Coffee & Craic
Crowdfunding
Hey kids, what's the story?
We are all super cheery in the JUXDIT office today with a dash of exhaustion so I think we are actually verging on hysterical, so if this doesn't make sense I do apologise.
Easter is this weekend as you all 100% know because with Easter brings a four day weekend. HURRAY! So myself and Mel are planning on walking up some mountain on Friday. Mel will probably run but I very much intend on strolling. Saturday we have the Independant Liverpool festival with some of the JUXDIT gang. YAY FOR FOOD AND GIN. Sunday one of my best friends is in Liverpool so I shall be chilling out catching up and making some yummy breakfast. Normally, with it being Easter Sunday I would gorge on chocolate eggs, mini eggs, cream eggs etc. etc. but the summer is approaching and I MUST FOCUS. So it shall be yummy toast, eggs and avocado for me. Check out this currently crowdfunding fun breakfast product - Bready Made, teehee, it's the little things in life! (Yes I'm very much a kid deep down) and of course AvoSeedo that you can pick up from JUXDIT! Both of which will I desperately would like for this Sunday.
It would not be Easter without mentioning eggs and I cannot mention eggs without mentioning possibly my greatest achievement to date ...
Not sure how things come into my brain sometimes but one day I asked the rest of the JUXDIT team how many medium sized eggs they thought they could fit in one hand. Mumbles of 6/7 whispered around the office and I thought 6 max. Oh, how I was wrong. Sam began proceedings by sending a picture of 8 medium eggs in one hand ... GAME ON ... Well to my surprise and delight I fit 11 medium eggs in one hand ... Yup I know. Annie did try after but 6 just didn't cut it!
Photographic evidence below ...
Anyway, we are off home to gym, eat, sleep and then repeat!
Cassie
x
Sam. Queen Cassie. Annie
Hello to all you wonderful people.
It’s Monday and we’re back in the office after a nice little weekend off. We’ve all been galavanting around Liverpool, some of us looking after their Mam’s and taking her out on the town, seeing Led Zeppelin tribute bands, going to wedding fairs and making good friends with an owl called Mango.
One of the first things we do every week, is have a good old nose around some of the crowdfunding platforms to see what’s new.
So, Cassie and I thought we’d share our faves with you lucky lot.
So my pick of the week is this amazing creation. It grabbed me the moment I saw it and it’s so super futuristic! I’m also ALL about wearable tech this week, as we’ll be attending the wearable tech show tomorrow in London, I’ve been doing my homework.
Enter, Remidi ...
They only have four days left to fund (they’ve overfunded already) and they’re the most insane musical instrument I’ve ever seen. I am desperate to have a go! The possibilities of the various sounds, and therefore music, that you can create are almost endless. There’s 8 sensors within the glove that can be programmed to whatever you choose, then whatever hand movements you choose, can be programmed to create different distortion or reverb levels.
HOW COOL PLEASE.
Okay my favourite product that is currently funding is ‘Cubetto’. It is already over funded with 23 days to go.
Cubetto is a coding toy for girls and boys ages 3 and up. It looks super fun and super intuitive. ‘Thinking about the world around us the same way we think in the world of Cubetto is empowering. It gives us the confidence to try things out, break the rules, and shape our environment. Which is pretty amazing!’
I love any product that combines fun with education. Check out their campaign right here.
Hi!
It’s March now believe it or not. It’s come round so fast but it means that good things like lighter nights, summertime and the reopening of Liverpool’s Gin Garden are just around the corner.
It also means that my one year anniversary with JUXDIT is here. Which is absolutely insane as it feels like I’ve been here for five minutes. This time last year, I’d handed in my notice at John Lewis, finished my last days and I think I was currently having a lovely break in Prague before I jumped into the world of a start-up business.
JUXDIT has grown from just myself, Annie and Nico to 7 wonderful members of staff. With a successful retail site, a few awards and multiple crowdfunding campaigns under our belt, I’d say we’ve done pretty damn well for ourselves.
