Mission: I want to change the world with a simple, stitched rectangle of leather.

I'm here on GoFundMe because starting up a small business is difficult! I designed FocusRest over a year ago and I’ve been working on it ever since. This month the online shop officially launched and the first week was really successful, more orders than I expected, tons of interest. But I've hit a pretty big technical snag in the week since and need a little community support to quickly fix it.

The shop works fine, if you want to place an order please do! And that’s a fantastic way to support the biz! The issue is I can't connect it with social media where my target market is. So I need to migrate the shop to a platform that can connect. I'm trying to get this moved over and fixed as quick as I can.

Who am I? I'm Anna, I've been designing leather goods for many years, some of you may remember my bespoke cases and wallets (AB Sutton Leather Goods), for others my story will be new.

I started my business back in 2003, right in time for that first precious iPod. I made leather cases for tech for a decade, and I loved it. Loved the tech, the iPods, iPhones, loved working with my hands and creating lovely cases for these lovely devices. I loved the internet and the future felt bright. Then the 2008 crash happened and things got a little bumpy for the business. An opportunity came up for me to take a side-journey into another career, so I did.

Another decade has passed and I find I'm not loving my device or the internet but I'm coming back to my leather craft. This time it's because I think I've created a product that solves a problem we have in our society.

It probably sounds a bit crazy, that I think my product will solve a problem we have in our society. But I'm serious. Please let me explain why:

The problem: We're on our phones so god d**med much that we have forgotten how to relate to one another. You all know this is true. Enough said.

My proposed solution: We need to put our god d**med phones DOWN, and leave them alone. AND, if we do need our phones, we have to make sure the thing is set up better, to only see the apps that are useful. We need to stop with the nonsense and distractions. We need more structure, intention, and attention. How else are we going to solve these massive crises we face?

FocusRest, is a helper toward this goal. It's a very simple case of leather with an NFC tag inside. After setup, when you scan the tag, your phone automatically transforms/changes to a new Focus you've made for yourself. One that will limit distractions and provide you with the tools you need (which could be a work setup, a home setup, a peace and quiet setup). It’s whatever you personally need. The "case" exists to both hold the tag inside it and give you a place you can actually put the phone down. It's a pocket, but it's not on you (a wall pocket). Do you remember wall phones? It's like that. You see it, you remember to put your phone down and to shift your focus.

I have tried so many of the other solutions out there. The apps that block other apps, the apps shame me for my screen time, the recommendations to put my phone in another room and leave it, or to change to a flip-phone... I have really tried. But my reality is that I have to use a smartphone (many communications, 2-factor authentications, all of it pretty essential).

My design, FocusRest, is for people who need to have a smartphone, but also need some simple, tangible guardrails for it. Something in the real world that reminds us that the smartphone is a tool, not an appendage or extension of ourselves.

Because, tools are actually useful. They help us to achieve something that we can't do on our own. For example: when you want to hang a picture, and you have a metal nail, you don't just push the nail into the wall with your fingers. You grab that hammer, that wonderful tool designed to solve this exact problem. When you're done, and can step back and admire your picture that's hanging on the wall nice and level, but do you take the hammer into the kitchen while you cook dinner? Do you put the hammer on the table while you eat? Do you bring the hammer upstairs and put it next to your pillow as you sleep? Of course not! You put the hammer back where it belongs, in the tool box. I realize the analogy is an over-simplification, but it is simple.

We need a massive reframe, a collective behavioral change across our society. We need to learn that it's ok to use a smartphone as a tool again, one that we put down when we're not using it and one that can be helpful toward living the life we want when we are using it. We didn't create this problem and it shouldn't be on us to fix, but we can choose to do something about it.

My hope is that if enough people make this change, they will look up and see one another, talk more, realize we all have more in common than we do differences, and we might even use the phone app to make phone calls again.

We all want the same things in the end: to be happy, healthy, loved for who we are, and in community with one another.

I said it at the top, I'll say it again: Starting up a small business is difficult! Particularly in 2025!

But it’s not impossible. Please consider supporting this mission. Your support will be helping a small business to grow, and it will also help shape new story, a new narrative for us all: that the smartphone is simply a tool, and we can put it down and we can reconnect with one another.

Disclaimer: No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe.