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The Safety Reflector Saved My Life!

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Kids are back to school and nights are getting longer. I’m back to full-time focus on helping people be safe and visible in traffic at night. Seven years ago today, I almost lost my husband.  While some question the effectiveness of reflectors, I know they save lives. I know it from statistics comparing the US and Sweden, and stories like these illustrate the statistics. I originally posted the day after the almost-accident happened, but it deserves to be re-told so here it is again:

The story

August 27, 2011
Last night, I was struggling with a new blog post when my husband, a father of three, stepped through the door, sank down on a chair and said “I think, the funflector safety reflector on my umbrella just saved my life!”  So, forget about the not-so-great blog post. Here is his story:

“I was on my way home from a late trip to the library. It was a nice walk down quiet residential streets. I was on the last of these little streets before coming to the main road. I hadn’t seen a single car since leaving the library, only a couple of people walking their dogs. That last neighborhood street has no sidewalks, so I was walking in the street, like everyone who walks their dog, visits a neighbor or just heads out for some exercise.

I was where the street makes its final curve up to the highway. Before I knew it, a Hummer came flying around the blind corner, in the oncoming lane and right at me after an illegal left turn from the highway. The driver got a fraction of a second to notice me in the dark but I’m still here to write this because the folded up umbrella I was carrying had a safety reflector dangling from the handle. I doubt that the driver would have noticed me without it since the street is badly lit. The shining reflector swinging on the left side of the road let the driver know that something was very wrong (something more than just that the car was driving on the left) . The Hummer dodged to its right and just missed me.”

It’s Up To Us to Save Lives

He was of course relieved not to be another tally mark in the night time accident statistics, but quite shaken and so was I. It just takes a split second of bad decision by someone to destroy their own and/or someone else’s life. 7 out of 10 pedestrian accidents happen at night, and it is up to you as an unprotected pedestrian to make yourself visible to avoid another tragedy.

Since this almost-accident happened, there have been big improvements in the attitude towards pedestrians. Infrastructure improvements and drivers’ attitudes have changed. However, we still have a long way to go. Until then, I’m making sure my customers, friends and family are seen in the dark.

Now, click here to order a couple of funflector safety reflectors before it’s too late!

Have fun and stay safe!

Elisabeth

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How To Choose a Brand Name

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Eons ago, when we were still at the research stage for all that we do today, we needed to choose a brand name. All we had, was a handful of safety reflector samples from a manufacturer and some ideas and advice. Today, on the anniversary of finding our funflector brand name, we would like to share some ideas we had on how to choose a brand name that cut through the noise on search engines and help you build your own niche. These were our criteria:

  • The brand name needed to be different from our business name, the newly registered funflector.com LLC
  • The brand name needed to be available as a .com domain
  • The brand name should not be a normal word or series of words as it would be hard to find our products when using the brand name in search engines.
  • The brand name needed to be reasonably short so the URL was easy to read, remember and type.
  • The brand name needed to flow and be easy to pronounce and spell in American English. Having lived in Sweden, Germany and France in addition to the US, we had plenty of impossible names to draw from.
  • Of course, the brand name must not be offensive, obscene or disrespectful.
  • Lastly, it would be nice if the brand name described the product.

We came up with gazillions of ideas, and some we believed in enough to test in google. For most, however googling was the end until March 15th. That’s when when we typed in funflector.

How to choose a brand name
A perfect brand name – no confusion with existing brands or words!

The result: “Your search – funflector – did not match any documents.” Yes! In that very moment we knew we had chosen a great brand name!Try that today and see how many hits you get!
So, that’s our story on how to choose a brand name!
A couple of weeks later, as we were about to submit trademark registration for funflector, we listened to a webinar about branding. They talked about how many of the best brand names were made up from two normal words smushed together into one name. And that was exactly how we had turned “fun reflector” into funflector!
We still love our brand name and it keeps serving us well.
What’s your favorite advice when it comes to brand creation? Please comment below!
Elisabeth 

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3 Important Back-to-School Safety Tips

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back to school safety reflectors for backpacks and book bags
Back to school safety reflectors for backpacks and book bags

School supplies piled high, schedules checked and papers signed. Getting kids back to school can be daunting, and it is easy to forget all the soft things that are not on the provided supply lists, for example talking with your kids how to handle difficult and dangerous situations or what to do if they see bullying or are the target of it. Strategies and safety tips for how to deal with bullies, strangers and traffic dangers is something every kid should be taught.

1. Tools for Kids to Deal With Bullying

Bullying hurts, emotionally and/or physically, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, it also prevents learning and developing new skills. Take the time to talk with your kids about bullying, how to stand up for others and how they can protect themselves.  It’s not always so easy to bring up the topic of bullying with the kids, we found some good tips here on how to talk about bullying. Go here to get strategies for your kids to deal with and prevent bullying. Give them the confidence to stand up for themselves but also to help others who might be the target of bullying.

