Samuel Bernier’s Project RE_ is a playful enigma. On the one hand, there is a clear aesthetic thread that runs through each project’s final form--it’s not hard to imagine spending far too much to buy these things at a high-end boutique. On the other hand, they are all made from household objects and the steps to making them are freely available online.
A broken shovel like the one below, when combined with Ikea light kit, light bulb, 1 small steel plate and high temperature paint is transformed into...
Click Image To Enlarge
The Shovel Lamp!!
Click Image To Enlarge
Combining a basketball, a strap, a zipper, a cutter, two key rings and some rubber glue is transformed into...
Click Image To Enlarge
The Basketball Bag!!
Click Image To Enlarge
Combining 6 forks, 6 soup spoons, some polystyrene sheet, a clock mechanism and Super glue is transformed into...
Click Image To Enlarge
The Cutlery Clock!!
Click Image To Enlarge
It seems that Bernier is at home in this enigma. Project RE_ is an academic work, part of Bernier’s graduation project at the University of Montreal. In keeping with the principles of open source design, step-by-step instructions are available online at Instructables and the 3D printing files and laser cutting data is available at Thingiverse.
Combining the head of a broom and some pens is transformed into...A Broom-Head Pencil Holder!!
Click Image To Enlarge
Some empty plastic soda bottles, a round piece of wood and some glue is transformed into...A Plastic Bottle Bouy!!
Combining a pair of stereo speakers, speaker wires, 8 screws 2 jerrycans (or similar objects), polyester fill and amplifier is transformed into...
Click Images To Enlarge
The Jerrycan Speaker!!
Click Image To Enlarge
This is, in a funny way, big business. In August, software giant Autodesk bought Instructables, making a bet on the future of DIY object design as a business. This is perhaps unsurprising. In the same way that GUIs and laser printers democratized graphic design and paved the way for companies like Adobe to thrive, it seems likely that there will be a growing opportunity for products and services that appeal to the industrial designer hobbyist. DIY design organizations like Adafruit or Quirky are growing into empires of their own, perhaps giving us a glimpse of that future.
Drill a few holes into a cutting board and add some pencil stubs its transformed into...
Click Image To Enlarge
The Pencil Dish Rack!!
Click Image To Enlarge
In the meantime, page through our gallery of Bernier’s designs and see if you can guess what the final result will be, by looking only at the ingredients.
COMMENTARY: That's what I call quite ingenious DIY inventions that won't set you back an arm and a leg.
Courtesy of an article dated January 10, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design
Recent Comments