1. What led you to create ecococoon and inspires you to keep improving and creating such wonderful reusable products? ecococoon was created as I searched endlessly for stainless steel cups and particularly non-leak drink bottles for my children. High performance and design is what I really like and strive for. Creating your own company to achieve this seems a little over zealous! I love thinking of new products that everyone can enjoy. The fact ecococoon is a stainless steel company and our core material is recyclable and reusable is really important to me. We do strive to keep improving and you will see this with our new product Indestructibles! 2. What is your favourite feedback about your products? I have two favourites. Firstly, older people like myself in their 30-70's (I'm 39) remember the anodised aluminium cups in zip vinyl covers we had as kids. People get really excited when they find our contemporary version. The best feedback I receive is when people love the high performance of our cocoon bottles - no leaking, no condensation, no twisting with fingers and no pulling with teeth. Added to that, they love having cold water stay cold all day. 3. What is your most frequently asked question? Are your products dishwasher safe? Well, this is why we have produced our new Indestructible cups - completely dishwasher safe. Any ecococoon product with paint we recommend to hand wash. It provides longevity to the paint finish. Our paint is eco-friendly, non-lead paint. 4. What have been some of the challenges in making your products? The design of our cocooncap took 2.5 years and we are really proud of its performance. It was a true team effort from my wonderful Industrial Designer, tool makers and plastic injection moulders. Our one-way valve was an absolute achievement. We went through rigorous checks and tests. It was worth the sleepless nights and banging my head against a brick wall. I didn't really bang my head, although tempting! Another big challenge from any small business is making sure manufacturing and suppliers meet reputable standards and high quality workmanship. We are always faced with hiccups. I guess it is the way you deal with these problems to make sure we produce an eco-friendly product from every aspect. We manufacture in China which people can look at as negative. It is simply the only place in the world that manufactures stainless steel bottles. They are absolute craftspeople and extremely skilled. I visit our manufacturers at least twice a year. They are a great bunch of people. We are very design orientated. I know our product range is huge and they accommodate my design whims! China is very sophisticated in their business dealings. I really like dealing with “my other team”. I lived in Hong Kong for 10 years and I always feel at home when I visit China. 5. What is your favourite local nature spot? The Noosa River, Gympie Terrace at Noosaville. The Noosa River is the same as it was 50 years ago. The board walk has been glammed up over recent years. I love Pelican Beach where you can swim with kids and not be worried about surf waves. Not sure if Toby, our dog, is allowed but we do take him for a swim. He is partial to crumbing himself with sand. My daughters always need an ice cream from the Elvis Cafe. Elvis is a life size mannequin wearing blue suede shoes and holding a microphone. He is loved by all. See our NEW ranges of ecococoon bottles and stainless steel cups. Or check out our ideas on how to choose the best water bottle. We would love to hear what you love about the new range, please leave a comment below!
5 questions for Libby Versace
Biome
Libby Versace is the Queensland wonder-mum behind ecococoon, a brilliant reusable stainless steel cup and water bottle range. She recently revamped and released the range of ecococoon cups and bottles. We asked her 5 questions about her journey into reusables. 1. What led you to create ecococoon and inspires you to keep improving and creating such wonderful reusable products? ecococoon was created as I searched endlessly for stainless steel cups and particularly non-leak drink bottles for my children. High performance and design is what I really like and strive for. Creating your own company to achieve this seems a little over zealous! I love thinking of new products that everyone can enjoy. The fact ecococoon is a stainless steel company and our core material is recyclable and reusable is really important to me. We do strive to keep improving and you will see this with our new product Indestructibles! 2. What is your favourite feedback about your products? I have two favourites. Firstly, older people like myself in their 30-70's (I'm 39) remember the anodised aluminium cups in zip vinyl covers we had as kids. People get really excited when they find our contemporary version. The best feedback I receive is when people love the high performance of our cocoon bottles - no leaking, no condensation, no twisting with fingers and no pulling with teeth. Added to that, they love having cold water stay cold all day. 3. What is your most frequently asked question? Are your products dishwasher safe? Well, this is why we have produced our new Indestructible cups - completely dishwasher safe. Any ecococoon product with paint we recommend to hand wash. It provides longevity to the paint finish. Our paint is eco-friendly, non-lead paint. 