Earlier this month, the tech crowd gathered in San Francisco for a presentation by French startup, Wistiki. If you haven’t heard of Wistiki, you’re not alone, the futuristic brand has only just started selling their products in the United States. However, with over 100,000 Wistikis sold in Europe, the company is widely known in France. A Wistiki is a small tracker that can be placed on anything: keys, wallets, stuffed animals, purses, etc. The wistiki is connected wirelessly to an app on your smartphone, so when you misplace your keys you can activate the Wistiki. It will ring and show up on a map that allows you to locate the lost item. The cool thing about Wistiki is that it works in reverse as well, so if you loose your iPhone, but happen to have your keys, you can press the a button on the Wistiki and it will make your phone ring. “People loose their things,” Wistiki’s co-founder Bruno Lussato said, “and we felt that the market didn’t address that basic need.”
For the past 18 months, the Wistiki team—that Lussato founded with his two brothers—has been collaborating with design guru Philipe Starck to create a new luxury line of Wistiki accessories. The Lussatos like to think of this four-product line as the “first ever connected jewels” and have titled each item with an expression of satisfaction. There’s the Voilà!, a small device that looks like an USB port and is meant to go on a keychain. The Hopla! is the shape and size of a credit card and goes inside a wallet. The Ahā! is a small round hanging device that is perfect for a pet’s collar. Finally, the Ta-da! is an orange, yellow, and pink ombre triangular toy that is meant for children. Designed by Starck, the four items are made from the most premium materials and are white with a colorful transparent part—that holds the antenna that allows the Wistiki to function. Consumers can choose the color Wistiki that most fits their personality. The iOS-and-Android-compatible Wistiki has a powerful ring tone and unique long-range battery that lasts three years without having to be charged. The company is dedicated to bringing an end to loss on every level, not just materialistically, but emotionally as well. Since people lose hope, 25 percent of Wistiki’s profits are donated to various charities that connect people to everyday essentials that help them find hope again.
After the Lussato brothers presented the fashionable and clever product, the crowd of tech insiders anxiously awaited the arrival of Starck, who was supposed to be a part of Wistiki’s US debut. Instead, a young woman appeared on stage with the bad news that Starck was not going to make it to the event. It seems he had misplaced his passport and was not allowed to enter the country—looks like he needed a Wistiki.
Browse the Wistiki by Starck collection below.
Haute Scene
December 1, 2015Inside the 59th Annual Vizcaya Ball
