A Product That’s Made Power-napping a Wonderful Reality, Ostrich Style!

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or had your head stuck in the sand, to be more apt), you’ve probably seen images of the Ostrich Pillow by now. The viral buzz surrounding this power napping tool that lets you sneak in a snooze wherever you are has only been aided by the fact that it is available for sale for a limited time period only (until October 18).

Being hosted on the creative crowd-funding platform Kickstarter, the Ostrich Pillow has already exceeded its pledged goal of $70,000 by a cool $44,000 with 16 more days to go. That’s two weeks for you to convince your head of what your heart already wants – a naptime companion that “is neither a pillow, nor cushion, bed or garment, but a bit of each, all at the same time.” Sigh.

Created by Kawamura-Ganjavian, a design duo with studios spread across United Kingdom, Spain and Switzerland, the Ostrich Pillow has been ergonomically “designed for every head” and is made from light materials that make it portable. All you have to do is stick your head in and take a warm comfortable nap at the office, train or airport. Check out the FAQ section here.

Below are excerpts from our email interview with one of the designers of the Ostrich Pillow, Ali Ganjavian (left in pic).

A question you must get asked a lot – what was the ‘Eureka’ moment that inspired the Ostrich Pillow?

We identified that people are working longer hours and and that there needed to be a space to refresh and revitalise. We figured that what is needed is some kind of private space in a public environment, like the office or the library and so on.

We then thought about how umbrellas shelter you when outside and wanted a solution to shelter you when inside, and for the purpose of power napping. That’s how the idea for Ostrich Pillow came about. Also nobody had found a way to enable power-napping before the Ostrich Pillow.

We ourselves work long hours in the studio and found ourselves napping but needed to be able to find a disconnect whilst sleeping, so that other activity and noise would not interfere. These thoughts too contributed to the idea and design of the Ostrich Pillow.

The Ostrich Pillow is not a very discreet product in terms of usage. Do you feel that its inherent wackiness may come in the way of it being accepted by a larger mass of consumers?

We didn’t design it to be wacky but instead thought about the shape of the head, how we rest on a desk and how we can protect and cushion other parts of our face. There has been an amazing response and many things catch on. Headphones seemed strange too once upon a time. 🙂

Going through your work samples at Studio KG, we found that several of the objects – such as the Ostrich Pillow, the Deskshell, Stickingsticks and Giraffe – are attempts at capturing moments of privacy in public spaces. Other objects – like the Read in Peace and Stickingrings – seem to deal with issues of space. Do these themes define your design philosophy?

Firstly, thank you for taking an interest in our company. Yes, in all our design work we ensure that there is a relationship between both product and space and it is the experience of both that we build and create.

What are your thoughts on the future of home furnishings? Will more people start opting for comfort and utility over style and grandeur in the years to come?

I think that there need not be such a difference between comfort and style. Some of the greatest furniture designers have made the most comfortable furniture, the Eames Chair for example.  Good design encompasses many aspects and will achieve all needs.  Just as Chanel lacks nothing, many modern designers also follow suit.

Product: Ostrich Pillow

Price: $75 + $25 for international shipping = $100 (Rs. 5230)

Where do I find it? Order online at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ostrich-pillow/ostrich-pillow (until October 18, 2012)

Expected time of delivery: By December 2012