Local Designer Looks to Perfect the Modern Storage Container

The Zip Top Kickstarter campaign has already raised $1 million over the desired projected $20,000 goal with hours left to go before it ends tomorrow, November 2, around 8am.

Massive success like this might make the average person sweat but not local design guru Rebecca Finell. With two successful companies and plenty of real-world design experience under her belt, she’s poised for the oncoming explosive growth. Using her special talent for finding holes in retail markets, she created this innovative food storage idea out of necessity. On potentially snatching a huge piece of the kitchen accessory field Finell says, "I had been designing for myself and it just so happened the rest of the world needs it, too."

Finell is something of a Renaissance woman. She won awards for her inventions as a young child, went on to major in studio art then pre-med (with an eye on heart surgery), ultimately graduating with an Industrial Design degree. In addition to her focus on inventing stylish and ergonomic luxury items and homegoods, she manages the business and strategy marketing side of things. After two years of tinkering with Zip Top (and 40-plus prototypes), she's almost perfected the modern storage container.

Everyone is searching for don’t-kill-the-planet alternatives to disposable plastic bags and food containers clogging landfills worldwide and Zip Top claims to soothe all of the major pains of traditional kitchen storage goods. "A lot of people have been trying to make reusables for a while, but they haven’t made it easy – the thinking that you have to give up something to go green."

These stain-resistant beauties are safe for the fridge, microwave, freezer, dishwasher, and – wait for it – the oven. Made of platinum-cured, food-grade silicone, there are no additives or weird chemicals to leach into food at high temperatures. It's seamless and pledges to be easy to clean, with zero edges for bacteria to set up a cozy home. The soft-top design and zippered closure cuts down on air, protecting your food from spoiling. And they’re designed to nest inside of each other, which is perfect for better utilizing small spaces. Finell says they’re about as multipurpose as it gets: ”The other thing I was thinking about when I designed this, is that you can use them for anything you’d use a zipper bag – toys, makeup. I have hardware stores looking at putting leftover paint in them [because] they pour easily and you can squeeze the air out to keep the paint from drying out.”*

Zip Top also solves one of the biggest gripes amongst cooks. Just watch any Food Network star try to pour soup into a baggie with one hand – it’s pure comedy. Zip Tops stand up and stay open with the sturdiness of a bowl, but their silicone flexibility means they’re able to shut with a zipper closure. “Actually, that was the hardest part: going from an open mouth silicone product to a flat zip was a bit of a feat. It took about two years to nail it down,” says Finell.

She adds, “I had a hunch. I knew my product had a broad appeal and it was priced right. I am living the designer dream because I’m just having fun making things that I want. I’m excited and grateful to everybody who backed us and their excitement for our product.”

[Editor's note: We've edited the descriptions for clarification.]