Hey fam!
My momma always said:
"Life was like a box of chocolates.
You never know what you’re gonna get."
🍫🏃♂️
But if wisdom, good vibes, and a little fun is what you wanna get, you should probably just read
🎉 TOTEM TUESDAY 🎉
(I may not be a smart man, but I know a good newsletter when I see one)
🤗
The Totem team has returned home from exhibiting at the SXSW Creative Industries Expo... and golly, was it an invigorating week 🫶
A few highlights:
❖ We vibed with SO many excited Tribemates—including several of you proudly wearing your Totems, as well as some of you who saw us last year and came back to show the love (and see the glow-up 😉)
❖ Like clockwork, a live-recorded video went viral on TikTok, introducing countless new people to the Totem Compass.
❖ We met so many incredible people across industries, who generously offered their time, wisdom, and resources to help us continue to scale.
After a wildly transformative week, we're back in office prepping for Totem's upcoming Seed Round and future product development goals 💗
Before we dive in, some news:
📦 Shipping Update 📦
Manufacturing and assembly of the next big shipment ofTotem Compasses is nearly complete 🎉This batch will cover everyone who placed their order in January, February, and the first part of March!
We expect to have your tracking numbers by the first week of April, possibly sooner 🫶
For more details, visit your handy-dandy Rollout Tracker.
OK—let's get this party started.
This is our weekly progress report to all our favorite people.
(friend, I hope you know you're the best!)
Keeping in line with the
post-SXSW buzz here at Totem...
Without further ado,
here are
💠 the top 3 things we learned at SXSW 💠
Top 3 things we learned at SXSW
1) Festival-goers love Totems, but parents NEED them
The Totem Compass was originally designed by festival-goers, for festival-goers. But as we quickly learned, losing your loved ones in public places is a universal problem.
After speaking with thousands of parents at SXSW, one thing became abundantly clear: the Totem Compass is an absolute necessity for family travel, vacations, and outings.
Parents from around the world stopped by the Totem booth, drawn to the idea of a screen-free way to stay connected with their family in public settings.
We learned that, for so long, parents everywhere have been searching for a solution to give their children more freedom on family outings, while also maintaining peace of mind.
What's more—because the Totems speak a language of light and color, the kids we met could not get enough of them (they were especially dazzled by the light show installation!)
Once families saw the perfect balance of freedom, safety, and fun the Totem Compass brings, so many ended up purchasing Totems from our online store—on the spot!
(Peep some of our favorite photos below - used with permission 🥰)
2) New Totem Necklaces are a HIT
This past week, our team was absolutely stuntin' on SXSW 😎
The entire Totem team was outfitted with new gold, silver, braided vegan leather, and obsidian chains—all of which will be released in our Necklace Packs, coming very soon!
So many people we met were instantly drawn to the sleek, interchangeable chains—we were, too! This was the team's first time using Totems outfitted with the new necklaces, and it really felt like wearing tech-jewelry.
Who knew that a navigation tool could look this good? 🔥
With 12 different Touch Crystal colors available to choose from, the Totem Compass is designed to always match your vibe. Soon, they will be able to match ANY outfit ✨ flawlessly ✨
Stay tuned for more details on when they launch.. soon you’ll be able to accessorize just like this: 👇
3) ClutchLoop Was Clutch for Families and Festies Alike
We packed a TON into SXSW 2025...including the debut of our partnership with ClutchLoop, the original anti-theft solution for adventurers, families and festival-goers alike.
Over the past year, we've gotten so much feedback from Tribemates asking for alternative attachments.
And we hear you—necklaces aren't everyone's thing! Candidly, we've got some headbangers on our team, which doesn't always bode well with tech-jewelry hanging around your neck 😅
Not only that, but we want to make sure you always have a solution so that you never lose your people or your Totem.
Clutchloop, with its universal anti-theft tether, makes sure you never lose your things. Totem makes sure you never lose your loved ones. It’s a match made in heaven! 🫶
So, without further ado...
Presenting....the TotemLoop! 🎉
In addition to hikers, campers, and festival-goers, we were shocked by the amount of families that absolutely loved the TotemLoop.
It makes perfect sense! Kids love to run and fiddle with shiny things (especially ones with pretty lights).
With TotemLoop, parents can easily secure the Totem Compass on active kids' backpacks and belt loops, without worrying about losing it. The secure carabiner requires adult assistance to affix and detach 💗
The TotemLoop will be available in the next month or so, so stay tuned. We can't wait to get them in your hands!
Closing out with a quote from Edwin Land, founder of Polaroid:
""The purpose of invention is not novelty for the sake of novelty, but novelty for the sake of function.""
See you next week!
✌️ + 🩷
The Totem Team
(P.S. — if this is your first Totem Tuesday, we hiiighly recommend that you go back and check out all the past Totem Tuesdays on our website. Every single decision we’ve made with the product is detailed extensively in past editions. Have fun 😘)
