Thu Apr 26 '18 Announcement
almost 8 years ago
– Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 10:17:34 AM
While we have enjoyed the name QUARTZ, we unfortunately ran into an issue with our global trademark. It’s been a major learning experience for us navigating the complex world of international trademark registration. After some careful deliberation, instead of dragging on the trademark process in a challenging situation (and possibly pushing back production further), we decided to go in a different direction. After considering our aesthetic and mission, we diligently reworked, revised and finally reapplied for a new trademark. Today, we are excited to reveal that the bottle previously known as QUARTZ will now be:
While it was disappointing for us to have to move away from QUARTZ, we really love the new logo and meaning of LARQ. The adventurous and fun loving nature of the word “LARK” resonates well with our brand philosophy and deep appreciation for the natural world. The stylized “A” in LARQ gives a nod to a bird in flight as well as the Greek letter λ (lambda) – used in the scientific community to stand for the wavelength of light. We also love the fact that the new logo gives a nod to QUARTZ with the unique LARQ spelling. We think the many layers of LARQ are a particularly awesome way to impart meaning to the new brand name while staying true to our core philosophies.
While these branding changes were happening in the background, the team has been 100% focused on delivering the best possible product to our backers. We have been hard at work making significant progress on manufacturing and engineering, as well as finding manufacturing partners for the travel sleeve, and finalizing our packaging. We are excited to share some of the updates on our progress with you.
Below you can see some of the earlier progress we made in terms of manufacturing the bottle.
These were rejected samples from earlier in the manufacturing process so the aesthetics of the bottle looked different than the intent of our prototypes from the video and photos. We want to share with you the progress we’ve made in bringing the original prototypes to life. This two-tone look and feel was not an easy feat! Creating a distinct and physical parting line between the two-tone colors was something no manufacturer had done before. We also had the challenge of matching the color and texture between the cap and bottle - doing this across two different surfaces and materials from separate suppliers made this particularly difficult. This is all the reason why we are so proud to share with you the latest photos of the bottles from the manufacturer (see below). This laser etching video of the new LARQ logo looks mighty fine, if you ask us.
Next, we have made a few updates to our cap and the lighting behavior which we touched on briefly in our last update. As we mentioned, we were able to significantly decrease the bottom cabinet of the cap which will improve the overall weight and experience of drinking out of the bottle. We have also made improvements based on our engineering data for waterproofing and drop testing making your LARQ Bottle even more durable. The USB will be water resistant and rated IPX7, similar to the iPhone. Plus, we have been able to hone in on our desired aesthetic for the lighting feature, which for any design enthusiasts is inspired by James Turrell. In the video here you can see a preview of the lighting feature, which we believe is spot on.
With the LARQ Bottle almost ready for production, our next steps involve product certification and testing. All the certifications mentioned below require final production samples to begin the testing process so we’re working hard to ensure that all requirements are met prior to delivery of your bottle. In addition, we have conducted internal efficacy testing and will also reach out to a third party lab for efficacy testing.
- RoHS
- CE
- IPX7
- FCC
- CSA
- Food Contact Regulation for the EU
- WQA
While we still have our work cut out for us, we are very pleased with our progress on the LARQ Bottle (even given the global trademark setback). We know some of you loved the new name, while others were less excited... but we strongly believe that this is just the beginning and we appreciate your support throughout this journey. Backers like you believed in the mission, design and product performance, and while the name may have changed these elements will remain the same. We wouldn’t be where we are today without you and are so grateful to take you along on this journey with us. Getting the bottles ready for production is a great milestone for us all but I hope it is just the beginning of our journey together.
Drink brilliantly,
Justin
P.S. I think the new logo looks amazing. What are your thoughts?
Mon Apr 2 '18 Announcement
about 8 years ago
– Mon, Apr 02, 2018 at 11:05:42 AM
The QUARTZ BACKERKIT is here!
For all our Indiegogo backers, you will be receiving our BackerKit survey in an email this week. We know that you have been patiently waiting, so thank you!
Those of you not familiar with BackerKit, it will allow you to;
A) Submit your preferred shipping address (we plan to ship the QUARTZ Bottles out in June)
B) Select your reward options (bottles, sleeves etc.)
C) Choose your QUARTZ Bottle color(s)
D) Add-on additional items!
You may be wondering why we are asking you to fill out a survey, the answer is simple – to ensure that we have the correct information to get you the QUARTZ Bottle(s) in the colors that you want with the accessories that you desire. It will take just a few minutes of your time, so be sure to keep an eye out for the survey in your inbox this week (and possibly check your junk folder – just in case!).
