I’m Dave Rowan, a former Sales Director in the apparel industry.
I’d traveled extensively, and my innate sense of curiosity was sharpened by my profession and this travel. Turns out, my passion wasn’t simply for apparel, but things made well. And even more so things that were made well but could have things done to improve them.
Then, one evening while dining, for some reason my focus was drawn to the cutlery in front of me. One of the tines on the fork was bent forward, and I wondered to myself…what history has this fork had? What caused this bend? Where had it been before it was presented to me for use? Whom had put this in their mouth before I was supposed to? And more over, was it washed properly? Which brought me to ask these very same questions of all the cutlery I’d used in my history of dining out.
It was a veritable “life flashing before me” of eating experiences. And I decided there that I wouldn’t use another fork that wasn’t mine. Ever again. In that moment URtensils™ was born.
URtensils
A portable personal cutlery system. A way for modern folks to get in touch with their culinary roots. Pre-Byzantine Era men and women carried their cutlery as they mostly didn’t know when or where their next meal would come from or be within their travels.
URfresco
The brand was invited by www.diffa.org to participate in their Picnic by Design challenge where we produced a basket that is also a portable table. The basket will retail for 3k as it’s handmade and needs to be put into mass production to be produced at a cost that is more affordable.
To work further with the manufacturer and sample alternatives that are more retail responsible and I need the funding to streamline the basket and its’ final cost to the consumer for Spring ’16.
URtensils + disposable URtensils:
$3000 will go towards industrial designer to finalize connectability for disposable
cutlery. This includes 3 revisions and ownership of intellectual property.
$2000 will go towards sampling, 3D prototypes, packaging development for final
$4000 will go towards production, estimated minimum run by overseas factory
$500 will go towards site revamp and inclusion of shopping cart
$500 will go towards utility patent filing