Hello there! Your favourite gadget site was TEN in June. In e-tail years that's like ancient or something. But don’t worry, it didn’t make us grow up. Plus it meant we could wear silly hats and scoff cake for an entire month. Well that's our excuse.
If you fancy sending us some lovely belated pressies (well, you never know), just pop them in the post to our HQ address (Ardwell Road, London SW2 4RT). If you can't be bothered just send your wishes via email and we'll pop them up here with the logos and pictures you've sent us. Failing that, how about a quick burst of Happy Birthday?
Quick links:
Birthday Bonanza | Firebox Factoids | Who we are | Birthday Wall
The Firebox.com Birthday Bonanza
That's right! To celebrate our 10th birthday we gave YOU, our gorgeous customers, a gift to thank you for supporting us this last decade!
Every day during our June Birthday Bonanza Month a different Firebox product was available at HALF PRICE, but customers were urged to be quick as the offers only lasted for 24 hours (or until we ran out - there was a limited number available each day).
Sadly, it's too late to grab a bargain, but feel free to see what was on offer here.
A few little Firebox factoids...
- The company was founded by two Uni friends, Michael Smith and Tom Boardman. Both Mike and Tom are still running the company alongside MD Christian Robinson.
- When we started we had just 2 people but now there are now over 50 full time fireboxers! We're a handsome bunch too... ok we're biased.
- The biggest selling product in 1998 was Tom and Michael's invention, the Shot Glass Chess Set (an ingenious combination of chess and alcohol).
- Our biggest selling product so far this year has been the Picoz Helicopter, part of a massive trend for titchy indoor flying gadgets.
- We were originally called Hotbox.co.uk, but relaunched as Firebox in 1999. This was partly because the US site Hotbox.com was, erm, 'not suitable for work'.
- The furthest we've ever shipped an order is to Tiera del Fuego, which is pretty impressive as its the southernmost city on the planet!
- The weirdest product we sold back in 1998 was the Oxygen O-Pur, oxygen in a can. In fact, we still sell it as we've got a bit of a soft spot for the heated debate going on in the customer reviews.
- The weirdest product we sell now is Weasel Coffee, coffee beans that has been eaten and regurgitated by Vietnamese weasels. Delicious.
- Did you know that our very own stock buyer Matt Shone is also a successful athlete, representing Wales in a number of international races. He has been known to deliver orders during his lunchtime daily run. Now that's service!
- Over the years we've seen 3 weddings, 4 couples get it together and had 4 babies! It's like a social experiment under one roof.
- We've even been captured on celluloid camera! During the early years Mike and Tom were featured in a BBC 2 documentary covering dot com boom start ups which was followed up 5 years later to see how Firebox was getting on in a special Money Programme Special.
Who we were...
L-R: Matt Shone, James Robinson, Christian Robinson, Tom Linford, Tom Boardman and Mike Smith.
Who we are...
Top L-R: Christian Robinson, Steve Law, Aaron Buckley, Adam Donovan, Chris Linton-Ford, Scott Geary, Grant Ozolins, Ben Fowler, Ryan Collins, Charlie Morgan & Paul Wright.
Middle L-R: Rik Nicol, Kate Robinson, Rachel Helyer, Mike Smith, Gail Bishop, Andrew Hill, Ozskar Nagy, Matt Shone & Tom Boardman.
Bottom L-R: Larna Sheen, James Powell, Dylan Rohan, Kristian Bromley, Emilly Herriott, Sarah Kabunga, Shem Douglas & John Hoy-Taylor.
Missing but not forgotten office staff: Linnea Borjesson, Alison Sakai, Naomi Brown, Jackie Franklin & James Rowe.
Our AWESOME warehouse staff: John Gibb, Dave Judd, Tony Baldwin, Kevin Smith, Junior Johnson, Phil Stevens, Dan Quaye, Tomas Kotek, Justyna Chrobak, Leszek Dziechciarz & Krzysztof Sadlak.
Our extended family: Mr & Mrs Hanson, Terrance the Accountant/most polite person on planet earth & the birds currently nesting in our warehouse..
The Birthday Wishes Wall
We'll be putting up your birthday wishes emails, images and video clips right here for you to gawk at. Here are a few to get you started:
T3 Magazine wrote:
"Big fat Birthday wishes to 'the 'box' from the T3 crew"
www.t3.com
Toy News wrote:
"Happy Birthday Firebox. Best toy site on the web by a mile."
www.toynewsmag.com
PC Pro wrote:
"Happy birthday Firebox, without you we'd never have experienced the joys of the 3rd Space FPS Vest. No pain, no gain!"
www.pcpro.co.uk
The Gadget Show wrote:
"Happy 10th Birthday from everyone at The Gadget Show"
gadgetshow.five.tv
Toyology wrote:
"Where did that decade go? - Might be something to do with us spending most of our time playing with your fine fayre - Here's to the next ten"
www.toyology.co.uk
Monkey Magazine wrote:
"Happy Birthday Firebox. Keep up the good work, you guys are gadgetastic!"
www.monkeymag.co.uk
Mark Stevens wrote:
"Happy Birthday Firebox.com I love your company it's fantastic. Going on, Firebox.com puts a smile on my face even when I'm feeling a bit down.
Hope you all enjoy Firebox's 10th birthday!"
Kate wrote:
"Just wanted to congratulate you on your brilliant idea for your birthday celebrations... I will be looking with great interest and excitement everyday. Cant wait to see what you have on offer each day!"
Helen Bate wrote:
"Congratulations on your 10th anniversary! It's no wonder that you are still going strong - you are such a quality company and both myself and my husband have shopped with you many times and have never been disappointed.
It was my birthday too yesterday, all though I am considerably older than 10!!"
George Burgess wrote:
"Happy Birthday Firebox.com. I saw the plea for gifts on your website and, as you have served me so well in the past, thought you deserved this delicious cake. Enjoy!"
Thanks George! Birthdays and Birthday Cake are the perfect combination!
