You HAVE to Check Out This Teapot!

If I was going to buy a gift for Jennifer this would be it. I saw this and I thought of her penchant for all things green and architectural immediately.

I happened to come across this in a blog search and instantly was in love with the smooth lines and unique look. I really wanted to put a picture of it up..so I emailed the creator of this amazing thing and, with fear and trepidation, asked for permission and a little information.

Don’t ya love it when cool people turn out to be cool AND nice? Joey Roth kindly emailed not only pemission, but practically an entire book about himself and this teapot. This is his first design in production, but I checked out his website and I am telling you, there is some cool stuff, including a sustainable wood block computer mouse that I love.

So here is a quasi-interview built from the email.

KC : Do you have a background in design?

JR:I started college at Swarthmore as a creative writing major, but realized that I was never going to be as good as the authors I loved. With design, I think I can contribute to the field as a whole while still constructing narratives and making each product an immersive world for the user.

KC: So, how did you come up with Soropot?

JR: I designed Sorapot as a portfolio piece during my Junior year. I
didn’t intend to manufacture it until a writer for CoolHunting somehow
discovered it and posted on it. The same day, I received a ton of
emails from individuals and stores asking about price, availability,
and minimum order quantities. They thought it was a real product, so I
decided to make it one.

KC: How did you go about that?

JR: It took over two years to find the right manufacturer and refine
Sorapot’s design to be more manufacturable and easier to use. You can
see some images of Sorapot’s evolution here:
Soropot Evolution

I eventually finalized the design and found the right manufacturer
through a great referral. I began to take pre-orders through my site,
and was able to fund the first production run largely from these
sales.

I’m glad to see this approach becoming less and less unique as more
designers form relationships with bloggers and depend on themselves
for their designs’ success.

KC: What were your challenges?

JR: I ignored a lot of well-intentioned advice from people who told
me to be an employee for a few years before jumping in. I think most
independent designers, and entrepreneurs in general, ignore the same
thing. For some reason though, people have hard time believing that I
design physical objects. Startups are so strongly associated with tech
that sometimes when I’m talking with someone at a party and tell them
stories about “prototyping”, “sourcing”, and “tooling”, they assume
that I’m using metaphors for web app development.

Not coming from a design school background, there’s a ton I’m
still learning about manufacturing, ergonomics, SolidWorks, and all
the other things that industrial design students master by the time
they graduate.

KC: To what do you attribute your success?

JR: I’ve made some friends who are design school
alums, and they’ve been an invaluable resource. The same goes for
wrangling incorporation, fulfillment, insurance, and forecasting into
a viable business- I couldn’t do it without help from friends who’ve
done it already. In general, I try to see all the day-to-day
frustrations (and there are a lot) as map markers that force me to
find a better way as I shape my business. The process is a lot like
designing a product.

KC: Do you have any advice for other would-be designers?

JR: I talk to a lot of designers who have a killer idea, but are
waiting for the right person or company to make it happen for them.
Even when I talk to some people about Sorapot, they assume that my
ultimate goal is to license the design to Bodum or Alessi. While this
may have been my only option five years ago, the Internet allows
designers to crawl further up the chain to manufacturing, and further
down to customers. Impressing gatekeepers isn’t as important as
connecting with customers.

I am going to continue this interview in another post, because as you can see not only is Joey an interesting person..he has alot to share. Be sure to check back for part two…

Image: Used by permission, sorapot.com