The Dragons were left spellbound by duo Richard Blakesley & Chris Barnardo and their universal remote control which looks like a magic wand.

Well done Wand-Makers, I hope the investor money will allow you to continue to invent and create such awesome products. All the publicity through the show should empty your stocks quickly.

You can see the video here:

If you don’t know Dragon’s Den Show on BBC TWO – here is a short description from their website:

First launched in Japan, Dragons’ Den is now an international brand with versions airing in countries across the globe.
Entrepreneurs pitch for investment in the Den from our Dragons, five venture capitalists willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity.
Since series five, the five Dragons have been Duncan Bannatyne, James Caan, Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis.

What you can see on the show

• Chris and Richard entering the scene via some dark stairs, perfectly dressed
• asking for a 200.000 pound investment for 10% share of the company
• quoting Arthur C. Clars third law of prediction:
  “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
• pointing to the really large and still growing fantasy market with the likes of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and such
• presenting the wand and accessories by letting a large black silk cloth slither down
• Richard: “looks pretty much as you expect for a wizards wand”
• “being a real wand it actually can do something”
• letting it play Harry Potter theme on an iPod touch deck
• controlling volume by turning it, switching tracks – and making the investors smile
• telling them it could control anything in their house
• Richard shows controlling TV, fans and even lighting a candle
• the history of business, started in September, by Christmas 10.000 units sold.
• ask for money, expertise to take the company to a 18 million GBP company over the next three years
• they hand the investors the wands to have a try for themselves
• we even spot one of the rare dragon serpent wand stands that was designed by Chris (I got one of my own)
• James Caan wants to know what is behind the magic
• the infrared emitter tip is supplied by one of the largest remote control manufacturers in the world
• the wand also contains a universal remote control chip for learning and sending the codes
• meanwhile the others look at the beautifully laid out manual
• its gesture based approach is compared to the Wii-remote
• with its internal orientation sensor it always know which way is up
• Chris refuses to say what the next product is – but it is awesome, so stay tuned
• “and it’s all based around magic?”
• Richard answers that TheWandCompany will become a brand for all sorts of surprising and magical products
• zoom in to the wand and dragon wand stand
• the Dragons are clearly absorbed by the product
• Duncan wants more information about the inventors
• they tell about their electronics company (where they met) that already sold (about 2 mio) advanced remote controls and embedded displays before
• speaking again about sales they were asked about prices
• impressive margin, great product, Chris and Richard are clearly doing well in the Den
• then Theo asks them about revenue and profits, he is wondering what they want the 200k for if their numbers are already that rock solid
• Deborah talks about the Harry Potter movies, of which the last two will air this and next year
• Chris speaks about people who like fantasy and wizarding things and of the appeal to people who play online games like World of Warcraft and the like, also about other fantasy themes like Narnya and LotR
• the wandmakers speak about deals with Target (US) and the Sky magazines of airlines
• Duncan is the first to break the ice, he offers 600k for 30%
• Duncan being dubbed “Voldemort” by “Hagrid” – Peter who offers 200k for 25%
• then the game starts with Theo asking them “what would make them happy”
• and Deborah offers half the money for 10%, ask they asked for 23% and two dragons
• James sat there listening and as he likes the product and the wand makers he offers what they wanted 200k for 20% later scaled back
• after the real time discussions of 2.5 hours have been cut down to five minutes for TV, Duncan increases his offer substantially and gets accepted
• Now there is money and a strong business partner to look forward to

The awesome GBP 900.000 (in sum) offer got quite a lot of press coverage

• Daily Mail – Dragons’ Den panel in record £900,000 bidding war for the ‘Magic Wand’ they think could replace your remote control
  

  It’s just the thing that Harry Potter could use while watching TV at Hogwarts – a wand that changes channels or turns down the volume at the flick of a wrist.
  And this buttonless remote control certainly seems to have magic properties because it has just attracted the largest investment in the history of Dragons’ Den, BBC2’s entrepreneurial reality series.
  Chris and Richard have already sold more than 20,000 Kymera Wands since the launch in September last year and it is now on sale in 41 countries. They expect to turn over £2million in the next year with the help of Duncan Bannatyne.

• The Guardian – The most successful Dragons’ Den pitch ever?
  

  It sounds like the far-fetched plot of a fantasy movie: crazy inventor enchants dragons with magic wand. But on last night’s episode of Dragons’ Den that is exactly what happened.
  Barnado reckons he has been inventing since the age of 14, when he wrote to Tomorrow’s World with an idea for an artificial limb controlled by nerve impulses; more recent brainwaves include a new form of cheese packaging, a one-piece baby- bottle – and a scatological version of Top Trumps called, er, Plop Trumps.

