The iPod nano wristband accessories Scott Wilson designed shortly after Apple introduced a new model of its smallest-screened iPod have gone from community-funded success to Apple Store shelves. The LunaTik and TikTok watchband kits go on sale in Apple Stores across North America this week.
Wilson, founder of Chicago-based design studio MINIMAL, and one of the driving forces behind the visual style of the redesigned Xbox and Microsoft Kinect, set out to create the LunaTik and TikTok as a project he would have complete control over. To avoid the influence of traditional investors, he turned to crowdsourced community fundraising site Kickstarter. We watched as the TikTok and LunaTik first broke Kickstarter funding records early on in its time on the site, and then later as it capped out at an unprecedented total of nearly $1 million raised through accumulated individual donations.
The wristbands were so well-designed that many early investors in the project actually bought iPod nanos only after securing either wristband as a reward for backing their production. I reviewed the TikTok, and indeed, no other similar accessory I've since come across comes close in terms of quality and design.
Wilson was distributing both the LunaTik and the TikTok via the official LunaTik.com website, where they will continue to be sold, but different retail channels have now come calling, including Apple itself. Apple initially wasn't convinced buyers would be willing to pay for the more expensive $79.95 LunaTik. In fact, Wilson has sold twice as many of the more expensive model according to Co.Design. That's 20,000 through his site, adding to the initial 21,120 orders made through Kickstarter. Those numbers have convinced Apple that buyers most definitely are interested.
The success of both accessories has also spawned new models recently, including a white version of the TikTok and both a red and black version of the LunaTik. Apple will be selling the LunaTik in silver (the original color) and red for $79.95, and the TikTok in white and black for $39.95.
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