It was absolutely nuts, coming from a huge national business into a small start up and watching it grow. My favourite thing about joining a start-up business, is the creativity. Don’t get me wrong, I loved John Lewis and it was a great place to work, but everything was set in stone and there was no real creative outlet. They’re massively successful and it’s because of their age old integrity and their reputable ability to constantly deliver to their customers, but it was time for a change.
My first day in JUXDIT was spent putting together flat pack furniture with my new office buddies, who were quite sound. Also, creating the Studio D feat. Kitsune office playlist on Spotify, which was a bizarre and eclectic mix of all of our varied music tastes. A pretty sweet first day.
Then, it was head first into networking events (a new and bizarre encounter for me, red wine helped I must admit), hard work, long days, fun nights, weekends off (a HUGE novelty coming from retail) and making JUXDIT grow and grow and grow. Your heart and soul really does go into it when you’re in something from the beginning and I think every person in a start up business is able to relate to that. If you can’t, you’re probably doing it wrong.
One of my most memorable moments of my first weeks in JUXDIT, was our first company photoshoot, in a tired old warehouse in the Baltic Triangle, which has now been knocked down and could easily have been the set for a horror story and it was FREEZING, I’ve honestly never been so cold in my life. BUT it was hilarious. Awkward at the time though. For one of the shots, I remember having to squeeze up on a couch with the JUXDIT and Kitsune gang and thinking ‘I’ve known these people for five seconds and I’m basically sat on their knee’. Then the photographer would be like, ‘just put your hand on his shoulder!’ and I was panicking like, ‘BUT WE’RE NOT AT SHOULDER TOUCHING LEVEL OF FRIENDSHIP COMFORTABILITY’.
Another hilarious result from this photoshoot, was the ‘jumping shot’... quirky aren’t we. Honest to God, I look like my face is melting on one side. I was thinking ‘SMIZE, think ANTM, remember everything Tyra ever taught you’, but the results just ended up with me looking like I was having a stroke. See below:
Special thanks to Chris Moorst at Kitsune for creating this delicious close up:
Only someone with a face as big as mine, can convey two totally different facial expressions on either side of their face.
Mike at Kitsune, kindly captured my happy side:
And then my sad/angry side:
I look like a Scouse Ursula from the Little Mermaid. My curly blow is sound though.
So yeah, I think we’re very lucky that we’ve got a boss team, imagine working in a small start up when your colleagues drove you insane? It’s not as bad in a large business if there’s the odd person you hate because you can do your best to avoid them. Not possible in a small office in the Baltic Triangle though. Having a team that gels well and is really motivated is what I think is the most important for a start up business (it makes the long days easier, for sure!).
I could harp on with some statistics about growth etc, but I won’t, because that’s a bit boring. Basically, it’s been a bloody lovely year.
Today’s blog post is inspired by both of our fabulous Mother’s! After a first thing this morning facetime from Cassie’s Mam who never remembers we begin work at 8am and tends to call at 8.30am most mornings and with Mother’s Day being Sunday week (6th of March), we thought we would give them a little shout out.
Cassie - Trying to explain crowdfunding to my Mam was hilarious and now she can’t get enough. ‘Wait. You give people that you don’t know money to help them make unique products and depending on the amount you may get one in return? Cool!’.
Don’t get me wrong my Mam loves flowers, chocolates, candles etc. and it’s all about the thought behind it for her but she does love a quirky gift. For example, one Christmas I received ‘The Complete Where’s Wally’ book with a light for scanning assistance, So getting her something crowdfunded for Mother’s Day will be right up her street.
It was hard to pick one thing from juxdit.com because she already has asked for one of everything! But she just adored AvoSeedo when she came across it. ‘Grow your own Avocado? Sure why not get loads of them and sell them in front of the house like a little lemonade stand but for avocados and guacamole!’. Now my mother is the busiest person on the planet so where she would find the time to do this I don’t know but if it’ll make her happy, why not!
We are an avocado lovin’ family so I think this gift will go down well with my siblings to! I actually wouldn’t be surprised if the next time I go home I walk into a mini JUXDIT store.
