Australian technology and design firm Glowpear has launched an Indiegogo campaign to introduce their latest product, Glowpear Mini: a smart, self-watering planter makes it easy, rewarding and fun to grow fresh, organic produce from the convenience of home.
With Glowpear Mini, Glowpear is setting out to revolutionize the way we grow food in urban spaces. The self-watering planter is designed specifically to give busy city-dwellers, who may not have the time or space to devote to a full-fledged traditional garden, the ability to grow their own fresh produce right in their kitchen, living room or anywhere else in their home.
Glowpear Mini features Glowpear's signature "set and forget" self-watering technology, which automatically provides plants with the perfect amount of water for their needs, meaning users never have to worry about under- or over-watering their plants -- or forgetting to water all together.
Glowpear Mini aligns perfectly with the growing trend toward farm-to-table food options and sustainable, locally grown ingredients. "You don't get much more local than right in your own home," jokes Glowpear co-founder Lloyd Fenn. "The past few years have seen the start of a really exciting urban farming movement all around the world, as people look for ways to reduce their environmental impact and get access to the freshest, most nutritious produce," he continues. "With Glowpear Mini, people have everything they need to become part of that movement, and start growing fresh, organic, healthy produce right in their own homes."
The Glowpear team knows firsthand how challenging it can be to fit home gardening into an already hectic schedule. Their own struggles with home gardening were what led them to develop Glowpear. "All of us live busy lives, and we all live in pretty small, urban spaces, and try as we might, we just couldn't get plants to grow and still get on with life," Fenn recalls.
The team's interest in sustainable, organic home gardening solutions led them to the rapidly evolving vertical gardening market, where they quickly recognized the opportunity to innovate. "There are some really great vertical garden systems out, but they're all geared toward ornamental plants, not edibles," says Fenn. "Not only that, but they're all notoriously time-consuming and expensive to install and maintain -- not a great option for busy homeowners."
Glowpear released their first product, the award-winning Glowpear Urban Garden, in 2014. But they knew that if they wanted to make home gardening an accessible option for people everywhere, they had to think smaller. "People all around the world are moving into urban centers and living in smaller spaces than ever before," observes co-founder and Red Dot Design award winner Nathan Pollock. "So we knew we needed to create a solution that would work in even the smallest of spaces."
At just 23.6" x 9.8" x 11.8", Glowpear Mini is compact enough to fit comfortably into any space, whether indoors or out. Mini comes in three different styles -- Bench, Wall and Rail -- so customers can choose the version that fits their space -- and their lifestyle. "We wanted to design a product that didn't just work well, but looked beautiful as well, and would make a great addition to your living space," says Pollock.
At its core, Fenn says, Glowpear Mini is about celebrating community, and the experiences that bring people together. "After all," Fenn says, "nothing brings people together quite like food."
The Glowpear Mini Indiegogo campaign launched on Monday, April 11 and runs through May 11. Backers can reserve their Glowpear Mini starting at the $79 pledge level. Rewards from the campaign are expected to ship to backers around the world starting in August 2016.