album see now and zen . this article has an unclear citation style . the references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation footnoting or external linking . september 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message now & zen inc. is an american company founded by steve mcintosh in january 1995 . 1 based in boulder colorado . the target market for the firm s brand is the demographic known as the cultural creatives a progressive segment of american society that has been responsible for the substantial growth of the natural foods industry . mcintosh had previously worked as an executive in the natural foods industry and sought to create consumer electronic products that would appeal to this same demographic . 2 the now & zen product that first proved the concept of a natural electronic product was the zen alarm clock which was introduced in early 1996 . 3 the original zen alarm clock is a triangular shaped wooden clock that wakes users gradually with a series of acoustic chimes . in 2001 the firm introduced a portable digital version of its chiming alarm clock 4 which has now become the company s most popular product . in 2005 the firm introduced an alarm clock and timer featuring a six inch brass bowl gong called the zen timepiece . 5 as of 2008 now & zen s product line remains popular with the firm continuing to exhibit modest annual growth in sales volume . 6 contents 1 inspiration 2 manufacture and patents 3 products 4 popular culture 5 criticism 6 references 7 external links inspiration edit mcintosh s original intent when founding the company was to create useful household products that would reflect an emerging new spiritual renaissance aesthetic combining the harmonic proportions of sacred geometry with motifs from traditional japanese culture . 7 he set out to create products like the tiffany lamp which was both an appliance and an icon of art nouveau design . manufacture and patents edit originally the firm manufactured most aspects of the zen alarm clock at its factory in longmont colorado . but over time the firm contracted out a variety of subassemblies such as its wooden clock bodies . in 2003 after rejecting an acquisition bid from gaiam inc. the firm adopted a new business model under which the complete manufacturing of finished products was done overseas by third party manufactures . this new business model allowed the firm to concentrate on marketing leading to the opening of the company s downtown boulder showroom . 8 now & zen holds two patents covering both the design and utility aspects of its chiming alarm clocks u.s. patent no . des . 390 121 issued february 3 1998 and u.s. patent no . us 6 819 635 b2 issued november 16 2004 . products edit all now & zen products have been conceived designed and invented by founder and president steve mcintosh . 9 although the firm has produced a wide variety of natural themed household products since its inception its product line has now been largely limited to its acoustic alarm clocks and timers . the wood for all now & zen products is grown on north american tree farms and shipped to shenzhen china to be made into clock bodies . the electronics are made in shenzhen china and the firm s bowl gongs are made in moradabad india . 10 now & zen s natural themed products are closely associated with the natural foods industry which has made boulder colorado its unofficial headquarters . 11 besides now & zen other prominent boulder based natural product companies include celestial seasonings where mcintosh worked as an executive prior to founding now & zen wild oats market and pangea organics . 12 popular culture edit the zen alarm clock is now well recognized in american popular culture 13 14 having been reviewed by national media such as the new york times 15 the los angeles times 16 the good morning america television show 17 the washington post 18 and good housekeeping magazine . 19 now & zen s zen alarm clock continues to be widely reviewed and discussed on blogs featured on websites throughout the world . 20 21 22 23 24 25 zen clocks are sold worldwide but distribution outside the u.s. is limited . the ongoing success of the zen alarm clock as a distinctive decorative accessory reflecting a vaguely new age aesthetic positions it somewhere in between the high design of the classic tiffany lamp and a popular culture novelty item such as the lava lamp . 26 criticism edit because of the zen alarm clock s new age positioning some reviewers have ridiculed it . in his review of the product in the new york times reviewer william l. hamilton wrote it is like a monk losing his temper om to om now tranquil tenacious the dalai lama as drill sergeant . 27 similarly dads magazine referred to the aesthetics of the triangular shaped version of the clock as a hippie carpenter contraption but nevertheless praised the way it woke users gently and gradually . 28 moreover despite the ongoing success of the zen alarm clock the company has also had some failures such as the affirmation station introduced in 1998 which was designed to wake users with their personal affirmations . however the product failed to gain consumer acceptance and was discontinued after three years on the market . 29 references edit that was zen this is now a former celestial seasonings executive builds a new company on a clock that takes its time boulder planet july 10 1996 spiritually alarming wake up call boulder entrepreneur designs a gentle sounding alarm clock with philosophical overtones rocky mountain news october 14 1996 zen and the art of shut eye maintenance forbes magazine november 30 1998 company s new alarm clock a hit boulder daily camera november 23 2001 now & zen introduces tibetan bowl gong clock boulder daily camera september 3 2005 a business minute with steve mcintosh founder and president of now & zen inc. boulder county business report january 17 2008 cool zen tools gq magazine december 2000 now & zen opens headquarters store on pearl street boulder daily camera june 20 2003 a business minute with steve mcintosh founder and president of now & zen inc. boulder county business report january 17 2008 patent protection companies going global can become vulnerable to the loss of trade secrets boulder daily camera august 16 1999 state of colorado official website pangea organic s line of natural skin care products is growing usa today march 6 2009 walter truett anderson the next enlightenment st. martins press 2003 isbn 0 312 31769 7 p. 196 steve mcintosh integral consciousness and the future of evolution paragon house 2007 isbn 978 1 55778 867 2 p. 1 2 a new crow or alarm clocks new york times january 25 2001 products to help pass or mark time los angeles times january 6 2002 review of unique alarm clocks by diane sawyer good morning america television program april 14 2002 raymond mccaffrey alarm clock helps family escape fire in home the washington post february 21 2008 . gentler rousing alarm clocks good housekeeping magazine april 3 2009 . reinventing the alarm clock a gentle awakening can lead to a better day lime.com article marisa belger may 24 2006 how other cultures awaken alarm clock alternatives care2make a difference article by annie b. bond dec 12 2001 the zen alarm clock changed my life . no really ajs wiki product review by aaron sherman august 6 2007 tired of your traditional alarm clock try a zen alarm clock singapore street directory editorials by mike yeager retrieved march 6 2010 zen alarm clock product review wisegeek article by r. kayne retrieved march 6 2010 zen alarm clock product review uncommon goods by a.z. waddell retrieved march 6 2010 wake up serenely on the road with alarm clock denver business journal november 2002 a new crow or alarm clocks new york times january 25 2001 my favorite gifts dads magazine november december 2000 self help for the sleepy the sacramento bee december 9 1998 external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title now % 26 zen & oldid 655268707 categories companies based in coloradohidden categories wikipedia references cleanup from september 2012all articles needing references cleanuparticles covered by wikiproject wikify from september 2012all articles covered by wikiproject wikify navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 7 april 2015 at 00 22 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional 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