2. Teach Kids More Than “Stranger Danger”

“Stranger Danger” is easy to tell kids, but it does not give them any tools to deal with creepy, scary and dangerous situations. When doing nothing is not enough, kids need to know what action to take. We like the site ChildSafetyFun.com as it gives kids and parents tools to assess strangers, most of whom are thankfully good people, and take immediate action when they are not. It teaches kids how they can verbally and physically protect themselves and encourages you to practice different situations with your kids.

3. Practice Road Safety With Your Kids

Whether your kids walk or bike to school, or wait for the school bus at the side of the road, they need to understand to take traffic seriously. That goes for teens in middle and high school too! We have mentioned it many times before on this blog, but here is a quick reminder:

  • Cross streets on crosswalks and at intersections. Most  pedestrian crashes (70%) occur in the middle of the block.
  • Walk on the left side if there is no sidewalk. That way you know what’s going on with the traffic closest to you, and you will have more time to step away if needed.
  • Wear reflectors from dusk to dawn when walking, biking or running. Cars have rear lights to be seen and it is equally important for anyone not in a car to make themselves seen by drivers. Of all fatal teen pedestrian accidents, 75% happen when it’s dark. Make sure your kids don’t end up as a tally mark in the 2016 crash statistics.

The best way to teach kids how to behave is to practice what you preach. Be a good role model and park the car a block away next time, and use that to practice crossing streets. Especially, teach the kids to watch out for drivers turning “right on red” because those drivers are often only looking to the left… Wear reflectors yourself (you don’t want to become a tally mark either, right?) from dusk to dawn. For those adults who don’t think ninja or kitten safety reflectors are the right style for you, we have some more “neutral” ones too 🙂
The funflector team
P.S. And to all parents out there who need to take a deep breath now when kids are back in school: This safety reflector is for you, enjoy!

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The Meaning of the Ampersand

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The typographic symbol “&” or “ampersand”, is a fun squiggle that requires some practice to write smoothly. As the funflector team has worked on the design of our ampersand safety reflector, I remember the proud feeling of accomplishment when, in second grade, I finally got the pen to turn and twist the right way. From a designer’s perspective it is fun to play around with and many different 3D versions has lately made it onto the shelves of many home decorating stores. The Design Hack has written a blog post on the history and their love affair with the graphic beauty and styles of the ampersand and we totally share their love of the design.

Ampersand safety reflector in sandalwood hanging on the handle of a bag.
Ampersand safety reflector in sandalwood hanging on the handle of a bag.


If you want to decorate your home with ampersands, there are so many styles, materials and sizes, but how about if you want to decorate your bags or clothing with one? We did not find many ampersand accessories beyond jewelry so we are proud to add an ampersand safety reflector to our 2016 collection. It looks awesome on jackets, bags and purses. Check it out in our webshop here! It is available in a number of colors and even our black safety reflectors are super bright as explained here.

What’s the meaning of the Ampersand?

Ampersand home decoration covered in with sequence and purple safety reflector.
Ampersand home decoration covered in with sequence and purple safety reflector.


The ampersands symbolizes the word “AND”, which is
the word that brings people together, ties together two disparate things or thoughts,
the word that can make 1+1 equal to 3
AND it is the word that if used in the right place, sparks discoveries and innovation! The ampersand is also a reminder that we are not alone, but stronger together. As a friend of mine put it: “I have many brothers and sisters and think of us all strung together by the word AND. So when I se the ampersand, it makes me think of my loving family.”
In many languages  it represent a very short word
AND in English
UND in German
ET in French
OG in Danish
even in Finnish where something as simple as 1-2-3 is yksi-kaksi-kolme, the word for “and” is JA.
Why is it a favorite for us? When you put AND between thoughts, concepts and models that have not previously been combined, that’s when you get discoveries and innovation! It is also a constant reminder to take one more step, to dig one shovel deeper and take in one more viewpoint. And then what?
We’d love to hear what you think of when you see the ampersand. Please comment below!


Elisabeth

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Happy 4th of July!

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The funflector team is wishing everyone a fantastic and safe Independence Day!

Happy fourth of July from the funflector team I
Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

This year, we are sending our 4th of July greetings from Paris, France, one of many stops during our very inspirational travels this summer. We have been collecting ideas for future safety reflector designs and of course taken the opportunity to shoot some fun photos.
The funflector team

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Science Project with Retroreflectors

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We all have them in our photo albums: the photos taken with a flash straight into a window. The reflection of the harsh flash hovers over the heads of your friends because you forgot to take a step to the side and shoot a little bit diagonally into the window. If the window was a retroreflector, like a funflector safety reflector or a road sign, you would have got the flash bouncing back into your camera lens no matter where you were shooting from. Below and in our next post are some easy and fun ideas for a science project for schools or scout groups. These will help understand how retroreflectors work and why they can be so effective despite their small size.

