At this year’s Alzheimer’s Show, we at Studio Meineck are excited to announce that Music Memory Box ® is about to embark on the next stage of its journey into production. This summer, we are launching a crowdfunding campaign, which if successful will see the first batch of Music Memory Boxes manufactured and available to purchase by the end of 2016.

Our Story

While visiting a loved one with dementia, our Founding Director Chloe Meineck spent a long time looking for products that might be able to help. Finding that there was a lack of specialized products, she decided to create her own. In 2013, while Chloe was on a Craft and Technology residency with Crafts Council and Designer in Residence at the Design Museum, she worked with people with dementia and their families to develop the Music Memory Box. Since then she has been working with different groups in Bristol, Falmouth, London and Kobe, Japan to take the product to the next stage. Music Memory Box was a finalist in the Most Innovative Product category in the National Dementia Care Awards 2015. Given the amount of great feedback the product has received, we can’t wait to make it available to people living with dementia and their families and carers.

The Product

The Music Memory Box is a customisable, multi-sensory keepsake box which acts as a tool for reminiscence. Its embedded RFID technology enables precious objects to trigger evocative music and sounds when they are moved into the centre of the box, helping people with dementia to recollect and reconnect with their loved ones. The best way to find out about the product is to have a go with it yourself. If you are at this year’s Alzheimer’s Show, come along to our stand for a quick demo. We would love to hear your thoughts.

Our Next Step

We will be launching our crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter this Summer, and will offer a number of different rewards in return for donations while the campaign is live. These rewards will range from the chance to come to user testing sessions and workshops, to the opportunity to put your name down for one of the first ever Music Memory Boxes. If the campaign is successful, we will have the means to manufacture our first batch of Music Memory Boxes and run a series of workshops. If you are interested in Music Memory Box and want to stay informed about this exciting new stage in its development, please sign up to our newsletter by visiting our website [http://chloemeineck.co.uk/music-memory-box], follow us on Twitter [ @MusicMemBox ] or like us on Facebook [www.facebook.com/studiomeineck/].