As I come to the end of this I have realised that I have made my family sound quite strange, well you have no idea! But they are the most unreal little group of people and although I’m not going to be home with mother dearest for Mother’s Day she is paying a visit shortly so make sure to keep an eye out for my write up on the fun she will get up to here in Liverpool.
Mel - Well I’m very excited for Cassie’s mum to visit, so that we can show her all of the delights of the Liverpool nightlife! I’ll bring mine along too so it will look like we’re babysitting two little pixies. To create a visual for you all, me and Cassie are between the 5ft8/9/10 (depends on who asks) and our mum’s are barely hitting the 5ft mark. So it’s quite hilarious the amount of awkward knee bend photos I have with my mum to get us in the same frame.
So, my mum is quite a glamorous mother and she always takes pride in how she looks. Which I LOVE and would like to think I have inherited! (Right now I just have ALL the layers on because the office is Baltic). She’s also the strongest minded little human. I also very much admire her ability to returning a purchase that isn’t up to standard, without the slightest hint of embarrassment. My absolute fave, was when my brother got a Maccies and was missing a chicken nugget so she phoned the Maccies and demanded he be reimbursed. I’m LOLing right now at the thought of my brother going back through the drive through and having to say ‘Hiya my Mum phoned up about my missing chicken nugget’.
My mum has taught me many life lessons and one of them is that you should always pay out more for your shoes and your handbags as they’re an investment piece. AGREED. Also it’s great to just always tell myself that when I’m about to buy a pair of shoes or a bag that I can’t afford. ANYWAY, I decided that I would pick out the Abury Berber bag in the red. It’s an absolutely gorgeous bag in beautiful real leather. Out all of the JUXDIT site, my mum would definitely love this the most.
So go forth and spoil your mothers, your grandmothers, your nans, your mother-figures, that woman you call your auntie but is actually just your mum’s bezzy mate, your mums and your mams. If you’re actually a mum, go get spoiled, don’t take no for an answer.
We’re going to go enjoy ploughing our mothers with alcohol and pampering them till their hearts content.
BTHA Toy Fair.
Location: London.
Date: 25th January 2016.
Hey there guys a very happy Tuesday to you!
Not too long ago myself and Mel travelled down to London to attend the BTHA Toy Fair.
Bright and early in Lime St. station, we dragged ourselves to get a coffee and a snack for the train. After a catch up and a horrifically embarrassing incident with the toilet door we arrived. Map and a list of attendees in hand we eventually found our way to Kensington Olympia. *Important for you all to know. After walking in a circle for twenty minutes I asked Mel where on earth we were going because an 8 minute walk had turned into a hike. Well. She had Google Maps set to drive and as London is obviously a big city and most roads are one way well you know … We walked down every single little road instead of say just crossing the road. Note to self - Take control of the map from now on.
Well we arrived and we met some amazing people and businesses. One being Accentuate. Myself, Mel and Fiona from Accentuate had a go of the brilliant card game. I had a go saying 'Say hello to my lil' friend' in an Aussie accent. Fiona being the pro got it which I was delighted with because my attempt at the Oz accent was weak (terrible because I was born there). We had to have another go so once we got back to Liverpool and office life we played with the team, which we mentioned in our blog post last friday right here!
We met SAM LABS, who I absolutely loved. They have created wireless blocks and an app which allow you to programme circuits and connect the world in seconds. Kids will be coding so quickly and so easily using this product. AMAZING! Please check them out and be inspired right here.
We also checked out 3doodler and attempted to build our very own 3D masterpieces. Mel created a Pablo Picasso style yellow Christmas tree and well mine looked like ehhh … A football? Check out Mel concentrating super hard to make sure her hers was 100 times better than mine below! (Melanie ‘Competitive’ Quayle)
There were so many impressive toys and by the end we just wanted to be kids again. So we attempted and ended up looking like giant raspberries! Awkwardly the gentleman who let us try on the super sexy raspberry outfits wanted us to run into each other wearing them so he could get a video. So naturally we did. We presumed they would be somewhat bouncy but no we actually just ran into each other and it really hurt. Have a little look on our Instagram to experience the absolute cringiness of that moment.
