330 million years old – our oldest clients yet!

It isn’t often that there is an opportunity to engage with something as old as 330 million years but that’s just what we have been doing recently with Scarborough Museums Trust and their new exhibition – Ancient Seas.

A 50 Kg ammonite!
The sculptural 50 Kg ammonite!

Having previously worked on other exhibition displays for the Trust we were approached by them with a requirement to provide display stands for a range of large and small fossils ranging in age from 330 million year crinoids to 65 million year old ammonites. The ammonites ware spectacular and include some that weigh in at 32 Kg and 50 Kg.

The largest ammonite had previously been displayed in a heavy duty forged steel clamp that wrapped around the fossil and was a considerable distraction from the elegance of the sculptural shape.

Our brief was to design and construct free-standing and wall mounted stands for the heaviest items without obscuring their shape and also to enable the stands to display related graphics.  We were also asked to provide dedicated clear Perspex stands for a range of other artefacts including fish, starfish, a crocodile skull and an ancient turtle shell.

We surveyed all the fossils and created templates around which we could build the dedicated supports.  To do this the templates were scanned and brought into SolidWorks where we could replicate the fossil profiles and develop support profiles to follow the fossil contours.

A freestanding ammonite support

The larger stands were constructed from birch plywood and were designed to allow the fossils to be embedded in the top panel for stability and security. The stands also had flat side panels for displaying graphics.   Finally the fossils were completely restrained by 10mm thick Perspex hold-downs which clamped the fossils in place without obscuring their appearance.

The smaller fossils were supported on clear Perspex stands that were either bonded together from specially shaped profiles or clipped together using interlocking panels.

Custom Perspex stands

Which all goes to show that innovative design can be applied as well to incredibly ancient applications as well as modern ones…

 

Podcasts Have Arrived!!!

What better way to explain what we do than to talk about it!

We recently recorded a series of Podcasts with Great Yorkshire Radio talking about design, about what we do and who we are; we’ll publish them over the next few weeks in parallel with the radio broadcasts, so here’s the first about our clients and how we save them stress and hassle!

 

The Complete Beginners Guide to Squiggles

SquiggleWe have recently recorded a series of podcasts about Makersmith, our clients and our design and manufacturing processes. During one interview the interviewer said “So actually, you start with a squiggle and turn it into a real product?” – and of course the answer is “Yes, that’s exactly what we do…” but, like most things it isn’t quite as straightforward as that.  First you have to have to ask what is a squiggle?, where does a squiggle come from? and lots more besides:

What is a squiggle?

The Oxford Dictionary definition is “A short line that curls and loops in an irregular way.” That’s sort of it, but not quite, our squiggle is much more than this…

Our squiggle can be:

  • A very rough sketch of an idea on paper – or a paper napkin – or the back of your hand
  • A thought that you can just about describe – in your mind – or in the mind of your client
  • A shape that you have seen and that you can describe in space with your hands
  • Something drawn in the sand on a beach
  • A pattern that you have seen – the pine needles lying on a path, the waves on a beach, the texture of a fabric
  • A set of words that describe what you want

And once seen, squigglers can say “I want it like this”; it’s a starting point on a path of design…

Where does a squiggle come from?   

Yoga shapesIn your dreams… . Ideas do come from dreams, perhaps one of the most fundamental was Niels Bohr when he was inspired to describe the structure of the atom by a dream. You may dream of products, structures, shapes, landscapes, machines…

The world around us: the natural world contains so many complex shapes, so many simple shapes and they can all inspire new products, new forms for products, new structures and inspiring buildings.

Our man-made world: often one idea, one shape or form or function will inspire others as contrast or reaction.

Necessity: sometimes only one shape will work or will fit in a space – only one squiggle will do…

leaf pattern2Competition: “I want one like that” or “ I don’t want one like that” are both powerful drivers for creators of things

Clients: your clients have their own squiggles that they pass on to you. You end up with a whole pile of the things – it would be great if someone could take those from you and resolve the squiggles into something concrete…

Where does a squiggle go?

For us, squiggles always go somewhere; we are presented with a squiggle of thought, words or drawing and take it through a sometimes huge process to come out at the other end with a product – a thing – that the was the intention of the original squiggler.   And the say “ah yes, that is just what my squiggle meant…”

Sometimes along the way one squiggle gives rise to others as we generate and select ideas, but always the squiggles become more fully formed as tangible shapes, components and processes develop.

That’s where our expertise lies – in taking the squiggle and delivering the living product.

Do you have a squiggle?

There’s always something that you can put into a squiggle. Our clients rely on us to take their ideas forward from that squiggle to the end product, we also generate squiggles, idea, concepts of our own for clients.

If you have a squiggle or your business has a squiggle, get in touch -we can make your squiggle live!lightbulb water

https://www.makersmith.works/

Why Design Processes are the Best Thing Since Sliced Bread…

In life there is always a tension between rules and freedom; how much do you restrict freedom in order to preserve it?