• Stroke of genius: magic wand entrepreneurs secure highest ever Dragons’ Den investment
  

  Richard added: ”I didn’t expect all five to like the product and I thought we would have some of them saying ‘fine but it’s not my cup of tea’.
  ”They were all pretty good offers so we just picked one.”

• smarta – Dragon’ Den: episode seven, reviewed
  

  That concluded a fantastic spell in the Den for the Wand Company. They left with all their cash, retaining 90 per cent of their business. It makes you wonder if maybe the founders had a few magical powers themselves. Their performance in the Den sure went like a charm…

• Steve van Dulken covers the patent of the Kymera Wand on his Patent Blog
  

  The patent application for the invention was published in May 2010 as Remote control device, in particular a wand.

  I am unlikely to buy it, as I would forget which command meant what. Maybe that is an attraction — different waves of the wand would mean different commands for each person’s wand, making it a truly personalised remote control.

• Technology on MSNBC – Harry Potter-style magic wand conjures big money
  

  The Kymera wand buttonless remote control claims no direct affiliation with J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter empire, but there’s a reason it’s selling like pumpkin pasties on the Hogwarts Express.
  The need for such a product is obvious to anyone who’s endured those Hagrid-sized commercial breaks that muck up each and every ABCFamily Very Special Harry Potter Weekend Event.
  The U.K- based Wand Company’s Kymera wand — that operates via wrist movements rather than buttons — remains one of the website’s top 150 products, out of thousand-plus products ThinkGeek sells.

• Telegraph – Record Dragons’ Den investment for Harry Potter-style magic wand
  

  They expect to turnover £2million in the next year with the help of Mr Bannatyne.
  The Dragon said: “I see the magic wand rolling out very quickly over the next six months and I think it will do very, very well.”

There are lots of comments like

• useless gadget
• I don’t need it
• patent infringement
• how to switch 500 channels
• to pricey
• how to memorize 13 gestures

But I think after you tried it for yourself for the first time you perhaps think differently. And who needs 500 channels and can’t memorize 13 simple gestures?

Some positive comments

• Excellent idea I would love one if you have any going spare. Have you thought about making limied edition versions with different designs of handles etc or trying to approach the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings people to see if they are interested in a specially designed version. Can’t wait to see your next invention
• Well done to Richard and Chris, looks like a great idea! Will be looking out for your next products. Looking forward to seeing your company at the Autumn Fair. Hope Duncan can give you the help you need.
• When you reach 45 years old your eyesight starts to go for close up reading. Most remotes have really small text on the buttons so you’re scrabbling around for your reading glasses or pestering the kids to change channels or operate the TV guide for you. This gadget will be so useful. I’ll probably get one… I hope it works OK! Well done guys.
• I love it…much better than having 4/5/6 remotes sitting around (all needing batteries!!)…If I buy one I think I’ll get hubby to make a ‘holster’ to go on the side of the sofa to hold it..looks like it could be a brilliant invention for those not able to use buttons too….well done to you both and good luck!

And some shots from the video as a gallery

The Kymera Wand is featured prominently as gift-bag item of this years TED Global 2010, which started today in Oxford, UK.

The WandMakers Chris and Richard were happy to provide 800 Kymera Wands as gift to the TEDsters. Here is their warm, welcoming note:

Technology Entertainment Design

TED started out in 1984 to bring people together from these three worlds. Today, these fields have been combined in many fantastic ways, so we were honored when the nice folks at TED invited us to participate in this gift bag. We’ve taken a little of todays technology, applied creative design, and developed a product which has already entertained customers in more than 50 countries around the world.

It’s been a great start for our fledgling company, and we’re really excited about the future possibilities with help from people like you. That’s why we’re delighted to present you with your very own Kymera Magic Wand, and would love to hear your comments, thoughts and ideas – so please drop me a note at chris.barnardo(at)thewandcompany.com, or visit our website here: www.thewandcompany.com

Chris Barnardo, CEO

They created a great looking package specially designed for TED. The same kind of packaging is available for corporate customers that want to give away the Kymera Wand as a gift – to customers, partners or employees.

