Production Update : 9/18/21

Hello Singing Tea Kettle Enthusiasts,

We are at a critical point in the production phase of the kettle - we should be starting mass production next week according to our last update. However, our primary plastics provider is unable to control what amounts to "plastics shrinkage" for the circular plate which directs steam through portholes to play specific notes. The surface of this part must be absolutely flat in order to prevent steam from seeping through other holes, thus playing two notes at once.

The kettle is incredibly complex. 20 engineers spent three years initially designing the steam engine in the kettle. I have spent 2 years of steam-engine specific diagnostics to reverse engineer it and while we are close we are still not 100% there to begin mass production.  However, there is hope.

We have a line of sight to resolve the issue with further machining, but this introduces human error and potential new problems.  We will deliver our first beta unit to a customer in 10 days for further refinement. At this point it seems possible the delivery date will slip until November. 

Rest assured I work morning and night to coordinate with experts to resolve these issues. In truth, these manufacturing struggles stem from the fact I am a small, albeit, passionate fish. As a small fish I do not represent a huge order for the factory partners, so I become a lower priority. There is a delicate balance to choosing manufacturing partners who are big enough to have sophisticated equipment for precise engineering, but not so big you do not matter.  I consulted with colleagues from Apple and other hardware startups on pitfalls to avoid, read books on how to chose the right partner, assessed 200 metal working facilities to make the kettle body, but have struggled to find a highly-sophisticated plastics partner who can meet our required machining tolerances.  If any readers have plastic injection molding expertise in their network please let me know as I'd love their advice.

Thank you for your time and support. I view the project as a platform to spread joy and learn. I could not be happier you are along for the ride.  Best,