The same tension exists in the product design and manufacturing process. If you don’t have some ground rules then there’s a probability, actually a really high probability, that you won’t get anywhere meaningful with the design, let alone get something made at the end the process.

The trick is that the rules have to facilitate the freedom – and no more. You could say that so as long as whatever rules or systems you have don’t get in the way of your end objective then that’s OK.  But that’s not good enough, your rules and systems have to have a really positive benefit and not merely not be neutral.

Here at Makersmith one of our main services is to design and make special products and projects for Built Environment specialists – that’s architects, builders, interior and landscape designers. To do that really effectively we have a process, a framework, that we go through in order to ensure that we get the design- and the end product – right first time.

mark-duffel-422279-unsplashWorking within a defined framework means that designers have more freedom to focus on being creative without having to think too much about the overall process and whether they are on the right track. It’s a bit like going out for a walk and going from waymarker to waymarker.  You can explore and admire the view but when you get to the next signpost you know you are on the right route to reach the end.

What we do isn’t radically new but, because we do it every time, it works. So if you are our client our waymarked process goes like this:

  1. We listen to you and find out what you really want to achieve with the design – or project. Sometimes we realise that what you really need isn’t what you are asking for – in which case we’ll tell you!
  2. Your objectives are embedded in a complete specification that will roll all the way through the project and includes every factor and influence.
  3. You get to sign that off.
  4. We then indulge in our freedom to design – within the rules of the specification – and come up with viable design concepts. These are always 3 dimension computer models so that you can really see what the design looks like.
  5. In a meeting with you we agree the best option and you sign it off.
  6. The detail design is then worked out to give a really efficient and cost effective end product.
  7. Just to make sure we sit down with you to make sure that you are entirely happy and then you get out your pen again and sign the design off to production.
  8. There’s not so much freedom now but instead we focus on cost effective manufacturing processes; we make the project.
  9. Finally of course, we ship, or deliver and install the project. Unsurprisingly it looks just like the computer model and matches the specification.
  10. You are very happy.

That’s it in a nutshell, it works, and better still, it means that you know throughout the process how things are going and what your project is looking like. We don’t go off into a corner and suddenly produce a finished product that isn’t quite what you wanted.

So – that’s why design processes are better than sliced bread…

Toast anyone?

 

Sitting Walls…

Here’s a great way to create a herb garden AND somewhere to sit and enjoy it…

Pick a sunny spot and make a raised border with a surrounding edge about 400-450mm high and around 300-400mm wide. It doesn’t have to be big, just a 600mm square planting area will do. You can use blocks, bricks or a timber frame to make the sides. Fit timber decking or planed timber planks to the top surface of the edge. Plant your favourite herbs in the middle and use the surrounding wall as a seat; when the herbs have grown you can sit and enjoy their scent as you brush against them – as well as picking them to eat!

You can always build one or two sides against an existing wall to make life easier – or you can get us to make you a custom raised border kit…

http://www.makersmith.works/gardenstructures.html

A sitting wall makes the most of your herb border
A sitting wall makes the most of your herb border

Getting Creative for Autumn

I know it’s still August and it’s still holiday time but it’s beginning to feel just a little like Autumn is on the way… It will soon be time to tidy to tidy up outside, clear out those odd corners and think of new things to do with the garden.

So this autumn we are focussing on how to make best use of your garden: one really useful thing would be to put in a new shed… well, not just a shed; you can buy those from B&Q or one of the many standard shed manufacturers. But how about something a bit different:

– A little eco-space with a cushion and a kettle
– A micro-library where you can relax with your favourite book
– A studio where you can (at last) enjoy your hobby
– Two rooms – one for each of you – linked by a glass porch
– A space with a mezzanine, a view and a woodburning stove

A standard shed would be just a little boring wouldn’t it?

The great thing about having a bespoke structure is that you can really do what you want with the space. Even if your garden has odd shaped corners or a steeply sloping site something can be made to fit.

There are lots of possibilities and we have lots of experience of turning your ideas into reality in all sorts of materials. So start sketching or cutting out pictures of ideas that you like and get in touch with us to see how we can help.

Please also bear in mind that we produce an excellent, bespoke product and it will cost more than a standard shed – but yours will be the only one in the whole world!

Blue shed with trees
A special place…

Boot Stumps!

Oak logs ready for making into boot and coat racks
Oak logs ready for making into boot and coat racks

We are just starting a great pro-bono project with a local playgroup; they were looking for bespoke wellington boot and coat racks with an outdoor/natural flavour and really fancied something woody… They also had a large quantity of old broom handles inherited from a local Guide group…

The solution – we acquired some oak logs – complete with moss and bark, and are starting to cut down the broom handles and plug them into the logs to make the custom boot racks.

We’re enjoying recycling and working with natural wood all in one project. It’s also fun not to be working to a rigid design and instead being able to make up the design as we go along.  There will be some more pictures to share once we have finished but in the meantime it just goes to show that whether it’s a simple improvised design made from logs or a complex detailed bespoke project made on our CNC router – we can do it!

See what else we can do here

Stump with boot supports
A boot stump underway!