There are already the first tweets about it:

@PaulRieckhoff
Best gift bag item of #TED: a Kymera Magic Wand-”not a toy, a finely tuned instrument of control” http://twitpic.com/24okbb

Kymera Wand @TEDGlobal2010 by @PaulRieckhoff

@whiteafrican: #TED Fellows can practice their quiddich with their new wand in the Harry Potter dining room. #Oxford http://twitpic.com/24b8xh

Harry Potter dining room by @whiteafrican

@freeworldmedia: Opening up the famous TED Gift bag. The highlight is the magic wand that controls anything from the TV remote to… http://fb.me/CgZcExin

@paulrieckhoff: @thewandcompany Thanks for the cool gift. After some drinks, there will be TEDsters running all over Oxford screaming “Abracadabra”! #TED

@gregorymiller All but the floating candles & white owls at #TED. http://twitpic.com/24×3xl

TED Magic Lunch by @gregorymiller

@giorgiotedx TEDxDubaiLive – TED Magic Wand ,inside delegates bags. Will need to try it on a couple of folks back in #DXB http://twitpic.com/24wcbs

@rodrigocvc: Refeições a la Hogwarts no TED Global. http://bit.ly/a2ECOR (expand) #ted [afichacaiu]

Hogwarts at TEDGlobal

Gift bag contents

Look out for TED content anyway. These are the worlds best presentations on various topics online, collected for more than 25 years and available for free (Creative Commons).

Wishing all TEDsters much fun at the event.

Thanks to all participants. Wishing you luck for the next round of giveaways.

Back in October 2009 Anne-Marie Kovacs of TheSucculentWife wrote a nice post about the Kymera Wand.

We chatted about having a giveaway contest some time in the future, and now with Fathers Day (June 20th) approaching, she took the chance to offer a Kymera Wand for her blog’s readers.

As an avid reader of the Kymera Wand site, you should know how many gestures the wand supports. So hurry up to the post and add your comment to win a wand.

The giveaway is open until June 11th 2010. Wishing you Good Luck.

]]> http://www.kymera-wand.com/2010/05/kymera-fathers-day-giveaway-from-thesucculentwife/feed/ 1 http://www.kymera-wand.com/2010/05/100th-blog-post-time-to-celebrate/ http://www.kymera-wand.com/2010/05/100th-blog-post-time-to-celebrate/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 23:55:56 +0000 admin http://www.kymera-wand.com/?p=931 So, this is the 100th post on kymera-wand.com. I want to take some time to celebrate and review the things that happened since I became a fan of the Kymera Wand.

First I want to thank Chris and Richard for their ingenious invention that has sparked magic not only in my life. To come up with such an awesome product is really a work of a genius. Thanks for being so creative, welcoming, helpful and generous all the time. I really enjoyed collaborating with you guys and am very glad to have two such friends on the British Islands. Please keep up the great work and surprise us now and then.

Yes, it has been 9 months since the Kymera Wand was presented to the public. In September 2009, I contacted Chris and Richard about issues with their site thewandcompany.com for the first time.

I was really exited about the wand and we quickly were on good terms. So we spend a good amout of time in email conversations and skype chat sessions about the wand, the company, it’s development, reselling and other things.

September 2009

Soon I started blogging about the wand, first at the domain wand-control.com publishing press coverage, videos and the manual.

Then I was really impressed as Chris send me a sample wand to take to the JAOO software developer conference to use in my presentation as remote control for my MacBook. I quickly learned the gestures and published a video of controlling Macs with the wand.

I had a local artisan make me a fitting leather sheat for the wand and carried it around all time to show it off. The wand got a lot of attention. Finally I gave it to Kresten Krab Thorup the conference organizer as a thank you for all the great JAOO conferences.

After the conference I opened the forum at this site to give wand owners a place to discuss and give feedback. Unfortunately it never took of (except for spammers), so I removed user self registration.

The Wandmakers also posted the first videos at this time which I happily blogged about.

October

In October we could report the first batch of wands being shipped to customers and published the first user reviews and sightings in the public. The wandmakers created instructional videos and animations that helped in getting along with your Kymera Wand. The coverage of the Wand by PopTech was one of the major public events in October.

November

November was even more excited. It started with a review from MuggleNet and the first mention of the Kymera Wand pockets. Later the month I was among the first that were approached by the wandmakers to become an international reseller of the Kymera Wand. That was sooo exciting. I eagerly ordered my first batch of wands and put up the paypal account (a real pain with bank accounts) and did some promotional stuff. Soon but unexpected the first orders came in. As the last thing in November we covered a press release by the wandmakers Chris and Richard.

December

In December the orders really took off. That was the best month ever, we sold more wands back then than in all other months combined. So we had to restock several times and helped to bring magic to many christmas trees around the world. I hope you all are still happy with your Kymera Wands.
As a service to our customers and fans I translated the Manual into German so that even those wizards that are not able to understand the English can learn to control their wand.

The major digital geek suppliers started to sell the wands as well. The coverage by several pod- and newscasters provided additional publicity.

