My name is Liem. I am a designer, photographer, and entrepreneur. My life revolves around productivity. Before this project, my goal was to be busy around the clock each day, and I had gotten pretty good at it. However, I soon felt chronic stress creeping in and my creativity
faltering. I realized that I often forgot to take time for myself. I had forgotten the importance of
reflecting, reminiscing, and unwinding in a productive lifestyle.
I created Specter Oligospheres not only with the goal of alleviating stress, but for them to act as a totem of elegance and a reminder to take time to relax while still moving forward. I hope these can be an agent of change in your life as they are in mine.
Yours truly,
Liem Nguyen
Brass Oligospheres - Metal Desk Art for Hand Therapy
Brass Oligospheres - Luxury Metal Desk Art for Hand Therapy
Specter Oligospheres were conceived for the creative, the professional, the scholar, and the aspiring. Their functionality inspires relaxation, their innovation inspires creativity, and their refinement inspires focus.
Luxury Desk Art for Hand Therapy and Productivity
A Brief History Lesson:
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a blacksmith forged two iron spheres for the Emperor of China. These gifts were to be used solely by the royal family to balance Qi* (chi). Inevitably a craze erupted as China’s public learned of the newfound tools, creating today’s stress balls. In turn came nearly a thousand years of thought stimulation, increased blood circulation, improved brain function, and stress relief.
*Qi is thought to be the ‘air’ or the energy coursing inside of you. It’s the underlying bases for Chinese medicine and martial arts. Keeping it balanced is the key to living a healthy productive life.
Our goal is to revive this ancient tool with modern design and function to provide a solution to modern problems.
Specter Oligospheres offer an accessible escape to the chaos of everyday life. To help you tackle these challenges and increase productivity:
Hold the spheres, clear your mind, and begin rotating smoothly
Try not to make any sounds, keeping the movement as consistent as possible
As you start off, focus on maintaining smooth, consistent rotations
As you progress, try rotating the spheres without touching. This is where you truly unlock the capabilities of Oligospheres.
Thank you for all the support thus far. To show our appreciation, as soon as our campaign hits $50,000 in funding, we will add a Premium Oligosphere Travel case to every set of Oligospheres we ship out.
Now, you can take your Oligospheres out of the office and wherever your travels may take you.
Luxury Desk Art for Hand Therapy
At Specter Co., we believe design must embody purpose. So we strayed away from the beaten path of creating mundane tools. Instead we constructed metallic art with such beauty that viewing alone instils relaxation, balance, and productivity.
"It’s something you have to try to understand. Before trying it I didn’t think these would do anything."
- Eric L. | UC Berkeley Design, Prototype Tester
"They're beautiful just sitting there and I love playing them on while they're sitting on their stand."
- Colin F. | Camp Counselor, Prototype Tester
"I'm constantly working or studying and getting into the habit of using these acted as my reminder to take a breather, clear my mind, and balance myself."
- Tiffany Y. | Student, Prototype Tester
"I've been using them for two weeks now and I can confidently say I am more in tune with my body. I feel less stressed and surprisingly more productive."
- Adrian M. | Accountant, Prototype Tester
"I love how the nature of the brass changes over time. It feels like I'm transferring my stress onto the spheres."
- Yonnie T. | Product Manager, Prototype Tester
"I think it’s hard to understand how these work until you try them and get better at them. It's an acquired feeling that you begin to understand more and more. I like how I get progressively better at it everyday.”
- Neal S. | Application Developer, Prototype Tester
We spent countless sleepless nights just pouring over the design. We set out to make something breathtaking but also functional; something with depth that could grow with the user. We combined form and function to achieve these three goals:
A design that could easily fit into a museum
Ability to benefit anyone
Built with exceptional quality
A work of art.
Brass Oligospheres - Luxury Desk Art for Hand Therapy
Design must encompass a philosophy. Specter Oligospheres represents relaxation to achieve progress. Whether the orbs are in use or on display, they act as your anchor to tranquility.
