Calvin Niles is a speaker, storytelling coach and entrepreneur who shares inspiring stories about his journey of personal growth in his talks and writings. But it was on the sidelines of his son’s basketball game that birthed his most recent company Medietas Ltd and its beautiful time-locked wooden case called TOME.
Calvin says he was completely transfixed by his smartphone, checking his emails, messages, news updates and so on. He confessed that he was completely consumed. “It wasn’t until I heard the loud cheers in reaction to an amazing basket my son scored and his beaming smile caught my attention that I knew that I’d missed a precious moment.” Calvin recognised the problem of device addiction, so rampant in the modern age and wasteful people’s time. It is detrimental to personal relationships and consequently more costly to the society we live in.
Seeing the cost of device distraction in the family environment Calvin went straight to his close friend Ed with the idea of a time lockable case for smart devices. Ed had been suffering the same affliction during evenings with his wife and missing out on shared experiences. The concept of a case representing ceremonious digital discipline took shape. His friend and design expert George, who had also recognised that task switching in the work environment frequently hampered focus and productivity.
Together they created TOME as a beautiful place to lock devices away for up to 4 hours. It allows a more mindful use of tech and helps people to re-discover the human connection. Its design fits perfectly into any environment and combines traditional and modern materials; its form analogising past times that predate the smartphone era. TOME allows you to be present in the moment by removing device distraction.
Calvin explains that in this digital age, technology is overtaking the daily activities of most people regardless of respect of age, sex, gender, career, nationality, or economic status. Guardian writer Rowan Davies writes that “A study published in the journal Child Development has taken a look at how parents’ use of technology affects their children’s behaviour, and has concluded that “technology-based interruptions in parent–child interactions” – a phenomenon known as “technoference”, could be associated with a greater incidence of poor behaviour on the part of children.”
Currently, many are probably glued to their Smartphones, tablets and other tech devices which, to many, is seen as an extension of themselves. According to a Gallup Panel Survey “about half of U.S. adults are checking their phone at least several times an hour, with 11 percent tapping their screen awake every few minutes and 41% who check it a few times an hour.”
This illustrates how much we rely on the use of Smartphone and neglects physical interaction and relationships continues Calvin.
TOME can be integrated into everyday mindfulness routines and has been created for both functional and aesthetic value. Co-founder George Hadley notes that “TOME was refined for quality at every stage of the design process over the last 12 months and a great deal of emphasis was placed on striking a balance between the user experience and its look and feel. It is finely crafted and intuitively functional and serves as a clear place to lock away your smart devices to help achieve more quality time.”
With all this distraction, TOME is a symbol that represents the power of intention to be present in this digital age with a design that fits into any domestic or commercial environment. It has no lights, screens, alarms or anything that would continue to distract the user from being present. Its wooden case is finished in a durable walnut and accented by sleek, polished aluminium edges. Inside a soft cushioned interior protects devices and elasticated straps keep them in place. Crucially, the case includes an emergency release feature.
Calvin Niles said “As a doting father I value my time with my children enormously but I realised that I was missing key moments in their lives due to my own device distraction. I feel we have created something special here and are really excited to be able to help bring balance back to people’s lives in this digital age.”
For more information.
Email: hello@discovertome.com
Website www.discovertome.com