Gloria Ayee
Staff Writer
The average smartphone user looks at their phone one hundred times a day. This means that inevitably, smartphone users run out of battery power very quickly. Attempting to solve the exasperating problem of dead phone batteries, Chicago-based Everpurse introduced an innovative product in 2012 – a purse that charges your smartphone on the go, without any cords or wires that need to be carried around.
I recently spoke with Liz Salcedo, CEO and founder of Everpurse, to learn more about her company, the launch of the Everpurse 2014 Collection, and the brand new product, the Everpurse Mini.
Salcedo, a social worker by profession, is a budding entrepreneur. She came up with the concept of a purse that could charge phones without the need for toting around a cord, and with the help of her husband Dan Salcedo, began creating the product out of her kitchen.
According to the company website, Everpurse uses a patent-pending technology that allows your phone to charge inside a special charging pocket of the purse. To recharge the Everpurse itself, you simply place it on its charging mat, which uses inductive charging to send energy wirelessly from the mat to the purse, eliminating the need to actually charge the purse with a cord!
Salcedo launched a Kickstarter campaign in September 2012 to determine if people would be interested in purchasing a purse that charges phones. The goal of the Kickstarter campaign was to raise $100,000, but by the end of one month that goal had been far surpassed, with a total of $238,000 raised.
When Salcedo first came up with the idea for Everpurse, integrating electronics into textiles was not commonplace in the fashion industry. Wearable technology still remains a relatively small industry. With the new product concept on her hands, Salcedo had to teach the factory exactly how to make the product. Electronic parts were ordered from China, plastic parts were made in the United States, and the final product was designed and assembled in the United States.
For the unveiling of the first product, Everpurse created an E-commerce website, took pre-orders from customers, and began shipping out their first orders in July 2013, only ten months after Salcedo had launched the Kickstarter campaign. Since then, the majority of sales have been made through the Everpurse website, with a small number of the leather purses sold in a boutique in Chicago.
Everpurse is all about fashionable design, and creating wearable technology. As Salcedo explained, her motivation was to craft products with basic functions to enhance people’s lives. Everpurse is most concerned with what their users can benefit from. Consequently, customer feedback on the original Everpurse was used to develop their latest product, the Everpurse Mini.
The Everpurse Mini is a wallet with accordion pockets and a zipper, specifically designed for iPhone users. The Mini is versatile and ubiquitous, and makes your phone even more accessible than the original Everpurse. It is easy to remove your phone from the wallet, but there is really no need to. The Everpurse Mini is made of vegan saffiano leather and offers case-like protection. The wallet has a clasp that wraps around it, which actually doubles as a USB plug, enabling users to connect the wallet directly to a computer, for even more efficient charging.
Courtesy of Everpurse
Courtesy of Everpurse
The Everpurse Mini has a larger battery than the original Everpurse, and provides 48 hours of continuous charging, which makes it perfect for a weekend out of town with no worries that you your phone will run out of battery power.
To add even more glamour and functionality to a great fashion accessory, the designers of Everpurse Mini attached a thin metal chain to the wallet, which allow a user to carry the wallet over their shoulder for more convenience (on a night out on the town, for example). Salcedo says that Everpurse is concerned with design first, and then technology. The company wants users to look good and feel proud to carry their products.
The Everpurse Mini is available in three colors: black, gold, and turquoise. Pre-orders can be placed on Everpurse.com, beginning on Tuesday, April 22, 2014. Everpurse is offering the Everpurse Mini for a special introductory price of $98 for 15 days, after which the wallets will be sold at their regular price of $129.
Check out the fashionable and innovative Everpurse Mini at Everpurse.com.
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