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Now & Zen, Inc. is an American company founded by Steve McIntosh in January 1995.〔That was Zen, this is Now: A former Celestial Seasonings executive builds a new company on a clock that takes its time, ''Boulder Planet'', July 10, 1996〕 Based in Boulder, Colorado. The target market for the firm's brand is the demographic known as the "Cultural Creatives," a progressive segment of American society that has been responsible for the substantial growth of the natural foods industry. McIntosh had previously worked as an executive in the natural foods industry and sought to create consumer electronic products that would appeal to this same demographic.〔Spiritually Alarming Wake-up Call: Boulder entrepreneur designs a gentle sounding alarm clock with philosophical overtones, ''Rocky Mountain News'', October 14, 1996〕 The Now & Zen product that first proved the concept of a "natural electronic product" was The Zen Alarm Clock, which was introduced in early 1996.〔Zen and the art of shut-eye maintenance, ''Forbes'' magazine, November 30, 1998〕 The original Zen Alarm Clock is a triangular-shaped wooden clock that wakes users gradually with a series of acoustic chimes. In 2001 the firm introduced a portable, digital version of its chiming alarm clock,〔Company’s new alarm clock a hit, ''Boulder Daily Camera'', November 23, 2001〕 which has now become the company’s most popular product. In 2005 the firm introduced an alarm clock and timer featuring a six-inch brass bowl-gong, called The Zen Timepiece.〔Now & Zen Introduces Tibetan Bowl-Gong Clock, ''Boulder Daily Camera'', September 3, 2005〕 As of 2008, Now & Zen’s product line remains popular, with the firm continuing to exhibit modest annual growth in sales volume.〔A Business Minute with Steve McIntosh Founder and President of Now & Zen, Inc., ''Boulder County Business Report'', January 17, 2008〕 ==Inspiration== McIntosh’s original intent when founding the company was to create useful household products that would reflect an emerging new "spiritual renaissance" aesthetic, combining the harmonic proportions of sacred geometry with motifs from traditional Japanese culture.〔Cool Zen Tools, ''GQ Magazine'', December, 2000〕 He set out to create products like the Tiffany Lamp, which was both an appliance and an icon of Art Nouveau design. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Now & Zen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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