Daily Grommet, a curated online marketplace and video review site for quirky inventions and products, has raised $3.4 million in Series A funding from a number of investors, including John Landry, Launch Capital and Gerry Laybourne, founder of Nickelodeon and Oxygen Media.
The site features one creative invention or product per day, with an in-depth video review. Daily Grommet will also sell the product on its site and take a small cut from sales. Think Etsy meets social product development platform Quirky.
Daily Grommet features products of utility, style or invention that haven’t hit the big-time yet. For example, today’s product is a gardening wheelbarrow and cart. Other products include organic cotton socks, and collapsible flower vases. The company receives submissions from consumers and spotlights products with a video review explaining what’s compelling about each day’s product and the story behind its creation. Founded in 2008, DailyGrommet.com has nearly 400 products and video reviews in its online catalog.
Daily Grommet founder Jules Pieri says that the site incorporates Citizen Commerce, which allows consumers to connect with the investors and manufacturers of products in order to encourage innovation. Pieri declined to tell us how much of a cut Daily Grommet takes from sales, but says that its “healthy.”