In December we also did our first Kymera Wand giveaway where we asked you to provide novel ideas for future wand development. That brought us about 50 really comments from which we drew the winner.
There were also three instructional posts that covered resetting the wand and problems with some digital equipment that used remote control sequences as well as general gesture tips.

We could also welcome our most creative and active forum user: Grymmditch aka Paul Higginbotham.

To be continued …

Thanks for coming along and staying informed.

We had several hundred spam entries in the forums per week and I don’t want to deal with that any longer.

Sorry for any incoveniences.

Michael

After looking at the impressive infographics and talking with some friends about its implications, I decided to revive the Kymera Wand facebook page, add some more content and try to provide daily or weekly updates related to the wand.

So, if you’re there and want to follow the things happening around the Kymera Wand, this site and more, become a fan.

In his splendid role as Kaptin Scarlett the Wand Maker Chris Barnardo spent some time tarnishing a Kymera Wand so that it looks like it was made of ivory or bone.

He also offered use to use the images and text, so we’d love to quote from the instructables introduction:

This instructable will show you how to make (almost) anything look like old ivory or bone. The technique I have used is also called distressing. I am distressing (you might want to call it a creative hacking) my beloved Kymera Wand. However you got one, hacking a $90 gadget takes some guts, but I think the result speaks for itself and you end up taking something original and turning it into something completely unique.

Below you can see how the wand is transmogrified in 13 well documented steps from being your usual wooden colored magical instrument to an elegant creamy white beauty.

Please look at the instructable and comment and rate it or comment here. And spread the word, it is worthwhile.

Before starting you should perhaps consider the Chris’ last words:

At last it is time to remove the masking tape and review your handiwork.

Phew, either it looks fab or you have just ruined a hundred dollars of high tech wizardry. Perhaps it might have been better to practice on an old wooden spoon first. …

If you don’t like what you see, mask up and go back to step one and start again… remember as it says on the Kymera Wand manual…

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

You can download it from there as PDF and print it after entering your name in the baroque script.

It reads:

Ownership Certificate

This Certifies, that

Your Name

shall henceforth be known as a

Kymera Wand Bearer

and who in time
shall become proficient
in the use thereof
&
know and learn its various
and cunning ways of control

From this day, by order of

Chris Barnardo
Founder

The Wand Company Limited

So you can not only present your ownership of the Kymera Wand in a fitting style but also create a good looking certificate for anyone who gets the Kymera Wand as a present from you. ]]> http://www.kymera-wand.com/2010/03/kymera-wand-certificate/feed/ 1 http://www.kymera-wand.com/2010/03/kymera-wand-presented-at-cebit-2010-by-getdigital-de/ http://www.kymera-wand.com/2010/03/kymera-wand-presented-at-cebit-2010-by-getdigital-de/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:14:52 +0000 admin http://www.kymera-wand.com/?p=751 Our colleagues from getdigital.de who also use our German translation of the Kymera Wand Manual presented the Wand as “Zauberstab Fernbedienung” at one of the world biggest computer & electronics fairs the Cebit 2010 in Hannover, Germany.

This clever move generated a lot of interest and was covered by all major and minor press publishers. A great step to make the Kymera Wand known throughout Germany.

thewandcompany in french

I never knew that “wand” in french is “baguette (magique)” the same as the famous bread, it certailny means “staff”.

Here is a short quote from the fabulous letter of Lord Byron:

Cher lecteur

Qui d’entre nous n’a jamais rêvé au moins une fois au fond de son cœur de posséder une baguette magique bien à lui et d’utiliser son pouvoir? Je ne parle pas des charlataneries et autres tours de passe-passe de pseudo magiciens de cabarets; non, je parle bien de vraie et grande magie permettant d’agir à distance. J’ai parcouru le monde à la recherche de puissants ingrédients et d’obscurs mécanismes qui, savamment combinés, pourraient doter le plus novice apprenti du pouvoir de contrôler tout objet dan sa maison.

…

Si vous devenez l’un des privilégiés à posséder un exemplaire des quelques baguettes Kymera venant à être conçues, vous me rejoindrez au sein des pionniers du nouvel âge de la magie et ensemble, nous nous exercerons mutuellement, dans la joie, à ne plus sombrer dans le morne et préhistorique réflexe de presser les touches d’une télécommande.

Votre humble serviteur et aventurier pour la vie,

Sir Richard Barons

The beautiful manual was translated some time ago and is also available from there.

french manual

Don’t forget to check out the other languages. We translated the German version and our friend Peter Neubauer the Swedish one.

