ConnectedTap the label
Hold any recent iPhone or Android near the label. The chip signs this tap with a code that can’t be reused.
Every label is a door.
A secure NFC tag in every Formhouse travel product. Tap it with any phone and the product opens its own world: where it has been, what it unlocks, who you met along the way. No app to install. Every new product joins the same world, so every purchase makes the next one more valuable.
Scan it with your phone
It opens the Formhouse Passport, just like tapping the label will. No app.
or open it here
How it works
Tap. Open. Belong.
The tag is sewn in at the factory. Each tap carries a one-time code from the chip, so only the real product can open its page. Copied links do nothing.
It opens instantly
A web app, verified at the network edge in milliseconds. Nothing to download, nothing to sign up for on the first tap.
It joins your world
Miles, stamps, sleep sounds, member perks and friends live in one account. Every new product adds to it.
One ecosystem
The hoodie is the first key.
Every product that follows carries its own tag and adds to the same account. Owning more makes the whole thing more useful, which is the reason to buy the next one.
The concept
One passport. Four chapters.
Every Formhouse piece opens the same passport. From there the rest unlocks as people travel, buy and bring friends: tools for the trip, a visa into the club, a crew to race with.
The Passport
The base. Every tap stamps it, every trip adds miles, and the race for the table runs on it. Proof it’s genuine and a resale diary come with it. Unlocks with any Formhouse pieceThe Kit
Each piece adds a tool for one moment of the trip: sleep sounds for the flight, a jet-lag plan, smart packing. The more someone owns, the more of the trip it covers. Unlocks with each new pieceThe Club
The visa. Own two pieces and it’s stamped into the passport in gold, numbered and never reissued. Status rises with every trip; the top class is by invitation only. Unlocks with a second pieceThe Crew
Friends pool their miles and race other crews for prizes that seat a group. They recruit by tapping labels, and a visa holder captains. Unlocks with any passportOne prototype
Live the whole thing in three minutes: day one, week three, month two.
The heart of it
You don’t buy the visa. You qualify.
The clubs people line up for are built on four things: a number that’s yours, a threshold you cross, status others can see, and access money can’t buy. The visa carries all four.
- A number that’s yours
Visas are issued in order. Visa No. 0089 is never reissued, so being early is status forever.
- A threshold you cross
Own two pieces and the gold stamp lands in the passport, with the membership card in Apple Wallet.
- Status others can see
Tap someone’s hoodie and their passport opens, visa class included, if they choose to show it. No app-only club can do that.
- Access money can’t buy
Members-only pieces, early drops, the table. The top class, Diplomatic, is by invitation only.
Any piecePassportMiles, stamps, the race
First 500FounderNever offered again
Two piecesResidentThe visa and the club
1,000 pointsVoyagerEarlier drops, more entries
3,000 pointsAmbassadorEvents and the studio
By invitationDiplomaticChosen by Formhouse
Public
Miles
Earned only by travelling and trading in person. They decide the races, so nobody can buy their way to the table.
Private
Points
Earned from purchases, check-ins, trades and friends brought in. They decide the visa class.
How it rolls out
One product that grows with every drop.
Nothing to choose between. Each launch switches on the next chapter, so every drop has a reason.
Launch · the hoodieThe Passport
Check-ins, miles, the race, sleep sounds, share cards, trades. The first 500 owners become Founders.
Second dropThe Kit and the visa
The new piece adds its tool, and owning two stamps the visa. The club opens, Founders first.
Before EDCThe crews
Friends pool their miles and race for a table that seats them all.
Before we build
Six things to lock early.
The tags are sewn in at the factory, so these decisions come first. The software can move fast; the label cannot change after production.
The chip
NTAG 424 DNA with secure messaging, so every tap is signed. Formhouse owns the web address on the tag and the master key, never only the supplier.
Airplane mode
iPhones don’t read NFC tags in Airplane Mode. Sleep sounds open from the Home Screen icon and download at the gate.
Prizes
Any prize needs a free way to enter, 21+ for a table, a state-by-state rules review, and the festival’s consent.
Privacy
Location only with consent, shown at city level, private by default. Leaderboards show hoodie numbers, not names.
