mold making day

So today I went to the lovely Aberdeen Proving Ground. I'd never been and definitely had a good time. I got to make a silicone mold for my hydrant shakers with a guy named Jim. It was cool to have an expert around. I found it very interesting though. The process was exactly the same as what we do in the studio, just with more expensive equipment and power tools. But I noticed weird little differences just in how the engineers talked about what we were doing. They always referred to my hydrants as "parts." Also they used materials like hot glue and super glue a lot. I mean obviously we were just making a mold, so to hold things together that sounds normal. But we used clay and cardboard in the studio. They hot glued MDF together and screwed the forms into place. Everything just seemed more direct, get the job done kind of thing. I liked it.
I definitely felt out of place. But in an oddly cool way. I felt like the designer. Surrounded by engineers. Which obviously I was. But it was like this special "you are the creative one, we'll just make your creations" kind of thing. They were surprised when I wanted to jump in and actually help make something.


This is the silicone being poured. Exciting, I know.

Yay, I'm pouring.


There's Jim in the background. If this mold turns out good it's all his fault.

Big vaccum machine with the mixed silicone bubbling up.


Candid?

Bubbling. So exactly the same as what we do with our investment casting. After we mixed it in the bottom plastic container (with a cement mixer thing attached to an electric drill!) we just hotglued and duct taped another one that had the bottom cut out onto the top of it.


Right after we mixed it.


Before pouring. We put two in one box like this, but I will cut down that black middle line to make two seperate molds. The sprues come out of the from part of the hydrant and have two channels off of the main sprue that go into the top and bottom of the hydrant. Both forms are held in place with an insert that fits in the hollow part of the hydrant perfectly. It will act as part of the mold when I pour so that the form will come out hollow.

So yea. Today was good. I'll be getting my mold back tomorrow, so I'll let you know how everything comes out once I know myself.

straight up.

So I just got back from the ER and now I have 3 lovely stitches in my finger. Oh the joys of being accident-prone.

I feel like an idiot.

On a happier note, I bought some awesome cigar boxes on Saturday. Only a dollar each. I think they are lovely.

Check it out- I got my rapid prototypes back! Thank you zachary’s dad! Here are some fairly bad pictures of them.

This is the new hydrant I pass whenever I walk to the studio. I love his paint.

I am going to post some more progress on my honors thesis blog, so check that out if you’re interested.

Acrylic Coasters - Pricing Research

Calla Lilly Bouquet Coasters from thefind.com set of 2 coasters - $3.49

Coca Cola MOD Coasters from coca-colastore.com set of 4 coasters - $5.99

Coaster-Dice from kitchenrus.com set of 4 coasters - $9.95

Flip-flop coasters from thefind.com set of 12 coasters - $6.50

Yes, I understand some of these are horrible. But I'm trying to get an idea of how much simple, acrylic coasters cost. It's interesting how some come in sets of 2, 3, 4 and 12. I think I will try sets of two or three. I sent my hydrant coaster design to ponoko, and it was actually pretty expensive to get just a handfull of coasters printed. I think this is due to the shipping cost, but I'm wondering if I can make up for that with the price I charge for these coasters. Hopefully mine will turn out alright/will be nice enough to sell at a good price. Keep your fingers crossed.

Stainless Steel Salt and Pepper Shakers - Pricing Research

Salt and Pepper shakers can be so cute. Remember these from MOMA's design store? So good.

Wobble Salt and Pepper Shakers from MOMA design store (2.13inch) for $38

Blomus Cino Stainless Steel Shakers from Amazon.com for $33.40

Deluxe Stainless Set from amnow.com (food service supply)
-Rectangle (2inch) $8 each
-Round with Base (3inch) $14.60 each
-Round (2inch) $7 each
-Round (4inch) $10.40 each

Deluxe Modern Stainless Set from amnow.com
-Rectangle (3inch) $26 each
-Triangle (2.5inch) $29.80 each
-Angle (3inch) $26 each
-Stretched Rectangle (2.5inch) $26 each
-Oval (2.5inch) $29.80 each

Stainless Salt and Pepper Shakers (4.5inch height) sold at Target for $16.99

Danesco Stainless Steel Salt and Pepper Shakers (5inch) from buy.com for $15.95

Danesco Set of Four Mini Salt and Pepper Shakers (1.5 inch) from klinq.com for $11.50

Hammered Stainless Shaker Set (3.25 inch) from overstock.com for $16.99

Disc Salt and Pepper Shakers (3inch) from Chiasso for $28

Chef’s Helpers Stainless Shaker Set (3.5inch) from tejassmoker.com for $21.95

AMCO Set of Four Stainless Salt and Pepper Shakers (1.75 inch) from focuspg.com for $10

These are just a few of my findings for stainless steel salt and pepper shakers. I found the heights of most of these and the prices as well. I was surprised to find a lot of sets of four. Some of these designs I like, some are not that great. The range in price was fairly consistent.

cork casting!?!

Still haven't heard back from this company, but they seem to be company with the most potential. They have a whole section on their website about how they do "custom cork" production. Sounds good to me.

Manton Industrial Cork Products, Inc.

Market Research

So after coming up with designs for the objects I am going to create for my product line, I asked the terrifying question, "Are there similar products on the market and how does mine differ?"

After several google image searches, I am, for the most part, pleased.

At this point I have yet to find any fire hydrant coasters and there were absolutely no fire hydrant wine stoppers.

When I searched for hydrant salt and pepper shakers, I found a "product" on an industrial designer's website. Everything on this site is rendered. And for the most part, rendered well. His concept behind choosing the hydrant form has something to do with viewing a hydrant as a homeless, often disregarded portion of the street. He includes the words "I have a home!" on the back of the shakers, since now they live in the kitchen. Not exactly what I'm going for, but interesting.

Angry side note...

It was almost disturbing how many dog and fire hydrant salt and pepper shakers there are out there. So bad. And just gross. Who in their right mind would buy these things?

All in all, I am excited about my hydrant product line. I think I am designing objects that customers will want. I think my customer might not even know yet that they are attracted to the hydrant form. I am hopefully creating a product that is something new and exciting that people will want.

procrastinating can be hilarious

So Lizzy showed me these absolutely hilarious blogs that I am currently addicted to. So hilarious. I can't help but laugh out loud at the ridiculousness. If you need a good laugh, please go to these blogs.
"blog" of "unnecessary" quotations
curious signs