Find the friction
Start with a real problem worth solving.
“Why is this so hard to open?”SOLUTIONS TO ANNOYINGLY SPECIFIC PROBLEMS
Annoyingly specific.
Genuinely useful.
Too specific for mass production. Still worth solving.
01
WHY USEFUL ODDITIES EXISTS
Kmart is great at making things lots of people need.
Useful Oddities is for the things a few people need a lot.
Some problems are simply too specific for the shelves of a mass-market store. That doesn’t make them unimportant — it just means they need a different way of being solved.
HOW AN ODDITY EARNS ITS PLACE
How an oddity becomes genuinely useful.
Find or make a solution
Use a good solution if it exists. Adapt it or design one if it doesn't.
Use what works. Make what's missing.Make + test
Put it in real hands. See what works, what doesn't and what needs changing.
Prototype ≠ product.Make the cut
If it's useful, usable and well made, it's ready for the shop.
Good enough isn't the goal.Evolve
Listen. Adapt. Improve. Keep going until we've properly solved the problem.
The first solution is rarely the best one.TOO SMALL FOR KMART.