Wir sind stolz die Replik dieser Restauration jetzt der Öffentlichkeit präsentieren zu können. Sie können eine hochauflösende Vorschau dieser Meisterleistung hier herunterladen.

Deutsches Zauberstab Handbuch

Wenn Sie in den nächsten Monaten einen Kymera Zauberstab erwerben erhalten Sie eine Original-Replik dieses seltenen Schriftstückes zu Ihrem Schmuckstück dazu.

P.S. Nur eine Sache erscheint uns seltsam. Der Inhalt der uralten Schriftrolle stimmt fast genau mit unserer Übersetzung des Original-Manuskripts überein. Wer weiss…

Hier auch noch einmal die Verweise auf die englischen und französischen Handbücher.

Eine schwedische Variante ist gerade in Vorbereitung.

Wand in the Pocket

The Wand Makers were kind enough to offer us the chance to present the wand pouches to you first.

Pouches for the Kymera Wand

So here they are – available first in an amazing fine red Chinese silken fabric, embroidered with golden dragons. Your wand slides into the pouch easily and is hidden and protected by some powerful charms the Wandmakers put into the golden threads.

This pocket is not only for the lucky Kymera wand owner but for everyone who has a magic wand of his own. It is also the perfect gift for every aspiring or experienced wizard you happen to know.

The pockets are available for just EUR 9,95. When you order them with your wand they’re included in the free shipping offer, otherwise we ask for a flat 2 EUR worldwide shipping fee.

Only available in red.

So don’t hesitate and “Pocket Your Wand”

Order Pocket for your Wand

Order Wand with Pocket

Envelope with pouch

Please bear in mind:
That wand’s batteries should be isolated, i.e. turned round or taken out before
transporting the wand. As because it is a motion sensitive piece of
equipment, transport activates it, uses up the batteries and can put the
wand in to various modes including a sequence which completes a factory
reset.

Envelope for pouch

All the information you need

thanks for all the great comments and your participation. Especially Alex, Paul Higginbotham and Yetórico for their really impressive comments. I’ll do a roundup post these days of all the ideas you’ve written down.

Unfortunately there can be only one winner.

The winner of our December Giveaway promotion was selected with a swift flick of the Kymera Wand and it selected:

Congratulations to you. Please send us your postal address and your wand will leave ASAP. Hopefully you’ll have much fun with it. Please report back on your experience.

Michael

I’ve just decided as a new years gift, that whoever commented on the post and orders a wand within January with the email address used for the comment gets a 10% discount on the retail price of the Kymera Wand. Please note that you’re eligible for the discount in your order form.

If you didn’t win, just enter our new January drawing which is about twittering adequate incantations.

As we want to learn what you‘re thinking about the Kymera Wand,
all you have to do is to make a sensible comment on this post with one of the following topics:

• creative application of the Kymera Wand (e.g. control iRobot Roomba)
• missing or completely new features for a wish list for the Kymera Wand
• interesting accessories
• improvements to this site
• suggestions for coverage, pictures, videos

Please make sure that you don’t repeat things people have already posted, those duplications will not be considered.

The drawing will take place on the last day of the year, December 31st.

Good luck to all of you.

Magical Christmas and a Fantastic New Year to all of YOU

Michael

P.S. Please retweet.

A Kymera Wand Box Contents

and return to the normal sales price of

with free worldwide shipping.

So you’ve still got some days left to get your Kymera Wand at a bargain price. ]]> http://www.kymera-wand.com/2009/12/christmas-price-offer-will-end-on-christmas/feed/ 0 http://www.kymera-wand.com/2009/12/kymera-wand-featured-at-the-frequencycast-podcast-46/ http://www.kymera-wand.com/2009/12/kymera-wand-featured-at-the-frequencycast-podcast-46/#comments Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:50:21 +0000 admin http://www.kymera-wand.com/?p=564 Carl and Pete had wand waving fun in their show #46, controlling the TV in the recording room.

The transcript with some pictures is available as is the podcast itself.

Carl:

I always thought you were a geek – what with the glasses and the bow tie, you all right, Harry? Have you ever seen that picture of Pete on the website – he does look like Harry Potter! You’re such a geek! But this is great, I like the toy.

Carl:

Can you get this to control your wife? – when you thrust it forward, and you get her to go “ouch!” I don’t know, I’m sure someone out there has got a wife that needs controlling.

Carl:

I think this is phenomenal, but I actually see another application with this, because you know like some people, it’s like I remember my gran getting old, and she used to have trouble with her remote, pointing it in the right direction, but this would be brilliant – she was good at waving sticks at people, hitting you over the head with a walking stick, and all that stuff.