Fashion Scents Bloom in Spite of Time and Cost Constraints
This Ol’ factory had new technology and an untested idea for a product. However, like many entrepreneurial ventures, it had tight cash reserves, little product development experience and no knowledge of the market demand. Compounding the challenge, the company needed to design and manufacture Miss Nosey Posey™ in less than four months so that it would not miss the Christmas retail season.

Miss Nosey Posey, targeted at girls between seven and twelve, mixes fun, fashion, fragrance and advanced technology. Using nanotechnology, this fashion accessory delivers a variety of fragrances for six to twelve months. Although the scent delivery technology was market ready, This Ol’ factory still needed to design, prototype and manufacture the product. This is when This Ol’ factory turned to Accelerated Technologies, Inc.

To find what young girls would buy, the company developed prototypes for focus groups. Using stereolithography and selective laser sintering, Accelerated Technologies produced models that looked and felt like the real thing. “We needed models that captured every subtle nuance of Miss Nosey Posey in order to get honest feedback from the young girls. And we needed them fast,” said Paul Groepler, founder and president of This Ol’ factory. In just days, Accelerated Technologies delivered decorated models of the soft, flexible flower petals and rigid scent pod.

The focus group’s response to the rapid prototypes convinced Groepler that he had a winner. Now he needed to revise the design, for both consumer appeal and manufacturability, start production and deliver the product to retailers in two months.

Needing guidance for manufacturing, Groepler relied on Accelerated Technologies for its expertise and ability to delivery quickly. Groepler stated, “Accelerated Technologies helped me with every aspect of the evolutionary process for this product, from design concepts to material selection to manufacturing options. For this information, I would have had to pay a lot of money to experts, but Accelerated Technologies provided it as an added benefit to their prototyping and tooling work.”

In light of time and cost constraints, Accelerated Technologies proposed a bridge tooling option instead of spending $20,000 and waiting six to eight weeks for P20 steel tools. “They showed me that the aluminum bridge tools would satisfy my initial product demands, which saved me money and removed much of the risk of the initial test launch.” Prior to cutting the tools, the company assisted Groepler with design modification for manufacturability, selection of product materials, and recommendations for the tooling texture. Even with all of this work, the tools and injection molded parts for Miss Nosey Posey were ready for shipment the day after Thanksgiving.

The pilot product launch was a success. Miss Nosey Posey now sells in boutiques and department stores where fashion is the focus. This success has prompted This Ol’ factory to expand the Miss Nosey Posey line and develop a new Mini Posey™ product for teens and adults. For each of these ventures, the company continues to depend on Accelerated Technologies. “Finding the right people is critical for a start up,” commented Groepler.

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