team

With Halloween behind us...
over 7 years ago – Wed, Nov 02, 2016 at 02:56:00 PM

Happy November!

Tabletop fit

Someone asked this past week if Wrap Buddies would work on non-square tabletops. Absolutely!

Here's one clamped to our kitchen island, which has a nicely rounded edge.

What's next?

Our product designer and I have been going over the latest iteration of designs and when I have images that are acceptable to Kickstarter, we'll share them with you. We can't post realistic renderings, so we'll have to adapt what we have to their guidelines but you can Like our facebook page and we'll post the renderings there. The latest design also shows our first...

Stretch Goal!!!

If we can reach $15,000, we're going to add two really cool elements to Wrap Buddies: a tape dispenser and a ribbon dispenser! We are so psyched by the possibility of adding these two elements. Managing the gift wrap rolls is a huge help, but always having a roll of cellophane tape close at hand will take away yet another cause of irritation. Add a roll of ribbon to the other end and voila! A complete gift wrapping solution.

We've got something cool planned for $30,000 as our second stretch goal too, but since my mama taught me to not look too far ahead, we're going to keep that one under wraps until we surpass the first.

That's all for now. Feel free to ask us anything in the comments or by message!

Bret and the Wrap Buddies Team