Gravanity books for kids

The brainchild of a mother of 4, Margo MacDonald Redfern, Flattenme has developed a line of storybooks that can be personalized with a child’s photo, making them part of the story. In addition to their photo, a child’s name is also incorporated in the text and illustrations, creating a highly personalized product that children seem to love. How it works? Customers simply upload their child’s (or pet’s) photo to flattenme.com, indicate their name and gender, and select a book. Flattenme does the rest, using high-quality digital printing, and the book is delivered 10-14 business days later. Personalized books are saved in the company’s database for simple reordering. Flattenme has released four titles since it launched in August: Tuesday Mushroom King (about wood sprites), Here There Be Pirates (for aspiring Johnny Depps), The Potty Dance (for those who refuse to go) and My Little Monster. The latter can feature pets as well as children. Books are hard cover and full-colour, and sell for USD 33. Flattenme currently only ships within the US and Canada, but international shipping is in the works. French, German and Italian versions are available, with more languages to follow soon. We’ve featured dozens of business concepts that use personalization, from bank cards to passenger jets, but this is definitely one of the cutest. Giving customized publishing a gravanity* twist and targeting parents, grandparents and other gift-givers is a smart move. One to bring to other parts of the world? Spotted by Bjarke Svendsen * Gravanity is what our sister-site trendwatching.com dubbed the enduring trend of catering to consumers who want to leave ‘something’ behind in print, audio or imagery. It’s a goldmine of inspiration for entrepreneurs and marketers.