The Statue of Liberty

Did you know that one of the oldest recorded crowdfunding campaigns is that of the Statue of Liberty? During the summer of 1885 the State of New York needed to raise a final $100,000 to buy the granite plinth necessary to hold the great statue but fell short of the funds. When then Governor Grover Cleveland rejected using city funds, and Congress couldn’t agree on a deal to fund the project, famed journalist Joseph Pulitzer stepped up and launched a campaign in his newspaper The New York World to try and raise the funds.

In a wonderful display of societal generosity by the citizens of New York, 160,000 donors including young children, businessmen, street cleaners and politicians pledged $101,091. This equates to each pledge amounting to less than $1 dollar yet in just five months the city could now afford to purchase the granite plinth, whilst also having money left over to get a gift for the sculptor.

In today’s world this kind of mass funding for projects is called crowdfunding. People coming together to pledge money to campaigns they support through online media. Typically, the risk is shared amongst the many, ideas are validated when targets are hit and gifts are awarded to donors. This can range from personalised thank you notes and merchandising from the company.

At SanSooz, we are working to help make world be safe, seen and stylish. We are launching our campaign on the UK’s largest crowdfunding website, Crowdfunder, and are looking to raise £200,000. This will enable us to fund our fashionable reflective clothing and accessories for volume production. It will also allow us to continue with our safety research and development to ensure that children, adults, pedestrians, cyclists, runners/joggers and pets are safe, seen and stylish in the dark. You can pledge as little as £5 and receive a personal thank you email from Sooz and SANdy or a corporate donation as high as £20,000 can be pledged in return for a larger corporate reward!  Find us on http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/sansooz

Help SanSooz make the world be safe, seen and stylish!  Pledge today, claim your reward and help turn this amazing project into a reality to save lives worldwide.

SanSooz Offers a Solution

Each year hundreds if not thousands of pedestrians die on roads across the UK.  Not many days go by when you don’t hear the sirens of an emergency vehicle, including police, fire and ambulance most likely attending the scene of a road accident.

More than half of all road deaths happen after dark. It comes as no surprise that pedestrians are three to seven times more vulnerable in the dark than in the daylight. This is mainly due to drivers not being able to see pedestrians because of poor visibility at night where it becomes more difficult to identify shapes and other road users. “In darkness it is harder to judge speed and distance and objects can be closer than they appear or travelling faster than first expected.” –The royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.   

Ask yourself, are you visible to drivers when out and about in the dark? Are you Seen At Night?

SanSooz has identified the severity of safety on roads at night when visibility, by all road users, is seriously reduced and has discovered an innovative solution. SanSooz has created fashionable, reflective clothing that not only looks good but also does good.  Using breakthrough fashion technology combined with our fashion design will transform the way you feel about wearing highly reflective clothing; by giving it a unique and stylish twist. Our process incorporates shaped and coloured reflective elements into the design of each product, these elements become highly visible at night when subjected to direct light. Our products keep you fashionable by day and highly reflective at night giving drivers those vital seconds to see the pedestrian before it’s too late. 

With your help we can make the difference. We are continuing the SanSooz journey with a crowdfunding campaign enabling us to raise the funds we need to launch our innovative and unique products. We are hopeful that, with the funds raised, our products will be available for you to buy before the clocks change back and the darker nights roll in. SanSooz products will be available to buy on our brand new e-commerce website where the products featured will be easily accessible and quick to buy with just a click of a button. SanSooz aims to keep you, your family and your friend’s safe, seen and stylish with SanSooz reflective clothing. 

SanSooz Products, Then and Now.

The products of SanSooz have come on leaps and bounds since Sooz’s initial idea in 2010. What started as a vision of fashionable, reflective clothing and accessories soon became a reality. Let’s start from the beginning…

Six years ago Sooz Chirino had a product idea that could potentially save the lives of many worldwide, an idea that had never been seen before. Following numerous cases of trial and error and sleepless nights, Sooz created the concept for a new range of products. She got to work, putting her ideas down on paper, starting with her cartoon drawings of her first children’s designs. SanSooz was originally developed to keep children safe, seen and stylish on our roads with highly reflective clothing and accessories.

Her initial sketches were developed further and brought to life within the comfort of her own home. Sooz’s kitchen table became her studio as she began testing different reflective technologies. Her reflective samples were then tested on various fabrics and materials to determine what worked best.

After receiving a £5000 innovation voucher from Scottish Funding Council with the help from Interface, Sooz received help from lecturers of Duncan and Jordanstone. With the help of the lecturers they got to work developing reflective fabrics for the first boys and girls SanSooz collection.

