Guyot Designs

Squishy Bowls for Pets are Here! Peoplepets.com Takes Notice.

2009-09-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

And now the moment we have all been waiting for (especially the four-legged friends of ours)...

Squishy Bowls for Pets have arrived! Guyot Designs has trotted over into the Pet Market with the debut of their Squishy Bowl specifically designed for our adorable pets.

Encompassing the same award-winning functionality as the Squishy Bowl, the silicone Squishy Bowl for Pets has the ability to collapse in the smallest of space for easy packing and then easily regain their shape. BPA and polycarbonate free, this design offers a wider base and opening to assist our loving, but clumsy friends. The bowls come in 3 convenient sizes and a variety of colors including: Trail (MSRP $12.95), Park (MSRP $14.95) and Basecamp (MSRP $19.95) and Tahoe Blue, Tangerine, and Lime Green. Bowls can be purchased here.

PeoplePets.com, the top web site for pet news, pet style, and stories with celebrities, recently featured the bowls in their style section. Click here to read more.

How Do You Squishy? Introducing Photo and YouTube Contest! Winner Receives Free Guyot Designs Gear.

2009-07-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

These crazy, colorful, collapsible, convenient, camping bowls have been targeted as the perfect meal gear for hiking and backpacking. However, we live in a world where creativity and imagination abounds and inspires us and presents new and unthinkable possibilities. We have found there are dozens, even hundreds of uses for these silicone-based Squishy Bowls. Here are a few shared with us, but we would like to hear more! Please share videos, pictures, or ingenious ideas on how you use your Squishy Bowls. A top photo and video from YouTube will be chosen and the winner will receive a complete prize package of Guyot Designs gear. Videos and photos will also be showcased on Guyot Designs' website and during 2009 tradeshow trips to Utah and even Germany!

Please send entries to:
WeloveGuyotDesigns@guyotdesigns.com

Contest ends July 13th.

The 'pen holder'

The 'flower vase'

Contest rules:

Keep it clean.
Photos should be in .jpg format.
Please include name, address, phone number, e-mail, photo location, date, description of photo, who, what, why, where, when, thoughts about that particular moment on the hike.
2 Winners will be chosen - 1 photo, 1 video.
Two entries per person.
Any size photo may be submitted.
Copyright of the image remains the property of the photographer. If your submission is selected as a finalist or winner, you agree to grant Guyot Designs and Darby Comm permission and rights to use the image indefinitely on any page at guyotdesigns.com & darbycommunications.com, for any online advertising or printed materials promoting Guyot Designs.
Must have sufficient permission of any recognizable persons appearing in the photograph to be able to grant to guyotdesigns.com the right to display their photographic submission online or in printed material.
Winners will be notified via e-mail.

Fun Photo Shoot with Squishy Bowls

2009-06-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

June 9, 2009

Last Friday I decided to head outside into beautiful downtown Asheville and showcase these fun, colorful, multipurpose bowls. Here's a few shots of squishy bowls.

Photos: Molly Milroy

Mascot: Brooke Darby

Firefly Featured on "Good Morning America" May 19, 2009

2009-05-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

Guyot Designs' uniquely designed LED lid light, the Firefly, was featured today on the “Good Morning America” segment “Best Memorial Day Ever: Summer Gadgets Under $20”. “Good Morning America” and Men’s Health teamed up to highlight six inexpensive but essential gadgets perfect for funning up your holiday party.

The Firefly is a one-of-a-kind replacement lid that converts any wide mouth bottle into a lantern. With LED lights sealed inside the lid, the Firefly attaches to the wide mouth bottle and can set the mood on the trail or patio. The Firefly utilizes a watertight creative design and can be used right side up, upside down, center of the picnic table, or hanging from the nearest handy branch. The variable light levels allow the user to control the lighting with the push of a button. The Firefly, which is BPA and polycarbonate free, is also great for kids as different liquids, sealed tight, can be used to yield different colored lights.

The Firefly, MSRP $20, is available at Outdoor specialty stores including Dick’s, REI and online at www.guyotdesigns.com.

To view the complete “Good Morning America” segment “Best Memorial Day Ever: Summer Gadgets Under $20”, watch directly at ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7623086.

