Frustrated with messy cables slipping off her desk, she came up with a solution that she’s now marketing to others wanting to eliminate cable clutter from their lives.
“I asked my husband Scott, who has a cutting business, to help me design a cable holder I could attach to my desk. We fine-tuned it several times and then friends said, ‘You should sell those!’
A few short years on and Maureen is now selling a range of designer Cable Camel products.
Maureen who studied design in Chile, where she grew up, is a self-described “obsessive compulsive”. She hates messy cables and has been surprised at just how many people are like her, with consumer interest in Cable Camel growing.
While there are other cable holders on the market, she says most are made from hard plastics and are not flexible for other uses. Cable Camel is made of firm EVA foam with self-adhesive backing and has multiple uses.
The product comes in different lengths and hole sizes for varying sized cables and can be cut down to size, not only to help sort workplaces but homes as well.
“We’re finding that people use Cable Camel for many different things. It can hold pens, cords, earphones, small tools, flowers and help align audio and TV cables. A friend of mine uses hers to hold up fairy lights around her daughter’s bed.”
Maureen strongly believes that decluttering helps to clear people’s minds, improving their focus on life’s priorities.
"I love organising and making spaces free of clutter. Aesthetics are very important to me. I wanted to create a practical product but it also needed to look good and add a design feature to an area."
She has also designed all of Cable Camel’s branding and packaging and is selling her New Zealand-made cable management products online at www.cablecamel.com
“We're a small family business and I’m proud to have created a product that’s New Zealand made and patented. We can deliver across the country and in fact worldwide. For bigger orders we can customise the product to clients’ requirements as well.”
Maureen says it has been challenging to offer a quality product for a relatively low price, with her range starting from just $5.90. While there will always be stiff competition from off shore products, she’s determined Cable Camel will continue to be made in New Zealand.
“It’s probably never going to a huge money spinner but I love the fact that I’m now helping other ‘OCD people’ like me who insist on tidy and organised areas!”
She says she is living proof that a stay-at-home mum in West Auckland can identify a problem, come up with a great solution then market it online around the globe.
Maureen Addis is happy to deliver Cable Camel products free of charge to anyone within New Zealand who has read this story and purchases the product before the end of September.
www.cablecamel.com
