Discontinuing the Jewelbots Friendship Bracelet
In 2018 Jewelbots had an experience that no hardware company wants, we received an order that was over 20% defective and our manufacturer refused to take responsibility. It was a tough time for our small company and we needed to think about how to move forward.
We frantically worked to repair the devices that had already been shipped, and have continued to do more since (for free, of course).
Sadly, we didn't feel the product had yet found market fit, and to continue manufacturing would cost us a significant amount of money (especially as we needed to switch manufacturers and remake all of our tooling).
After spending time researching, looking into our data, and knowing what was ahead of us we made a tough call. We wouldn't seek another manufacturer. We were proud of what we accomplished with the Jewelbots Friendship Bracelet, 12,000 units shipped to 28 countries around the world. A successful kickstarter and thousands of girls that have learned to code.
We will continue to support the product, our boards and designs are still on Github. We answer support tickets and are happy to guide and new coder through the process of setting up their bots. We <3 those friendship bracelets and they will always be a part of who we are.
Based on the feedback we had been hearing from parents we decided to pursue launching a new product. We had heard the friendship bracelet's price was too high. Additionally, we heard that often parents complained about a box of plastic that sat in their child's room full of toys they weren't playing with anymore. They wanted educational experiences.
When we talked to girls about their interests we'd always come back to making. When boys do it we call it "building" when girls do it we call it "crafting". They are both the same.
So, Jewelbits Science Kits were born. All affordably priced, these kits are designed as educational experiences that bring femininity to STEM. Just like the Jewelbots Friendship bracelet did.
We've launched two kits since then and a third will be coming out next week.
Hello World, NEON
This was our first Science Kit and we iterated on this one a lot. We knew we wanted to give kids the ability to make signs for their rooms that glowed like Neon. We went through countless iterations of different kinds of glue and tape before we got things to work :).
This kit has been a hit at educational events as students love designing their signs with their peers and bringing them home.
Okay, it may be a little weird to make a bracelet kit into a science lesson, but we think that's super on brand for us. This kit contains lava beads, and uses the craft as an opportunity to teach crafters about how lava works, what a volcano is, and why does it need to be so hot?
We've loved seeing the creations coming from these and everyone is making bracelets with their own style and flair.
If you read this far you're seeing a sneak peak and can even early order from the link above. When we were in the process of building Jewelbots we started selling a wearables kit that got fairly popular with our customers. This kit has everything you need to code a light up tee shirt or a badge for your backpack. Kids learn about circuits, electronics, all wall making accessories.
We're looking forward to continuing to bring you projects that you can do with your kids, and ones they can run with on their own. As adults all of us see the magic that is science and technology. We're working to build the products that we wish we had when we were young, to share that magic with your family.
