OUR STORY
OuiSi is about
CuriosityCreativityCollaborationConnection
We believe that "everything is connected" and that life is a richer experience when we are curious about ourselves, one another, and the world around us. We are passionate about conversation, co-creation, and open-ended play.
What's in a name?
OuiSi is pronounced “We-See” in English, which is a nod to the notion of sharing perspectives and seeing the world together.
OuiSi itself translates into “Yes Yes” in French and Spanish (and a number of other languages). The name OuiSi celebrates the language of pictures, one that almost all of us speak globally, regardless of where we are from.
Now, here's a little background on where we're coming from...
There's an app for that
After years of development and design, the OuiSi concept first came to life as an app in 2017. You can learn more about the genesis of the idea here. We believed (and still do!) that our tech gadgets could be better used as tools for community and creativity, rather than as simple screen destinations and distractions. We learned a lot from building this app and from the feedback from our dedicated users. We eventually paused app development to make way for a new form of OuiSi (see next section), but we hope to relaunch a new app in the not-so-distant future. We'll provide ongoing updates in our newsletter. Feel free to join below!
Kicking into gear
The idea of creating a physical version of OuiSi was always in the back of our minds, as early as 2015. Finally, in early 2019, we ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to build our vision of a physical version of OuiSi. With the help of our early supporters, we found a great manufacturing partner and got to work using a beautiful collection of photographs, mostly taken in and around New York City by Paul and Kaz.
The origin of OuiSi Original
In January 2020, OuiSi's first Photo Card set, now known as OuiSi Original, was launched on ouisi.co. Our excitement about launching OuiSi was soon overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which quickly spread around the world in the months to come. While we were all subject to various forms of lockdown and quarantine restrictions, OuiSi was still able to make its way to people's homes, thanks to front-line workers across the supply chain.
During this unprecedented period of uncertainty and isolation, we were happy to hear from customers that OuiSi provided a way to connect with their children (and grandchildren), engaging them with fun and mindful offline activities at home. By the end of the year, OuiSi had been embraced by over 19,000 customers with an average rating of 4.7/5. We knew we were creating something helpful and important that was truly cherished. We had to keep going...and growing.
Nurturing nature
Building upon OuiSi Original's positive reception, we set out to build our next set. Because OuiSi Original focused on capturing the marvels of the "everyday" in an urban environment, we wanted to offer an exploration into the vastness of nature and celebrate the beauty of our planet.
Also, we recognized that OuiSi has an opportunity to shine a light on ideas and issues that are important to all of us. So, we partnered with nature and wildlife photographers from around the world who all had a passion for conservation and the protection of planet Earth.
Although we are deeply committed to the physical and tactile form factor of OuiSi sets, we wanted to add an additional digital element of discovery to the experience. We decided to add QR codes to the backs of all the OuiSi Nature photo cards that link to OuiSi Go - an online learning portal that we built in-house. Here you can learn more about the photographs (subject, species, location, etc.) and the photographers too.
We were able to get our OuiSi Nature sets to customers in early 2022 despite a number of supply chain issues at ports in the US (again largely due to Covid).
Here is our press release from our OuiSi Nature launch. By the end of 2022, OuiSi sets had reached over 100,000 customers. And, to our humble delight, we maintained our customer rating of 4.7/5.
We were also honored with some toy industry awards for both OuiSi Original and OuiSi Nature.
Where art collections meet visual connections
In 2022, our retail partners at the J. Paul Getty Museum were intrigued by the fact that OuiSi Original had been selling out at the Gift Stores at the Getty Center and Getty Villa. Then, they approached us about doing a product collaboration together. We were immediately humbled and excited. Then we got to work researching Getty's vast photo database of artwork to select 210 images with specific artistic elements, like the vibrant green stripes in Van Gogh’s Irises painting. The images were also chosen to highlight the repetition of basic elements found in art. Details about each artwork can be found at Getty.edu, easily accessed from a QR code on the back of each Art Card.
OuiSi x Getty was officially launched in April 2023, both online and across the J. Paul Getty Museum campus. Check out our press release and blog post about the launch. Later that spring, we were nominated for New Product of the Year at the Museum Store Association's annual convention.
By the end of 2023, we had sold out of OuiSi x Getty and it was continuing our customer rating of 4.7/5. OuiSi has now reached over 175,000 customers across the US.
Contact us
OuiSi Inc. is located at 40 Buck Road, Stone Ridge, NY, 12484, with warehouses in the UK and across the US. We are available via email at info@ouisi.co for any inquiries (support, press, partnership or otherwise). Our commitment is to always respond within 1 business day.