As you might expect, we get a LOT of emails from independent designers about their Kickstarter projects. Most fall under, "cool idea, but I don't know if I'd use it now". Recently I got a package with a production sample from San Francisco designers, Cindy Glass and Dante Pauwels, and what was inside was an exception, proving immediately useful for the home office...
The name says it all: Unlace. Designed in two sizes, 5" and 10" lengths, the strips look like someone stole your sneaker laces and dipped them in colorful silicone. But instead of lacing up your kicks, these colorful accessories are bendable and twistable into a myriad of shapes, designed to secure cables and cords into neat loops or bunches.
Both sizes work great, but the 10" length Unlace proved especially effective at holding troublemaker, longer length USB and Thunderbolt cables where some of the other cable organizers in my arsenal were more of a hassle to use. Unlace are extremely easy to wrap, not requiring the dexterity and patience other "wrap around" cable solutions require, and the laces are strangely addictively fun to play around with in a posable Gumby sort of way. Now I just need about 800 more of these to wrangle all the extra cables and cords I've accumulated over the years (all stored willy-nilly inside my box of shame)!
The Unlace Kickstarter Project is currently seeking funding with 29 days to go; investors of $20 or more being eligible to be amongst the first to be sent a set ($40 bumps you up to the larger 10" set).
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Or, we could stop useless and novelty consumerism and just use a shoelace. I love good design, but come on!
+1 emilybeth - Not sure what this set does for $20 or $40 that the twist-ties that come free with every loaf of bread I buy don't also do...
I like it. It's an artistic rendering of a shoelace, using a different medium. What's the point of portraits since there's photography? It's a look is all. Obviously this would be easier to use and more durable than a shoe-lace, keep cleaner, etc.
Though, I admit, shoelaces would work beautifully as well and would be a cool idea.
I think the many sneaker afficienados will love it.
I disagree that an actual shoelace would be as easy. These have wire embedded that make it easier to wrap. A shoelace is basically string. Not the same. That said, twist ties are much cheaper. I like zip ties, myself.
Seems like a good product to me. It might look like a shoelace, but obviously would be much easier to manipulate, clean, and the rubbery surface would have better traction than a cloth shoelace. Also, it looks sturdier than a twist tie.
I don't understand why people get so crazy about cables. I have never had a problem just wrapping my unused cables and cords around themselves.
I kind of like them, but I try to minimize cables in my life, and I currently use the green velcro ties that come around heads of lettuce at my supermarket for this... Free, almost as colorful, cut to length, add end to end for bigger ones (for the garden), etc.
love them. :-)
This strikes me as a totally odd product. Putting a bright green thing around something utilitarian like cables is like putting a big red bow on a garbage can. I want to make the thing less visible, not more visible.
I vote for twist-ties or some other skinny, neutral-colored tie that blends in with the cables.
Or why not just use some rubber bands???
I like this product and I can imagine so many uses. I like that I could reach, one handed, under my desk and capture some errant cable and put it out of the way. I also would like to use it as a curtain tie-back for the kids room, many uses in the kitchen, garage and back yard and I wonder how that thing would work on a ponytail...... Oh, this could be used all over the place, however, the cost is a bit of a laugh, since these things would get lost almost as quickly as they came out of the packaging unless used immediately.
These are cute. Like zilli, I can imagine dozens of uses, the cord wrap being at the bottom of the list. As someone said, I prefer cable to be less conspicuous & usually tuck the wrapped cord out of sight anyway. Besides which, there are many free or very inexpensive items which will serve this purpose. I trust the $20/$40 is mostly start up funds and the actual price of the item drops drastically once they're on the market or they won't sell. I'd market them with a shortlist of *possible* uses to inspire the imagination of prospective buyers. A larger demographic = increased sales.
I like them :) Might be a bit on the pricey side though, but they look fun nevertheless :)
I believe in efficiency and cost reduction. Novelty is always going to be necessary, but when mixed with function you might as well... not.