Tinsel Blog
Learn more about Tinsel's products, team and vision.
Viewing entries tagged
The Dipper
Okay, okay! We’ve got updates:
We’re back from checking on production in China. DIPPERS ARE BEING ASSEMBLED!
Right now we are in the middle of a week-long Chinese holiday which is slowing things down a bit, but we’re still on track to start shipping the first units by the end of the month. We're giddy just thinking about it!
We're packing our bags for China, y'all.
Team Tinsel is gearing up for a trip to our factory this week. We got the pilot run of samples a few weeks back, much to our excitement. You’ll be happy to know that we are still on schedule for an October ship, despite some snags that have tried to kill our vibe.
After sharing a pretty lengthy and serious update with y'all last time, we've decided to keep this one as short and sweet as our (CEB) Chief Executive Baby.
We're happy to report that everything is still on track with our latest Dipper production timeline. In fact, the factory just completed a small sample run of the CNC'ed Dippers, which will be arriving to Tinsel HQ next week.
To say we’ve been through a lot in the past month would be an understatement. We went to China and discovered that The Dipper’s chevron pendant had major problems. While this unexpected challenge has pushed out our ship date to October 2016, we are relieved to finally have a solution to the metal issues that have caused so many Dipper delays. You can read all about it here on our blog.
#cantstopwontstop <3
“Hardware is hard.” People love to throw that phrase around in Silicon Valley. I bet that if I had a nickel for every time someone said that phrase to me since starting Tinsel, we wouldn’t need to fundraise ever again. The hardware life is full of ups, downs and turnarounds, but Team Tinsel is a resourceful and determined group.
Tinsel founders Aniyia Williams and Monia Santinello are in Shenzhen, China right now, crossing T's and dotting I's before The Dipper goes into full production. This week, they've been brushing up on their technical Chinese with The Dipper's factory teams, discussing everything from final assembly to product packaging - including a few surprises!
We’re finally rounding the homestretch, and are oooh so close to entering into Mass Production Mode!
We’re going to brief you on the latest news, but first let’s take a moment to reflect back on how far we've come.
With all the talk of melting, plating, and finishing lately you’d think Team Tinsel was working on a restaurant. We won’t be churning out gourmet cuisine any time soon, but we’re certainly hungry for results!
Since our last update, we’ve been working around the clock on packaging and perfecting the finer details of The Dipper.
Now that we’re off-tool, we’re at work fine-tuning things like the perfect hues of gold and gunmetal, the experience of switching to earbud mode and back, and the lengths of The Dipper’s necklace chains.
One of the weird things about being a company that celebrates both fashion AND tech is forgetting that these spaces don’t normally cross paths for most people. We’re talking electroacoustics with fashion bloggers, discussing chain links with audio engineers, and expecting everyone to be on the same page. This can have its problems.
In the spirit of keeping things clear for Tinsel fans of all walks, we figured it’s time for a TwT vocabulary lesson. This time, we’re Tinkering with Tinsel terminology. Specifically, the production terms “prototyping” and “tooling,” which we use often, but haven’t quite defined for the less production-savvy.
Ladies and gents, we are so very close to getting our next samples. As we mentioned last time, we're waiting for T2s (our 2nd off-tool samples) to come from the factory but we hit a snag that's causing delays.
Summary: there are issues with getting the plating to look just right on our aluminum pieces. The factory has been working around the clock to fix this and hopes to have it nailed in the next few days. This has pushed our schedule back by another 2 weeks. Oy.
The Dipper came to be when two fashionistas, Tinsel founders Aniyia Williams and Monia Santinello, set out to create a new kind of jewelry.
That fact has made all the difference.
There’s something about springtime that just screams “do something new.”
This week, Team Tinsel is giving 200% to springtime’s call with a new series on new musicians. First up: Tenille Tomengo, a soulful songstress from Central Florida. “Feel Free” to check out her new single, out now on iTunes and Spotify.
One of the biggest challenges of designing something like The Dipper, a piece intended to be both highly fashionable and high-functioning, is making certain that it has mass appeal. Tinsel women are hugely diverse - from college students to grandmothers, from artists to engineers, and all sorts in between - so pin-pointing a style that could bridge that divide was no easy task. We discussed The Dipper’s iconic chevron look from in our interview with Phnam Bagley last year, but with spring on its way and a tide of bright colors and trendy new patterns rolling in on its coat tails, Team Tinsel thought it was high time to tell the whole story of The Dipper’s chevs.
Being a lady boss isn't easy. You have to be at the top of your game like Serena Williams, have the confidence of Sofia Vergara, maintain composure like Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and develop the ability to hold things down like Her Highness Queen Elizabeth. Then there are the responsibilities of being a boss: being an awesome employee/employer, keeping your friendships and relationships going, getting involved in your communities, and looking good doing it. Though tools like The Dipper, your smartphone, and your favorite to-do list app make things considerably more manageable, it’s inevitable that at some point – even if only for a little while – things will get overwhelming.
We the people of 2016, in order to form more perfect lives, generally carry our tech wherever we go. That elevates our gadgets to a new level. Rather than just "tools," our tech accessories are companions who help us out throughout the day. In the spirit of the season, Tinsel reimagined two of the accessories and gadgets women wear today as boyfriends and checked out how they stack up against our own Dipper Audio Necklace.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: self-love isn’t about treating yourself. It’s about knowing yourself. Tinsel has just the tale to prove it.
You may have already heard this story. It was covered on Huff Post, ABC News, BuzzFeed, and a number of other news outlets, amassing hundreds of thousands of likes, comments, and views.
With Valentine's Day around the corner, single women are either getting expectations of self-pity or an all out barrage of self-affirmation, complete with the same gaudy luxuries people hate about V-Day in the first place. Team Tinsel breaks down what it means to really celebrate self-love for the holiday - whether you're taken, single, or any place in between. Put the chocolate down; it's time to learn to shine.
There are only two good reasons to ever be last-minute gift shopping for a tech lover. 1) You’ve been racking your brain for ideas but drawing a complete blank, so now you’re buggin’ out or 2) You forgot to purchase something, and you’ve just realized it, so you need a gift, and you need it now. Whichever reason brings you here, one thing is for sure: we’ve got you. These three approaches are sure to keep you out of the present-giving dog house.
This. Is. It. 2016 will be the year that Tinsel’s first product, the Dipper audio necklace, ships. Our brand and story will finally have a tangible place in women’s lives, and we couldn’t be more excited to see the process unfold. It’s hard to believe it, but Tinsel was founded just barely a year ago. That means that in just over 365 days, we’ve managed to ideate, fund, and create a company, product, and the entire ecosystem that comprises the Tinsel brand. As we take our own advice and leave 2015 in the dust, we’d like to look back at the amazing year it was and forward to our shining 2016.