Science Project with Safety Reflector & Laser Pointer

This video shows how a laser beam gets reflected right back to where it came from by a safety reflector.
Watch how it lights up the laser pointer and the hand holding it! (Please make sure the laser pointer is handled by an adult.)

…

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Science Project with Retroreflectors Read More »

Happy New Year

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Safety reflectors for backpacks and jackets in shapes of shamrocks, stars, ladybugs and paw prints. EN13356.

As we mentioned in the beginning of the year, the very first order we received on New Years Day 2015 was for safety reflectors in shapes of shamrocks, ladybugs and stars. We took that as a sign that a lucky and stellar year was ahead of us and that is indeed what happened! Online sale in the US more than doubled and we’ve successfully launched our soft safety reflectors online in Canada in cooperation with C-Me Pedestrian Reflectors.

The funflector Showroom & Shop is open by appointment in Libertvyille IL.

In June 2015, we opened our Showroom in Libertyville, IL. It is located in the FreshStart Business Incubator, which also provides excellent business coaching that has helped us enormously to get on a growth track.

We would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to all our customers, wholesale customers, partners, suppliers and to FreshStart BI! We are looking forward to continuing business with you in 2016!

Elisabeth & the funflector team

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The Bright Side of Darkness

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Without darkness, we would not be able to see the light. The longer and darker the winter days are, the brighter and longer are the summer nights. Scandinavians know how to make the most out of the December darkness and turn it into prime time for advent “fika” and “hygge.”

A Swedish advent candle helps us count down each day to Christmas.
Calendar candle waiting to be lit to count down to Christmas.

It’s of course also prime time for wearing safety reflectors as the Scandinavian walks and bikes a lot, also in the winter. Copenhagen has the longest days of the Scandinavian capitals, and sun sets there at 3:45.

It’s a bit of a culture shock for Scandinavians to see Christmas trees behind living room windows already the day after Thanksgiving. Although Sweden is a quite secular country, the tradition of keeping advent separate from Christmas lives on. The first Sunday of advent, kicks off a flurry of activities to prepare for Christmas, but many also make time for “advents-fika”. Fika is sitting around with friends or colleagues drinking coffee, eating some sweet treats and having conversations. Advent-fika has more candles, glögg in addition to coffee and Christmas cookies and pastries and is more for weekends with friends at home.

The Danes and Norwegians know how to “fika”, but interestingly don’t have a word for it. On the other hand they have “hygge” for which the Swedes don’t have a word… Hygge is for any time of the year, but December is prime time for top-hygge. Hygge is easier to experience than explain, so welcome to Copenhagen!

Typical Swedish Christmas window with lights, Amaryllis and Christmas curtains.
Typical Swedish Christmas window with lights, Amaryllis and Christmas curtains.

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Happy Labor Day

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We hope you got the day off and that you had some well deserved vacation this year. Research shows (projecttimeoff.com) that more gets done better at work when people don’t work non-stop.

Happy Labor Day from the funflector team

At a time when workers’ rights are questioned, it is easy to forget that also employers benefit from having healthy, rested workers, who don’t need to worry about working two jobs to make ends meet but instead can focus on the job and do it well. Quality and improvements come from people who love what they do and are proud of it as much as from complex and costly quality control systems.

Happy Labor Day everyone!

The funflector team

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Darker Days Ahead!

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Today, Sweden is closed. It’s Midsummer Eve and you will have trouble even finding a hotdog stand that is open. Celebrating the longest day of the year is an important business in a country where even the southernmost parts have 17 hour long nights in December. Watch “Midsummer for Dummies” if you don’t believe us:

The Swedish attitude about midsummer lives on in Minnesota, where we found this in a blog post by Paul Huttner “Sunday is a day many Minnesotans wait for all year. After the long dark winter, and generally stormy springs the sun reaches the highest point in the sky in Minnesota.”

On Sunday, June 21st, the north end of the earth axis is tilted towards the sun as far as it goes, which gives us long bright summer evenings.

Sun's angle in the summer by University of California Santa Barbara
Sun’s angle in the summer by University of California Santa Barbara

Unfortunately, that also means that the days will get shorter again, so watch out for dusk. Warm summer nights should be enjoyed outdoors, not in the ER because the driver didn’t see you. It’s better to be seen than sorry!

Check out our red, white and blue reflectors or 4th of July themed reflective slap bracelets for safe and fun summer nights!

Happy midsummer!

the funflector team

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