Microbites: Turned into Tongs

2009-04-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is a great conversion of the Microbites into tongs.

Just add string and a stick. Mushrooms look good too.

Thanks for the video wildernessoutfitters!

Bottled Water Carries Hidden Costs to the Earth

2009-04-07T13:04:00.001-07:00

Just yesterday Discovery news.com posted an article explaining the damaging effects plastic water bottles have on the environment. This is, as many are, an issue that is hardly given a second notion. The public seems to think that by drinking bottled water they are in fact doing something positive and pure and giving their bodies clean and healthy water, when in fact the effects it has on the planet is anything but positive or healthy. Not to mention several bottled water distributors offer nothing shy from basic tap water in a bottle. No one equates the level of energy required to produce and maintain the demand for bottled water. The article estimates that our nation's bottled water habit sucked up the equivalent of 32 to 54 million barrels of oil last year. It is sad that no one understands the magnitude of this energy consumption as the demand for bottle water heavily increases. Though, this is saddening, the worst part is there are alternatives, extremely affordable alternatives. Reusable water containers range in different shapes and sizes and are typically less than $26. An additional convenient companion to a reusable water bottle is the one and only TapGuard. Place the TapGuard into your reusable bottle to get fresh and tasty bottled water flavor from any tap. The water bottle problem seems to spur from our nations addiction to quick, conveniences without giving a second look to the effects it causes the world or anyone around them. There is also the issue to whether or not these plastic bottles will get recycled and how many will be dumped into landfills. This is a problem that must be addressed before it only worsens. To view the Discovery news article please visit http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/06/bottled-water.html .

BPA Fears Still Linger

2009-03-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

Although the outdoor industry has already faced, dealt with, and picked up the pieces of the BPA travesty, high-profile, mainstream publications continue to report on the controversy. In the most recent issue of Oprah's O Magazine, a feature describes the health-threatening chemical found in everyday products, how it affects the body, and how some states and companies (Nalgene) have already taken action. Though this seems to be old news to outdoor folks, who have already make the switch to alternative materials for the liquid goods like aluminum or stainless steel or even the BPA-free Nalgenes, the issue obviously has not been completely absorbed by the overall consensus. Perhaps, health issues and concerns, among other things, have been pushed to the back burner because of more hot media issues - the election, the economy, the bailout, the stimulus, or what celebrities are wearing. It wasn't just a fad, BPA is harmful to your health and it is in one's better interest to find a healthier and cleaner alternative.

For full story:
http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200904-omag-plastic-bpa

For alternatives:
http://www.guyotdesigns.com/Product-Bottles

Philly Goes Green!

2009-03-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

Liberty Sports Magazine, a top Philadelphia local guide to Cycling, Running, Swimming, & Triathlons, included Guyot Designs' TapGuard in their current Spring issue. Not only did the magazine feature TapGuard in their Choice Gear section, they also stamped it will the Liberty Sports Green Logo - an indication for innovative products that make the reduce and re-use part easier for everyone.

The TapGuard is the perfect solution to eliminating the need for plastic water bottles and the waste generate from them - use of natural resources, plastic in landfills, CO2 emissions from production, and money!

Liberty Sports Magazine is currently on newsstands in and around the Philly area. Grab one, grab a TapGuard - Go Green Philly! http://www.libertysportsmag.com/reviews.html

Squishy Bowls in the Kitchen

2008-02-07T15:45:00.000-08:00

Those who know me might describe me as frugal. I'm not a cheap skate, but I also don't really like to buy superfluous stuff. I also really appreciate it when one item can have multiple uses. My super light black Arc'teryx shell is great for backpacking trips, but is low profile enough that I can wear it to business meetings and dinners. I use my camping cooking pots for soup and couscous both at home and on the trail. This eliminates my need for a couple extra sauce pans. Of course, at home I also use large pots for pasta, and cast iron for frying things. I'd never take them on the trail.

