GENERAL
What is Daily Grommet?
It’s a place to learn about, and buy, one great product a day. Our promise to you is to offer fresh finds, and true stories, every day.
What is a Grommet?
Really, a Grommet can be many things.
- It’s a wonderful product still waiting in the wings, just ripe for discovery.
- It has great utility, style, or invention. Very often it has all three.
- It comes from a designer, inventor, artist, or manufacturer who is clearly passionate about what he or she creates -- someone who loves to share their creations and talk to people about why they do what they do.
- It comes from a company that treats its customers well.
- Finally, like any intelligent or beautiful product, it has a great story, ready to be told.
I see only one thing for sale. Don’t you sell anything else?
Nope, one thing a day. That’s the point. We know you’re busy, and we don’t want to take up too much of your time.
What is the schedule for new items?
Well, we don’t really announce that. It would take the fun out of it. Check back with us every day at noon EST, or sign up for our email alerts and we’ll keep you up to date. There's a place to tell us your email address at the top and bottom of every page on our site.
I missed yesterday’s item; can I still get one?
Not from us, sorry. But you can check out “Past Grommets”, and we will tell you how to contact the Grommet producer.
Can I get an email announcement of the Grommet?
Sure. Just look down at the bottom of our website page and you will see a place to enter your email address. We’ll hook you right up with a daily email to give you a first crack at the Grommet of the day.
How long do you offer each Grommet?
We offer each Grommet for just 24 hours, starting at noon EST. (We are in Boston, and Bostonians call their city the “Hub of the Universe”. This phrase drives native Detroiter Jules crazy…but we do use the Boston clock anyway.) There is one exception. Friday’s Grommets carry through the weekend until Monday at noon.
Does Daily Grommet offer an RSS feed?
Yes, just look in the browser bar to the right of our URL. You can grab it there.
Does Daily Grommet have a Facebook page?
Yes. Here it is. Please become a friend!
Can I follow Daily Grommet on Twitter?
Yes. Follow us @dailygrommet .
FINDING AND CHOOSING GROMMETS
How do you select your Grommets?
Well, we start by assuming some things about our customer: she’s smart and adventurous; she likes to know about new ideas but she has little time to seek them out; she’s equal parts practical and whimsical; she has a very busy life with a zillion demands that some of our Grommets could fill; she appreciates getting the straight scoop about a product, even if some of it is negative; she aspires to surround herself, family and friends with interesting experiences and objects; and she wants to support innovation, creativity, and small businesses. She also appreciates anything that comes with a good story.
We know that if we keep surprising her with fresh finds, she will keep coming back, even if she doesn’t like or need all the Grommets we offer. She likes to share the Grommets with her friends, even if they aren’t just right for her.
Knowing all that, we let the Grommets pretty much fall out from there. We try everything out ourselves—a lot. Many Grommets are things we have found just by being busy mothers and intrepid, skeptical, enthusiastic consumers. We are totally independent—no one can pay us to select their product.
About half the time we find the ideas ourselves, and the other half they come from suggestions by people who have a product they love and want to share.
What makes you so smart that you think you can pick these Grommets?
It is not about being smart, it’s about being shamelessly curious. We are curious about why a product exists, who created it, and who loves it. We know that getting those stories communicated to the outside world is one of the hardest things for product creators to do. Bricks and mortar shops just can’t do that. E-commerce sites want to move massive volume, not stories.
We don’t have to worry about running a store, or pushing lots and lots of products at once. We can take the time to care about each Grommet…their stories are our favorite part. Beyond that, we’ve spent our whole lives creating products, so we’re pretty passionate about that process, and love to support the many, many people out there doing beautiful, creative and innovative things.
There’s a product I really love that I think could be a Grommet – how can I tell you about it?
Just fill out the form at ideas@dailygrommet.com. We promise to look at every idea people give us, and get back to you. We get a lot of ideas—it is fantastic that so many people have a product they want to tell the world about. We try to be prompt and respond efficiently, but sometimes these ideas become a tidal wave and it might take us longer than we would like.
What kind of Grommet are you looking for?
We’re looking for products that are useful, stylish, inventive, well-crafted and/or just plain fun. At this point, we are especially looking for products that appeal to women -- it could be anything from a great baby product to a fresh home décor item to the world’s best accessory. What matters is that the product comes to us from people like you. You get to tell us what you love, and we get to bring that product’s story to life. Pretty cool, huh?
Have a great Grommet idea? Tell us about it at ideas@dailygrommet.com.
ORDERING, SHIPPING AND CUSTOMER SERVICE
Can I return a Grommet?
Yes. Your order came with return instructions. If you lost them, call us at 1-877-862-0222 ext 709, and we’ll get you squared away. By the way, we donate any useable returned Grommets to local women and children’s shelters. They are much loved and appreciated by these folks who could use a little extra TLC in their lives.
How do I know how many Grommets are available?
We won’t tell the exact number—that would take the fun out of it, but you can tell where things stand from the phrase we put under “inventory level” above the Grommet photo. For example, if it says “Just a few left”, guess what? You’ll want to jump on that one like a chicken on a junebug.
An item I want is sold out. Will it become available again?
We plan to re-feature some of our earliest Grommets because we were just getting started and only our mothers and sisters knew about us. But other than that, we only tell a Grommet story once. We sometimes go back to a Grommet producer for a different product, though.
What does that “Reserve for Friend” button do?
We will set aside that day’s Grommet for your friend. It will be available to her for two hours. We send her a message with your personal note to let her know it is there, waiting for her to check it out. If it’s going fast, you might want to call your friend and let her know to check her email.
What payment options do I have?