Steel & Brass Oligospheres - Luxury Desk Art for Hand Therapy
Sized for anyone
The size of the Oligospheres has been debated and tested in a plethora of hands. Too large diameters resulted in difficulty of use, while too small diameters had a reduced effect. We found the sweet spot at a 40mm size, making the Oligosphere ideal for everyone.
Measuring Oligospheres - Luxury Desk Art for Hand Therapy
Impossibly Heavy
In response to an increase in typed work, carpal tunnel syndrome is on the rise. We chose to craft a weightier set of dense spheres to train hand and wrist dexterity combating carpal tunnel.
Ultra Dense Luxury Desk Art for Hand Therapy
Perfect combination between metal and wood
Our unique design marries metal and wood, sharp and smooth, polished and matte, symbolizing the balance needed to achieve healthy lifestyle.
Upcycled cork footings keep the base from scratching surfaces and from sliding around.
The modern look of lustrous metal is paired with the natural appeal of fine wood.
The perfectly crafted wooden displays provide needed security for the spheres while showcasing the most metallic luster possible. This is the result of various trials to achieve the perfect looseness to allow a gratifying ‘wiggle’ motion as the balls move in place.
Germ-Killing Brass Oligospheres - Luxury Desk Art for Hand Therapy
We spent months looking for the right company forge our brain baby into reality. We set out with the goal of finding a company that values quality and longevity as much as we do. Those who will check and check again that the product comes out as precisely as we designed and will last a lifetime.
Today, we are ecstatic to say we've found our match. It was not only their extensive knowledge or years of experience that won us over, but their attention to detail and quality assurance system.
The CNC Milling Process of Steel Spheres
Our shared passion for perfection creates confidence that every sphere is sure to impress and weather a lifetime. To achieve this we have multiple stages of quality checks. After each sphere is shaped, it enters automated checking where a machine ensures the orb is a perfect sphere (no nicks, dents, or warps). If so, it is sent on to polishing where it is hand polished and buffed. Finally, the Oligospheres are sent to a quality assurance team for careful human inspection before hand packaging.
Final Stage Hand Buffing
As you experience life, your Oligospheres grow with you. This may seem strange as every SPECTER Oligosphere is made the same. However, as soon as the Oligosphere is removed from its packaging, it becomes one of a kind. Each sphere encapsulates some of the stresses it aids users in releasing, making every sphere unique to its owner. As you rotate the spheres, you will imprint your own marks upon them, making your Oligospheres unique to you and they progress that you've made.
My Personal Brass Oligospheres - Weathered by Use
Each set of brass spheres will slowly attain a unique tarnish over time. To wipe and reset the tarnish use a vinegar bath to restore your Oligospheres to a polished shine.
Brass Oligospheres in a Vinegar Bath to Restore Shine
We've spent countless days testing and refining the Oligospheres. Our partners in manufacturing are lined up and ready for production and our team is eager to quality check and ship each and every sphere. Your support is essential to fund the first production run and ship our Specter Oligospheres from our office onto your desk! The funding will assist with the cost of tooling, manufacturing, distribution, and cover investments for this project and future ones as well.
In order to bring Specter Oligospheres to life, we need your support. By not only backing our project, but also sharing it with your friends and family, you will ensure our success. We truly believe that Oligospheres have the capability to benefit the lives of anyone who is willing to give them a shot. Something as simple as tweeting about our page or sharing our Facebook page will go a long way to the success of Oligospheres.
Thank you so much for your support,
Liem Nguyen, Founder
Yen Nguyen, Marketing and Business Development
& The Specter Team
Risiken und Herausforderungen
If our project gets funded, we will make sure everything goes according to plan in order to meet the promised deadlines. Our team combines over 15 years in design, manufacturing, and fulfillment and we are eager to ensure outstanding quality and transparency throughout our entire campaign. Projects often have trouble with meeting deadlines for shipment. We have post campaign surveys set up, our shipping stations ready, and are eager to ensure that all of your packages arrive on time.
Although we do not see any direct risks and challenges, there is always a risk of unpreventable issues that may present themselves during the process of manufacturing. Should any problems arise, we promise to keep you updated and informed before, during and after production; anything we hear, you hear. We hope to run everything as streamlined as possible and ahead of schedule.