Washing
Textile tags rated for laundering, with the supplier’s wash-test data before the order.
Placement
Where the tag sits decides how often it’s tapped. Collar label for the story, or a cuff patch so it’s easy while wearing it.
For the deep diveUnder the hoodArchitecture, data flow and how it stays reliable.
01 · The tap
How a tap is verified, in milliseconds
The chip adds an encrypted code and a counter to its web address on every tap. The edge server checks the signature and that the counter has moved forward. A copied link fails both checks.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram
02 · Data flow
Every event lands once, in one ledger
Taps, check-ins, trades and purchases all go through the same door. Each carries a key that makes duplicates harmless: the tag’s ID and counter, or the store’s webhook ID. The ledger is append-only, so miles and points can always be recalculated and audited.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram
03 · Architecture
Cloudflare at the core, partners at the edges
One vendor for everything a tap touches, running in hundreds of cities, so a traveller in Tokyo is answered from Tokyo. Partners handle what they do best: the store, email and the Wallet pass. Google’s analytics can join later, once there is data worth analysing.
Swipe sideways to see the whole diagram
04 · Robustness
Eight rules that keep it working
The tap never fails
If anything behind it is down, the edge serves a static page for the product. The customer always sees something real.
Every event can arrive twice
Webhooks and queues retry. A unique key per event makes the second copy do nothing.
The ledger only grows
Miles and points are never edited, only added to. Any total can be rebuilt from history.
Formhouse holds the keys
One master key in secrets; each tag gets its own derived key. The supplier is never the only copy.
Races can’t be bought or faked
Purchases never add miles. Signed taps, speed checks between cities, one stamp per city per day.
Offline first where it matters
Sounds and the latest state are cached on the phone, so the flight works with no connection.
Private by default
Location by consent, stored at city level, never shown as an address. Names never on public boards.
We hear about problems first
Error tracking and alerts from day one, and a load test of the tap before launch day.
05 · Platform
Why Cloudflare over Google Cloud
Both can be made robust. Cloudflare fits the moment that matters most, the tap, better. Google stays the natural home for analytics later.
| ChoiceCloudflare | AlternativeGoogle Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| A tap abroad | Answered from a nearby city | Answered from one or a few chosen regions |
| First request | No cold start | Cold starts unless instances are kept warm (cost) |
| Audio downloads | No egress fees on R2 | Pay per gigabyte served |
| Moving parts | Code, database, files, queues, secrets in one place | More services to wire and watch |
| Analytics | Basic, built in | Best in class with BigQuery: add it later |
06 · Stack
What it’s built with
| Area | Technology | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Tags | NXP NTAG 424 DNA | A fresh signed code on every tap |
| Edge | Cloudflare Workers | Tap verification and the API, close to every traveller |
| Web app | Installable web app on Workers | Opens from a tap, works offline for sounds |
| Database | Cloudflare D1 | Items, owners, check-ins and the append-only ledger |
| Files | Cloudflare R2 | Audio and images, no download fees |
| Background jobs | Cloudflare Queues | Wallet updates, email, leaderboards, retried on failure |
| Keys | Workers Secrets | The master tag key; per-tag keys derived from it |
| Accounts | Shopify customer accounts or passkeys | One identity across the store and the app |
| Comeback | Apple Wallet pass, Klaviyo | Lock-screen updates and drops by email |
| Monitoring | Sentry | Errors and alerts from day one |
| Analytics (later) | Google BigQuery | Deep analysis once there is data worth it |
07 · Twelve weeks
The factory sets the clock
Weeks 1 to 2 · criticalLock what goes into the label
Web address and link format, chip type, key ownership, tag placement and wash tests. These go to the factory.
Weeks 3 to 6The core
Tap verification, claim and account, check-ins, the ledger, Wallet pass and email capture.
Weeks 7 to 9The chapters
Race, offline sounds, share cards, trades and resale transfer for launch. Visa and crew logic built now, switched on with their drops.
Weeks 10 to 12Hardening and launch
Load test the tap, alerts, prize rules and consent, then a soft launch with the first hoodies.