Design To Order

November 27, 2007 4:43 AM

Kohei Nishiyama is the co-founder of a company and a website: Elephant Design and Cuusso.com. They solicit product ideas from individuals (like these modular electrical plug in stacks), realize the feasibility and desirability of those products (There are currently 28 votes for a bag that apparently sticks together without tape), and then manufacture and sell those things (Hey! A Portable Night Light!). It's a process called Design to Order.
posted by sleslie (7 comments total)

Sure to be as popular, and classic-creating, as self-publishing.
posted by DU at 5:08 AM on November 27, 2007

From the last link: "This electronic tooth-shaped bank features a Tamagotchi-like game. If the owner doesn't deposit money everyday, electronic "plaque" will grow."

Enough people wanted this one? Really?
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 5:32 AM on November 27, 2007

Hmmm...what shall we use to insulate our modular electrical plugs from one another? ................Cardboard! Yes, yes, perfect.
posted by nosila at 5:32 AM on November 27, 2007

Sure to be as popular, and classic-creating, as self-publishing.

I don't know. Threadless does quite well with a similar model.
posted by Leon at 5:35 AM on November 27, 2007

That portable night light sure looks familiar.
posted by dobbs at 6:51 AM on November 27, 2007

Slack-a-gogo there is an amazing pro-savings culture in Japan. According to a recent study close to half of Japanese housewives [1] have stashed away around US$20,000 in secret cash savings.

So, yeah, I can easily believe a nagging piggy bank would gain enough interest to be made.

[1] In a traditional Japanese marriage the woman controls the household finances, typically they give their husbands a small allowance for misc expenses and do all other purchasing themselves.
posted by sotonohito at 8:07 AM on November 27, 2007

My wife is trying to import this practice to the United States.

Vive le resistance!!
posted by bashos_frog at 6:21 PM on November 27, 2007 [1 favorite]