Being frugal like this, and living on my own means that I do without a lot of the common items that most people have in their kitchen. For example, I have no pot holders. I've generally just used a dish towel to grab out what I need. It's not ideal, but it does the job. Recently though, I was in the middle of a load of laundry, and a load of pancakes. The cast iron skillet was too hot to handle, and all the dish towels were in the wash. Luckily, I'd just recently taken home a set of our Squishy Bowls. They're made of Silicone and are supposed to be heat resistant to about 400 degrees F. They ought to work great as a pot holder. Besides, I need to stand behind every product we make. If they're not as heat resistant as we claim, then I need to know about it! So, I decided I should put my Squishy Bowl to use. It's already in the kitchen doing duty as a bowl. Why not make it my pot holder too?

It worked great! I easily squished it to wrap around the handle of the skillet. The rubbery texture gave me a really solid grip on the heavy pan, and I couldn't feel the heat passing through the bowl at all, even though the skillet was otherwise much too hot for me to grab. And, as I was using it I discovered another nice little coincidence. When set upside down the depression in the bottom of the bowl actually worked perfectly to cradle my spatula and keep it from getting my stove top all gunky. So, now I've got my bowl doing triple duty in the kitchen, and that makes me happy.

Is anybody else out there letting their camping gear pull double duty like this? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Un-Beatable Bottles

2008-01-29T07:40:00.000-08:00

At the Outdoor Retailer tradeshow in Salt Lake City we had a small booth displaying our various products. Outdoor retailer is basically like wandering around the world's largest REI for 4 days straight. It's crowded and hectic and every company you can imagine is there pushing their products. There are always a lot of meetings, behind the scenes wheelings and dealings to figure out distribution deals, wholesale orders, product development concepts etc etc. One of my favorite parts though is connecting with the people in the industry who actually use our stuff for themselves. The tradeshow is a huge place, but you always make time to visit the companies you love.

Ed Coombs of the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) stopped by to talk with us about AORE and show off his two year old standard stainless bottle. I was amazed at how good the thing looked considering the abuse it took. Ed's been using it to cook in. He takes the lid and lid tether off and places it directly in the fire to bring his water to a boil. This isn't something that I would necessarily recommend, but Ed seemed happy to use it in this capacity. We asked him how he kept it so shiny. His answer: "Just scrape off the black stuff with a butter knife every once in a while". The finish on the bottle looked great. There were a few little dents and scrapes in it, which Ed said came from using it as a hammer to pound tent stakes into the frozen ground, but overall it looked almost new. And of course, since it's stainless steel, there's been no flavor build up or funky odor in the bottle. It was great to have Ed stop by. At Guyot Designs we want to make products that will last and be useful for a lifetime. it's a great feeling to know that we've succeeded in at least one customers eyes.

How's your stainless bottle holding up for you?

Guyot Designs has a Blog?

2008-01-27T08:12:00.000-08:00

Yep, Guyot Designs now has a blog. It's a great way for us to get the word out. We're a small little company, our products are simple, we don't have tech reps roaming the country putting on demos. We don't have the capital to fund sponsored athletes, or pay for lots of fancy magazine and television ads. But with a blog we can use pictures, and text to really describe what we're about, what's going on at Guyot Designs, and what makes us tick. The blog is also a great medium for conveying stories, pictures, and ideas informally. You won't find press releases on this blog, though we might link to and comment on them from time to time. This blog should give you a better understanding of our products, and who we are as a company.

One thing I should point out: This blog is written by Guyot Designs employees. We're very proud of the products we make and the company we run. None of us could work for a company we don't believe in. So, of course there is going to be a natural bias in the posts on this blog. At the same time, it would do us and all of our customers a great disservice to be dishonest. We'll do our best to publish legitimate and factual information about our products and company, and if you think we're out of line, or overly effusive about our products, please let us know! Leave comments on the blog or write in to our website. The more we hear from you, the better we'll be able to improve our products! We'll be honest with you and we hope you'll be honest with us.

Lastly, this blog should help break down the barriers that form between people as they fit themselves and each other into pre-defined roles. You're a buyer, I'm a seller. You're job is to give me money, my job is to give you a product. Simplifying our interactions into these stereotyped roles misses out on the larger truth. You no longer see the person, only the job they have to perform. The truth is we're all just people, living on the same planet, trying to enjoy our lives together. Hopefully this blog will help you understand the people behind Guyot Designs, our drives and goals, and hopefully you'll like what you see and continue to purchase our products.