Chicago startup Everpurse burst onto the scene with a bold idea: a purse with a smartphone-charging pocket. Its first Kickstarter was successful, but subsequent crowdfunding attempts and customer service mishaps angered customers. I detailed the company’s trials and followed it through a partnership with a major national brand

May 14, 2015 Everpurse customers are angry; will a national product deal help? →

Chicago fashion tech company Everpurse has abandoned production of its eponymous product and shifted attention to pursuing deals with national fashion brands, but not before leaving a trail of angry customers who placed orders that were never filled.

After at least a year of complaints from customers who have paid for bags, Everpurse told them in an email early Thursday morning that it is on the verge of announcing new products in collaboration with a top fashion brand that will allow it to fufill orders. Some customers have had orders pending for more than a year. It is the first communication some of them have received in months. …

May 18, 2015 Kate Spade announces deal with Chicago-based Everpurse →

Everpurse, the Chicago-based maker of technology that embeds smartphone-charging capability in handbags, announced a licensing deal with Kate Spade New York on Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The New York-based fashion brand will release four handbags with Everpurse-powered charging pockets later this year.

May 22, 2015 What to do when a crowdfunded product hits a delay →

So you reached your crowdfunding goal. Now what?

Thousands of entrepreneurs take to crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo to raise money for never-before-seen products. But the path to delivering them can be fraught with problems in manufacturing, certification, funding or design. And delivery delays can leave enthusiastic backers disappointed.

November 11, 2015 Kate Spade sells Everpurse bags as startup’s original customers still wait  →

A national deal with Kate Spade that was supposed to placate disappointed supporters of Chicago-based startup Everpurse has so far only frustrated them more.

The handbag line, which incorporates Everpurse’s smartphone-charging technology into Kate Spade designs, is now available online and in stores under the name Kate Spade x Everpurse. But customers waiting for Everpurse orders placed more than a year ago — and who were promised Kate Spade-branded items as replacements — are still empty-handed.

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