This is a moving direct manufactured project I’ve been working on and is now complete. It rotates on a central shaft assisted by ball-bearings. If you want one for yourself you can buy an example off Shapeways.
Recently I’ve been working on a project at school with a couple of other people creating an open source modular bike rack system. The end product of our research and development is the PhillyRack. We wanted to keep the materials and hardware minimal and easy to find, so we decided to use plywood and L-brackets to construct the final prototype. Plywood and bikes may not seem like a likely choice for building materials but it proves to be light and strong. We also want to say something about bikes and their eco-friendliness, Philadelphia isn’t the cleanest or environmentally conscious city, but it easily could be. If enough people realize that taking their bikes to work and or to run errands is easy and fun then the fact that they are not using oil is an after thought. Since plywood is cheap hopefully people will experiment with rack setups and ultimately customize one that fits their needs. The use of L-brackets was intentional so people could setup multiple configurations with the same hardware, the plans also call for bolts that are the same size so one could reuse hardware if their setup changes. The plans for building a rack are straight forward and easy to execute, anyone with hand tools can make one and come out with a quality bike rack. On the other hand if one is more fortunate and experienced we provide CNC files to those who may want a more trick rack.
It appears that a dutch designer, Marjan van Aubel, unveiled porcelain foam this week at the Milan Design week. Don’t know how he did it but I’m going to find out!
This is a rendering of a chair I’ve been working on for a little bit. I plan to cut it out of plywood on the CNC next week. The idea behind this project is to create a chair that can be made with as little waste as possible, and be assembled without the help of nails, glue, etc.
These 3D illustrations are from Sougwen, an illustrator from Stockholm. If you have a chance you should check out her videos.
When searching for the latest design news and reviews one will inevitably run across blogs dedicated to such mediums. They range from ones personal opinion on design (mine) to blogs having a full time staff to gather information and report back to the masses. I personally only look at three, Core77, Moco Loco and Design-Milk. I feel these are probably the best for industrial design, but also cover other disciplines such as architecture, graphic design, and some of the contemporary art scene.
Core77 is a great place to see new ideas from industrial designers and probably gets news out faster than any other site. Aside from industry news they also show upcoming designer work which is inspirational. They sometimes post architecture news but it isn’t their main concern.
Moco Loco is probably my favorite out of the three based on the fact that they have multiple sections addressing news in a variety of art and design disciplines. The art section is decent but a little main stream, and they will usually only go to big gallery shows. This isn’t a big deal I just wish they had more of a range. The design sections defiantly cater to people who like eye candy, but thats the kind of stuff i like to see anyway. What is the point of design if you can’t think big sometimes?
Design Milk is third on my list. it doesn’t have the speed or volume of Core77 nor the variety of Moco Loco. Why look at it? I generally like what they have to say. I wish I could say more about the site but its just not my favorite, not saying its not a good site, they just don’t spark my interest like the other blogs do.
While looking at Core77 today I was reading about Gabriel Hargrove, who is working on a series called Objects of the Rural Vernacular. The series is a loose urban translation of Daniel Beard’s American Handy Book for Boys.
Gabriel on Libertarian Raccoon Trap:
“The trap construction is based loosely on plans depicted in Daniel Beard’s American Handy Book for Boys. The materials used such as a lumber and found objects are more appropriate to the urban environment than those described in the book. The resources Beard calls for are more challenging to procure and in some cases illegal to harvest in a city. Instead joined and planed lumber, hardware store screws, and an outdated VCR replace what might only be found in a public park.”
The object that interested me most was the Porcelain Milk Jugs that are made to resemble old whiskey containers. Seeing the milk jugs reminded me of the porcelain coffee cups I saw in Urban Outfitters the other day. I like the idea of both, but in a way I feel this type of re-imaging of everyday disposable objects in porcelain is somewhat of a novelty. In the case of the Porcelain Milk Jugs, maybe another material could have been used for the jug to better connect the whiskey container reference. Possibly earthenware?
As of right now I have a few colored and clear glaze toilets. I’m probably going to be doing colored slip with a clear glaze because the results are more consistant. If anyone is interested these are for sale for $45. They are 3.75inches high.
Toilets are one of those objects that almost everyone overlooks. In a way this is my hat tip to Marcel Duchamp (one of my favorite artists). It’s also a statement about the relationship between design and traditional molding techniques which are often only thought of being used by artists.
It took a little bit but the build is over. The specs on the complete frame build are as follows: Andel cranks, Time pedals, FSA headset, Origin 8 stem and Nitto bars. Brian from Bike Revolutions in philly built the wheels (Deep V’s laced to Miche hubs). Super nice guy who builds up awesome wheels, so if you’re in the area definitely check it out. I guess all there is to do now is ride!