We accept Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. Let us know if PayPal matters to you; if so, you can shoot us an email at folks@dailygrommet.com. We’re trying to decide how quickly we need to get that into our system.
Can I order by phone?
No, but you can call us to talk about the Grommet of the day at 1-877-862-0222 ext 709.
How much does shipping cost?
It’s a flat $5.95, no matter where you live, in the continental US. We think that’s a pretty good deal.
What shipping options do I have?
We offer ground shipping -- your Grommet will arrive within five to seven business days. Usually it’s the quicker end of the range. Let us know if you’d like us to offer an overnight or two day delivery option—we’re looking into it. Send us an email to folks@dailygrommet.com.
Can I change my order once I place it?
We aren’t really set up for that, but call us at 1-877-862-0222 ext 709, and we’ll see what we can do. Just for you.
How can I track my order?
We’ll send tracking information when we email your order confirmation.
Do you have a privacy policy?
Yes, here it is.
What are the rules for your special promotions and sweepstakes?
Is it safe to use my credit card online at Daily Grommet?
Super safe. Our software developers have been creating very secure e-commerce and credit card processing systems for years and years. We would not take chances with your money or privacy.
How long will it take to receive my Grommet order?
We ship orders within 24 hours if placed Monday to Friday. They take five to seven business days to reach you.
I want to talk to a live person, can I call you?
Call us anytime at 1-877-862-0222 ext 709. Just know we generally hit the hay by 11PM EST so you’ll get an answering machine after that.
Can I exchange a Grommet?
Nope, sorry.
How do I contact you?
You can email us at folks@dailygrommet.com or call any one of us at 1-877-862-0222.
COMMUNITY
What is the Daily Grommet community?
Well, people find us by coming from all different kinds of communities. What we share together at Daily Grommet is an interest in indie and innovative products, a chance to chat about the Grommets, and to offer suggestions to the creators of the day’s Grommet through our live blog. Having a chance to hear from and interact directly with people about their products is one of the main reasons Grommet creators like to have products on our site. Another thing our community loves to do is give us new ideas for Grommets. We depend on folks just like you for that.
What’s the blog?
The blog you see referenced is by the founder of Daily Grommet, Jules Pieri. It’s not strictly about Daily Grommet. She likes to talk about design because she is a designer, Ireland because she used to live there, parenting because she has three sons, and social media and startups because she is living the dream of designing a company. She tries to tell you the straight scoop about all of the above, at least as she sees it.
What’s allowed and what’s not allowed in the community?
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you -- it’s really just that simple!
THE COMPANY
Where is Daily Grommet located?
In a funky sun-filled Victorian house that was converted to offices, on a little lane in Lexington, Massachusetts.
What’s your story?
Our story is really simple...because it’s not about us. It’s about finding really fresh products and telling their stories. Every day. Those products, and their creators, and the people who love them (the products, that is) are the real heroes at Daily Grommet. And then the best part is, when we tell the story of a great Grommet, people all over the world share the story, and help the Grommet get discovered, enjoyed, and dare we say, loved.
Beyond that, Jules Pieri had the initial idea for Daily Grommet. She knew how to build the site and shape the Grommet “way of being”, but she had no idea how to ship the darned things. So she got her friend Jim Rice, a supply chain guru at MIT, to come help her figure it out. Her next phone call was to her pal Joanne Domeniconi, because there is no better person for helping to match products with the people who might love them. That’s a little about us -- we look forward to getting to know your stories about the products you love.
Daily Grommet looks like fun, but does it “do good”, too?
Of course we try to do good by finding and telling the stories of wonderful unknown products…imagine what life would be like if we could only buy the boring stuff that big box stores stock? In addition, we are enabling the creators of Grommets to tell their story to millions (hmmm…maybe more wishful thinking) of interested people. We can’t wait to see what happens for the product creators after some of our favorite Grommets are “discovered”!
We are also quite serious about doing other “good” when and where we can. Our first step in that direction is to donate all of our useable returned Grommets to shelters for women and children, where they are very much needed and appreciated. We’re thinking about other ways to make a positive difference in this great world of ours, and we’ll keep you posted as we figure that out.
Who are those hip ladies in the video?
(We admit we wrote this question ourselves—it is wishful thinking.)
In case you are wondering--those “hip ladies” are generally people who work for Daily Grommet. Most of the time you will see Jules and Joanne, two great friends, who met while working at Keds a while back. They have three sons each, so they have a lot in common when it comes to keeping their sanity in the middle of frat house home environments. As far as their work lives go, Jules started out in life doing product and graphic design, and Joanne has been developing products her whole career. In addition to Jules, Joanne, and the other Daily Grommet folks in the videos –we love it when we can get a Grommet producer, or one of their fans, to come in front of the camera.
Where’d you come up with the name Daily Grommet – are you selling a bunch of metal rings?
Well, we could tell you a bunch of esoteric design stuff, but the bottom line is that our founder Jules is simply crazy about grommets. They signify attention to detail to her, but she especially loves them when they are used in unexpected places, like on stationery, or clothing. She even has a way-cool skirt with big grommets plastered all over the front.
Okay, there is a little more to it than that. We liked the idea of having a name that isn’t obvious (did we nail that one, or what?) It’s okay with us that not everyone knows what a grommet is (by the way, it’s the eyelet on a shoe, or the metal ring at the top of a nice shower curtain.) We like that it might take a little discovery, or that people might come up with their own meaning. Mostly, we were looking for a noun that would not place any limitations on the types of great products we can share with you. To us, “Grommet” captures what it means to take a little-known product and help people discover it by telling its true story. In other words, to make it a “Grommet.”