4. What have been some of the challenges in making your products? The design of our cocooncap took 2.5 years and we are really proud of its performance. It was a true team effort from my wonderful Industrial Designer, tool makers and plastic injection moulders. Our one-way valve was an absolute achievement. We went through rigorous checks and tests. It was worth the sleepless nights and banging my head against a brick wall. I didn't really bang my head, although tempting! Another big challenge from any small business is making sure manufacturing and suppliers meet reputable standards and high quality workmanship. We are always faced with hiccups. I guess it is the way you deal with these problems to make sure we produce an eco-friendly product from every aspect. We manufacture in China which people can look at as negative. It is simply the only place in the world that manufactures stainless steel bottles. They are absolute craftspeople and extremely skilled. I visit our manufacturers at least twice a year. They are a great bunch of people. We are very design orientated. I know our product range is huge and they accommodate my design whims! China is very sophisticated in their business dealings. I really like dealing with “my other team”. I lived in Hong Kong for 10 years and I always feel at home when I visit China. 5. What is your favourite local nature spot? The Noosa River, Gympie Terrace at Noosaville. The Noosa River is the same as it was 50 years ago. The board walk has been glammed up over recent years. I love Pelican Beach where you can swim with kids and not be worried about surf waves. Not sure if Toby, our dog, is allowed but we do take him for a swim. He is partial to crumbing himself with sand. My daughters always need an ice cream from the Elvis Cafe. Elvis is a life size mannequin wearing blue suede shoes and holding a microphone. He is loved by all. See our NEW ranges of ecococoon bottles and stainless steel cups. Or check out our ideas on how to choose the best water bottle. We would love to hear what you love about the new range, please leave a comment below!
1. What led you to create ecococoon and inspires you to keep improving and creating such wonderful reusable products? ecococoon was created as I searched endlessly for stainless steel cups and particularly non-leak drink bottles for my children. High performance and design is what I really like and strive for. Creating your own company to achieve this seems a little over zealous! I love thinking of new products that everyone can enjoy. The fact ecococoon is a stainless steel company and our core material is recyclable and reusable is really important to me. We do strive to keep improving and you will see this with our new product Indestructibles! 2. What is your favourite feedback about your products? I have two favourites. Firstly, older people like myself in their 30-70's (I'm 39) remember the anodised aluminium cups in zip vinyl covers we had as kids. People get really excited when they find our contemporary version. The best feedback I receive is when people love the high performance of our cocoon bottles - no leaking, no condensation, no twisting with fingers and no pulling with teeth. Added to that, they love having cold water stay cold all day. 3. What is your most frequently asked question? Are your products dishwasher safe? Well, this is why we have produced our new Indestructible cups - completely dishwasher safe. Any ecococoon product with paint we recommend to hand wash. It provides longevity to the paint finish. Our paint is eco-friendly, non-lead paint. 4. What have been some of the challenges in making your products? The design of our cocooncap took 2.5 years and we are really proud of its performance. It was a true team effort from my wonderful Industrial Designer, tool makers and plastic injection moulders. Our one-way valve was an absolute achievement. We went through rigorous checks and tests. It was worth the sleepless nights and banging my head against a brick wall. I didn't really bang my head, although tempting! Another big challenge from any small business is making sure manufacturing and suppliers meet reputable standards and high quality workmanship. We are always faced with hiccups. I guess it is the way you deal with these problems to make sure we produce an eco-friendly product from every aspect. We manufacture in China which people can look at as negative. It is simply the only place in the world that manufactures stainless steel bottles. They are absolute craftspeople and extremely skilled. I visit our manufacturers at least twice a year. They are a great bunch of people. We are very design orientated. I know our product range is huge and they accommodate my design whims! China is very sophisticated in their business dealings. I really like dealing with “my other team”. I lived in Hong Kong for 10 years and I always feel at home when I visit China. 5. What is your favourite local nature spot? The Noosa River, Gympie Terrace at Noosaville. The Noosa River is the same as it was 50 years ago. The board walk has been glammed up over recent years. I love Pelican Beach where you can swim with kids and not be worried about surf waves. Not sure if Toby, our dog, is allowed but we do take him for a swim. He is partial to crumbing himself with sand. My daughters always need an ice cream from the Elvis Cafe. Elvis is a life size mannequin wearing blue suede shoes and holding a microphone. He is loved by all. See our NEW ranges of ecococoon bottles and stainless steel cups. Or check out our ideas on how to choose the best water bottle. We would love to hear what you love about the new range, please leave a comment below!