All in all, it was a great day of hiking and meeting some great people with inspirational toys and products! Until next time …
Love is in the crowd ...
Hello!
As you will know and may or may not care, Valentines is looming. Tacky red hearts and roses, EVERYWHERE. The only tenuous link I could find between Valentines day and crowdfunding, was that it’s about sharing the love in the alternative finance world. There’s a kind of nice aura of respect and ‘go you!’ about the crowdfunding world, which makes it a lovely community to be a part of.
Every time someone gives to any campaign, whether it’s rewards or equity, it’s a sign that they love what you’re doing and they want to show you, financially. Showing your appreciation financially isn’t what real life love is based on, but in the crowdfunding world, it is.
So we’ve been scouring through to find any obviously Valentine’s related campaigns, alas, there aren’t many, but here’s some which are making us feel the love:
My first is Prepd Pack.
They’re currently still funding on Kickstarter, they’ve smashed their target and they’re STILL GOING! They’re at $648,943 of their $25,000 goal. Amazing. Their campaign doesn’t even end until February 26th.
These guys are here, just because I have so, so much love for them. Their gorgeous (I never thought I’d day gorgeous about a lunchbox, but here I am) design solves every single one of my #tupperwareprobs. Cassie and I have never ending discussions on the best possible way to carry in salad dressing and the rest of our nuts, seeds, veg etc without creating a bag-destroying spillage OR getting on the bus with seven bags of tupperware.
This is honestly a dream come true for us, as avid healthy-lunch-bringers. They even have a feature that links your shopping list AND gives you recipe ideas. I’m honestly going weak at the knees.
My second pick is this fantastic success story, The Outs! by Adam Goldman. It’s web series that’s based around a terrible break up. We’ve all been there.
On their first raise for Part 1, they had 49 backers and raised around $1500 dollars.
THE PEOPLE LOVED IT, so...
They did a second raise for Part 2 and raised an amazing $22,339.
These are our new fave lunchtime watch, we know you’ll love it, so go have a look...
Our third is Food Huggers, simply because, if you don’t have a significant other on Valentine’s Day, why not be eco friendly and give your food a hug? Instead of creating tonnes of waste by using clingfilm and tinfoil, these are easy to use, greener and will make your fridge look fab-u-lous.
Did you know: Europeans use over 8 million tonnes of aluminium foil every year. The UK consumes a further 900 000 tonnes. We bet you never knew.
Take a look at their campaign and we have some right here for you, so you can go love the earth with your very own set.
p.s. send us a sneaky email to hello@juxdit.com and quote ‘Coffee & Craic’ and we’ll give you free shipping!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1055691335/food-huggers?ref=discovery
Have a love filled week!
Mel xo
So as all of you guys will know, crowdfunding is kind of our jam.
Cassie and I work for JUXDIT, which is Europe’s first independent marketplace solely for crowdfunded products. The reason we love crowdfunded stuff so much, is because we love the stories behind them. Crowdfunding allows average joe’s like you and I, to be able to bring their ideas to life, through the power of the crowd!
The world of alternative finance is growing exponentially (we won’t bore you with a load of facts and figures) allowing more small businesses to be able to make their dreams come true *cue cheesy music*.
We love that every product on our site has had SO much heart and soul put into it. We also love that the choice of what you can buy, has been made by the people who are buying and not a few fat cats in an ivory tower most worried about filling their pockets. Is that a bit harsh? Probably, but I’m going with it. I’m throwing caution to the wind.
So this part of our blog, will be our favourite picks of the week, whether it’s from our store, from a crowdfunding platform or just the world in general. If it’s been crowdfunded, we’ll feature it. Don’t worry, this isn’t a sales push and we won’t try and make you buy every single thing off our site (you can if you want, like).
We also LOVE a bit of interaction and chatting to people, so if you think you’ve found the hottest new product, or if you’ve crowdfunded/are thinking of crowdfunding, we’d love to hear from you.
Mel & Cass
xo