the whirlwind project is designing and freely licensing an open-source wheelchair design that was designed by and can be manufactured locally by individuals in wheelchairs. the chair has significant advantages over traditional models, most notably because it can be used to go up and down stairs, can handle rough terrain and allows a parent to […]
Category Archives: fabrication
free wheels
Also posted in conviviality, customization, futurecraft, human2.0, open objects, product design
Comments closed
future shop
etsy is a revolutionary on-line store where individual makers can sell their goods. unlike existing shopping portals etsy relies on novel means of promoting individual sellers and motivating a social network. for example, there is a ‘buy local’ button that shows you only designers within your neighborhood, a ‘time machine’ that reveals what is being […]
Also posted in blogogracy, conviviality, customization, futurecraft, marketing, open objects, product design, visualization
Comments closed
high-wire sculpture
whereas alexander calder‘s stoic mobiles and stabiles are fit for office lobbies and college campuses, his toys are where the sculptor expressed his whimsy and his magic. today on the top floor of the whitney museum you can find calder’s circus, a groups of tiny wire figurines the artist carried with him in suitcases from […]
Also posted in art, livingbreathing
Comments closed
design for keeps
in today’s homogeneous product landscape it seems that nothing off-the-shelf can compete with a hand-made gift. but few of us have the time or skill to craft presents for each other, so we leave the personal touches to cards and packaging. instead of useless wrappings, why not design products to be unfinished so that the […]
Also posted in environment, futurecraft, product design
Comments closed
re-furnish
the best kind of recycling is up-cycling, and there’s nothing better than transforming trash into something more valuable while conserving resources. in the spirit of william good, project 99 takes old chair frames and re-upholsters them with rubber, cow hide, wallpaper(above) or vintage clothes (below). the junk furniture can then be re-sold for 99 euros. […]
Also posted in fashion, furniture, open objects, product design, upcycling
Comments closed
squishy robots
in the late 1990’s cynthia brezeal pioneered (wrote the book on) ‘sociable robots,’ based on her work with kismet. in reality, robotics was (and remains) far behind special effects houses and toy designers, who for years have been making expressive, emotive puppets specifically for engendering social bonds with animate machines. so it’s no surprise that […]
Also posted in evil robots, livingbreathing, perception, product design, soft/glowing
Comments closed
sloppy craft
maarten baas has issued a line of mass-produced furnishings based on sloppy clay designs. the industrial clay is hand-molded around a metal frame to reveal the craft behind the product. in exchange for seeing the artist’s hand in the work you can pay $2,000-$8,000 for these pieces.
Also posted in futurecraft, materials, product design, soft/glowing
Comments closed
interknit
netGranny is a revolutionary service where consumers directly commission grandmothers in switzerland to custom-knit socks for them. it has the spirit of transparency of programs like dole’s organic labels, with the mass customization you would expect from local experts, all the while supporting elderly people to make an independent income. this is something i’d like […]
Also posted in conviviality, customization, futurecraft, marketing, open objects, product design, soft/glowing
Comments closed