Canvas Dodo: a near success story

We created custom giant bean bags.

Manu and I have known each other since 2010, when I started working at Unilever, literally at his desk. He was in Axe and I was in Rexona, both in Marketing Development. We were united by many things, including curiosity, creative nonsense, and a desire to do something different, which pushed us to take on a project together. So we set off with backpacks on a trip through Latin America. PLOT TWIST!

When we returned a year later, we felt unusually prepared for another crazy adventure: with no stable jobs, back living with our families, and more doubts than certainties about our careers, we had developed a master plan during the trip to launch our first and only big idea (because there was no quorum for the “Balance Glove,” but that’s another story). The commitment was total, and so was the inexperience.

Basically, we wanted to create giant cushions, 2 meters by 1 meter and changeable, with customizable, washable, and very resistant fabric, to be used in many comfortable and different ways. We invented custom giant bean bags. We hadn't seen anything like it, not even FATBOY, our Dutch inspiration, made them like this, nor did the three or four brands with similar products in Argentina.

We named it “Canvas” because we always thought of the product as a blank canvas for people to unleash their creativity. And why “Dodo”? It started as a joke about a golden dodo on the site THISISWHYIMBROKE.COM, and it stuck.

I had quite a bit of experience in printing and design in general but little knowledge of textiles. Manu had a similar experience, coming from years of managing large projects and facing the challenges of venturing into this new industry. What we did know was what we expected from the final product and how we were going to present it. For two years, we dedicated ourselves entirely to developing this. Imagine searching for fabrics in the Once neighborhood on a Friday in December, or riding a bus through La Matanza carrying a roll of printed paper, lifting bags and bags of expanded polystyrene (aka styrofoam balls) in a factory in Liniers, and traveling all over the Greater Buenos Aires area looking for a saintly seamstress. Meanwhile, we were having video calls with programmers for our future e-commerce, attending every entrepreneurship fair and event we could find, and constantly in touch with various artists, designers, and printers for everything related to design and customization. Sometimes our project felt like it was scripted by Saborido, and we pushed it forward while managing our own lives, each with new jobs, relationships, commitments, and life itself. Looking back, I find it admirable. At the time, it was fascinating, the pure sensation of creating Canvas Dodo and being about to start selling it.

From its launch in 2014 to its closure in 2021, we achieved significant milestones:

✔ 110,000 followers on Facebook
✔ 46,600 followers on Instagram
✔ 7,000 monthly website visits
✔ 6,000 bean bags sold
✔ 3,000 end customers
✔ 50 B2B clients
✔ 7 years in the market
✔ 5 product formats
✔ 4 countries with stock
✔ 2 types of designs: plain and printed
✔ 1 super loyal and loving community

I know that, despite its forced landing and definitive closure, it brought me immense satisfaction and countless lessons, like the reactions of people when they first received their bean bags or the spontaneous messages on social media when people were amazed by the size, design, and comfort (the three essentials of the product). In fact, if I quickly review my favorite moments, I think they are:

🇮🇹 30 bean bags at a super fancy outdoor event near Milan.

☠️ Traveling with 2 bean bags featuring Pablo Escobar’s face on a long-distance bus to Paraguay.

🥲 The personalized designs from people: my mother’s 6 pets, the deceased puppy, the guy who printed his car, and the self-portrait with his boyfriend.

😙 A trade with an erotic event to project movies on white bean bags.

🦠 Viral campaign LIQUIDACIÓN PANDÉMICA.

🎬 Campaign LA FIACA ES BELLA with Seba, Vero, Muriel, and Egypt.

🇵🇾 Shooting in Paraguay IPORÁ LA FIACA.

🚀 Colorful bean bags at Google offices, year-end gifts for Globant employees, and presence in all Cerveza Patagonia shelters.

🤝 Crazy partnerships with Antigourmet, Funko Pop, Lion Rolling Circus, Damián Kuc, and Gabriel Lucero - Gente Rota.

🏆 Campaign LA COPA FIACA and the people’s videos.

😎 Campaign EL CLUB DE LA FIACA.

🌌 Outdoor cinema at BAFICI.

❤️‍🔥 The support of people when we decided to close.

Personally, as Creative and Marketing Director, during those intense 8 years, I focused on:

➜ Developing the product and ensuring its quality
➜ Designing and getting involved in the product's graphic production chain
➜ Seeking and securing strategic partnerships
➜ Leading communication and marketing activities
➜ Managing and creating content for social media
➜ Managing and nurturing relationships with the community
➜ Developing and managing sales channels
➜ Developing and implementing sales strategies
➜ Serving our customers

Canvas Dodo is and will always be my favorite brand. I patiently await the day when something natural replaces the damn styrofoam. And then, the dodo will never go extinct again.