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to [email protected].
Drink brilliantly,
The QUARTZ Team
Mon Mar 19 '18 Announcement
about 8 years ago
– Mon, Mar 19, 2018 at 12:23:03 PM
We’re back from a great week in Chicago at the International Home and Housewares Show and have lots of updates for all our backers. So, let’s just jump right in.
First of all, thank you for pre-ordering the QUARTZ bottle on Indiegogo. We have ended the campaign and could not be more pleased to have you as part of our community and cannot wait for you to have your QUARTZ bottle in time for summer. We will be sending a BackerKit survey in two weeks which will confirm your address, color selection, quantity and add-on options. We will send another update on Indiegogo when that goes live so keep an eye out for future communication from us.
A few updates on the bottle: we have decided to make the compartment inside the cap a frosted white to match the overall look and feel of the bottle. The bottle itself will be powder coated on the outside, accomplishing not only a beautiful look but also a protective, durable and a more environmentally friendly finish for the QUARTZ Bottle. Additionally, we can now confirm that the inside of the bottle will be electropolished to increase reflectivity. This will ensure that the purifying UV-C light will reach every nook-and-cranny inside the bottle – giving you a clean bottle and water every time!
As we mentioned above, we just returned from the International Home and Housewares show and are proud to announce that the QUARTZ bottle was a finalist in the Global Innovation Awards | Tabletop Category. At the show, were able to meet a few backers (which is always a highlight -- we wish we could meet all of you!) and engage in a number of great conversations about the future of the QUARTZ bottle.
We’ll have more updates to soon, stay tuned!
Drink brilliantly,
The QUARTZ Team
Tue Feb 20 '18 Announcement
about 8 years ago
– Tue, Feb 20, 2018 at 11:20:01 AM
After our last update on our amazing manufacturing partner who will be handling the bottle production, we felt it was only appropriate to highlight the UVC-LED microchip in the QUARTZ Bottle cap (which you may have deduced from the title!).
The proprietary UV-C LED microchip found in the QUARTZ Bottle is made in the U.S in Hayward, California. The QUARTZ team has been hard at work in our lab producing, testing and tweaking the UV-C LED microchip and the cap components to ensure that the QUARTZ Bottle is everything we promised. One of our engineering goals was to reduce the size and weight of the QUARTZ Bottle cap compartment that houses the UV-C LED, PCBA and battery. We are happy to report that we have successfully resolved that issue.
Check out the photos below for a behind-the-scenes look at our lab and the process used to create the UV-C LED microchip!
This machine is used to test the UV-C LED microchip to ensure that they are working correctly. Here you can see our co-founder, Justin Wang, getting hands-on (or rather eyes-on) and looking through the testing machine.
This machine layers a gold film over the microchip. We use gold because it is more reliable and stable so failure rates are smaller. It is non-reactive with oxygen, doesn’t corrode making it a better conductor, has greater thermal stability when exposed to heat – and just like in the Olympics, we’re always going for the gold.
The microchips that can be used are selected and handled by this machine.
To ensure that the microchip will keep working wherever you are, this machine tests the UV-C LED microchip in different conditions. If it does not light up, it’s got to go.
In order to know every detail about the microchips that we are making, we use this machine to take microscopic images of the UV-C LED microchip.
And last but not least, here is a peek of the individual UV-C LED microchips that will go in the QUARTZ Bottle!
We’ll have more to report soon, so stay tuned.
Drink brilliantly,
The QUARTZ Team
Tue Feb 6 '18 Announcement
about 8 years ago
– Tue, Feb 06, 2018 at 10:43:07 AM
Happy Tuesday! We’re kicking off February with an exciting milestone. We’ve been hard at work since December to find and secure a contract manufacturer. Out of the eight potential partners, we’ve selected one that we feel very confident in. They stood out in two areas during the selection process – quality and level of support. We are now working with them on a daily basis to ramp up production process so we can get the QUARTZ Bottle in your hands!
Take a peek below at our visit with our selected manufacturer in China last week!
With Chinese New Year coming up, most suppliers will be shutting down for 2-3 weeks. This will slow down the production process, however we do not anticipate this impacting our original forecast of June.
We’ll make sure to provide regular manufacturing updates with you and share photos when we can.
Drink Brilliantly,
The QUARTZ Team
