Boutique Noise and Chip Shop - Arduinoboys, Kits, and PCBs (Page 1) - Trading Post - Forums

1 Jun 5, 2013 7:36 pm

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Brooklyn, NY

Hello friends,

So a few weeks ago, Etsy shutdown my shop and demanded I send them photos detailing my build process. I complied as far as I thought was reasonable, but my shop remained closed. I posted the emails on Tumblr and Wil Wheaton reblogged it. The collective force of the internet put me touch with Etsy's CEO. I told him I thought his Terms of Use were flawed and that I wouldn't be returning even if an apology was offered.

That whole story can be found here...
http://wtfbyrne.tumblr.com/post/5043774 … hs-by-hand

But today is great, because I'm opening my new shop!
http://xiwielectronics.com

I ended up making a kit after much demand from the posts I'd made in the past on chipmusic.org. I created documentation and a video series for the assembly process.
http://xiwielectronics.com/products/arduinoboy-kit

Completed units are available as well
http://xiwielectronics.com/products/arduinoboy

Hope everyone gets a chance to check it out and keeps me posted on any bugs you might run into. I'm also looking for feedback on pricing. Does anything seem unreasonable to you guys? I'll do my best to answer any questions.

EDIT:
Sold out of AB Kits. 2 completed units left. Starting new design and plan to release in about 3-4 weeks. All components PCB mounted.

Last edited by xiwi (Sep 12, 2013 1:44 pm)

2 Jun 5, 2013 8:08 pm

Theta_Frost

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Milwaukee, WI

Lovely shop! The pricing seems fair. You're quality looks superb and the presentation is excellent. It is prices like these that drove me to DIY however.

3 Jun 5, 2013 8:36 pm

thebitman

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It seems like they wanted pictures of you soldering the wires in and stuff. Still, lame on their part to not take you up on faith (like everyone else) in the first place :<

4 Jun 5, 2013 8:37 pm

kitsch

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matt's mind

Theta_Frost wrote:

Lovely shop! The pricing seems fair. You're quality looks superb and the presentation is excellent. It is prices like these that drove me to DIY however.

extra emphasis on the nice presentation, site looks excellent and is overall really pleasing to look at

edit - i think you'll find some beauty in using your own space as well, and getting away from the internet corner stores. traffic will happen if not already

5 Jun 5, 2013 8:50 pm

Kris k

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BK

OH shoot- that was you who got shut down! Unreal, man. Sorry bout the troubles you've had with Etsy, that's a bummer.
The pricing for the kit seems VERY reasonable, especially since you've priced the kit at roughly what the arduino alone costs. Nice choice using the ATMEL instead of the full arduino board for the kit!

If I can't get my Arduinoboy up and running with the kit I have now, I may eventually have to snag one of yours.

Best of luck selling these!

6 Jun 5, 2013 9:06 pm

Insert Joint

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France

Really good site. Nice job man !

7 Jun 5, 2013 9:15 pm

egr

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Abandoned on Fire

That passive matrix mixer is an intriguing item, so pretty and it's giving me a lot of noisy ideas.

8 Jun 5, 2013 10:22 pm

DSC

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Just purchased a 'passive matrix mixer', it does look intriguing!

9 Jun 5, 2013 10:47 pm

AuburnKitsune

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California

loving the logo and overall design of the site. You do it yourself?

10 Jun 5, 2013 10:53 pm

basspuddle

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washington

your stuff looks incredible, everything is really well put together (both products and site design)

11 Jun 5, 2013 11:31 pm

thursdaycustoms

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Cleveland, OH

Awesome. I like the Arduino Boy kit. Come out with an SMT one at half the size and I'll be all over it! Though I'll probably be done with mine by then..

12 Jun 5, 2013 11:49 pm

xiwi

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Brooklyn, NY

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I spent a bunch of time on presentation. Glad you noticed!

This website was the inspiration for the layout http://www.restingbell.net/. I had to use a generic theme from Shopify (this one is called 'fashion!') but I was able to make it work for me. I took the photos using a super nice camera my girlfriend inherited that I don't know how to use at all. I set it to auto, took some photos, loaded them up in picasa, and hit "I'm feeling lucky." Hope this information doesn't take away from the shopping experience.

To be honest, I really miss Etsy. It was great being part of a community. My site is nicer, but it comes off as sterile. It's difficult to convey that there isn't a warehouse, and all of these devices are small runs of ten made in a 6 x 9 room in my apartment. I've been in contact with the staff from Tindie who invited me over when Etsy shutdown my shop. I heard they're working on a social networking aspect of their site, so I'm really looking forward to that!

SMT/SMD along with finding a house that will populate boards is my next step in this whole thing!