Following the development of the kid’s range, Sooz soon realised that there was a demand in the market for products which combine function and fashion to keep people visible at night. Before long Sooz was in discussions with numerous audiences such as cyclists, dog lovers, joggers and general commuters. Sooz decided to develop a commuter’s range which could be worn by those who cycle or walk to work.

Sooz created technical drawings for the children and commuter range of clothing. These along with specific materials and illustrations were sent to her manufacturer for the development of initial prototypes. The commuter jacket prototype was the first to arrive, this was handed to a more than willing volunteer for wearer trials. The general feedback was great however a few adaptions were needed, Sooz took this feedback on board and began to further the development of her range.

As always Sooz continues her hard work, creating more intricate and exciting designs. She is hopeful that her online shop and products will be available to buy before the clocks change back and the darker nights roll in. Look out for her first collections, coming soon in 2016.

The Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards

After realising that Sooz needed help getting her business off her kitchen table, Business Gateway put her in touch with Interface. If you ever wondered how to get started, read Sooz's blog for some inspiration: http://interface-online.org.uk/blog/2016/01/07/build-a-business-from-your-kitchen-table/

Interface is a company who help businesses with the creation and development of new products, services and processes by connecting them to the right academic expertise in Scotland. When applying for an innovation voucher of £5000, from the Scottish Funding Council, Interface helped Sooz through the process. From that day on Interface has done nothing but help the development of SanSooz.

Due to the healthy nature of the relationship, Interface approached Sooz to be an ambassador back in November 2015. As an ambassador Sooz was asked to host her own workshop at the Scottish Knowledge Awards in Edinburgh to share her entrepreneurial journey of collaboration with academia, which she agreed to without question. With over 300 people celebrating business and academic partnerships at the event, we were pleased to have a full house at SanSooz's workshop. Sooz's presentation received exceptional feedback from the attendees.  

Alina Uberman, Marketing Executive at Interface, said: "Sansooz's presentation was absolutely fantastic and I am delighted to have received such positive feedback from the attendees. Sansooz products are aimed to save lives worldwide and we are thrilled to be working with SMEs which develop such innovative products, which could have a big impact on society. Sansooz is one business to watch in future."

Although Sooz was nominated for an award she sadly missed out this year, it was greatly deserved by those who did win and Sooz can now aspire to their success. The whole process has inspired SanSooz to come back next year even bigger and better.

Sooz deemed this event to be a major success as it provided the company with the opportunity to showcase its products for the first time. On top of this it allowed Sooz to network with a variety of highly regarded figures which she hopes to stay in contact with in the near future. Sooz would like to personally thank Interface for hosting the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards and allowing her to share her inspirational journey so far. Sooz would also like to thank those who attended her workshop, making it a worthwhile trip to the capital.

You can read the full case study here: http://www.interface-online.org.uk/case-studies/sansooz   and in case you missed it you can see the highlights from the Scottish Knowledge Exchange on Storify: http://sfy.co/d0wAC

The journey so far

Designer Sooz Chirino first thought of the SanSooz business idea back in 2010. Her vision was simple, to ensure everyone on our roads would always be safe, seen and stylish. Her idea however was put on hold so Sooz could focus on developing her education within the fashion industry and so she attended Robert Gordon University to study Surface and Textile Design. After graduating with a BA Honours Degree she developed a career in lecturing at North East Scotland College. Despite loving her job, Sooz couldn’t escape the ongoing tragedies on our roads that lead to her reconsidering her future in order to make a difference. As an expert in fabric and fashion she made it her mission to discover a solution that provided essential protection without hindering personal sense of style.

Sooz got to work developing her exquisite designs and combining these with breakthrough fashion technology. This combination transforms the way we regard clothing that offers vital protection on dark and dangerous roads. SanSooz products aim to fill the current gap in the market by merging the desire for stylish clothing and the need to be seen in the dark.

The SanSooz process incorporates reflective elements into the design of each product, these elements become highly visible at night once subjected to direct light i.e car headlights. We call it Seen at Night Technology (SAN).

So where is SanSooz now? The company has come a long way since the initial designs at Sooz’s kitchen table and is currently preparing for the SanSooz crowdfunding campaign, launching March 31^st. Sooz hopes that the success of the crowfunding campaign will provide much needed funds for volume production. Sooz aims to get her brilliant products to you as soon as possible. She wants the nation to be safe, be seen and be stylish with SanSooz reflective clothing.