Saturday 29 September 2012

Irregular Forms - Dale Hardiman




This is Dale Hardiman's first solo exhibition showing the particular relationship we have with materials. The series of work is titled "White Stick". Dale has been experimenting and exploring materials from the word go and this is no exception. You will see in these pictures that he has stripped these furniture pieces too their raw form, well actually he has unwrapped the idealistic or conceived idea that we have of furniture today.




 
What is this about - 'White Stick' is a culmination of both natural and artificial materials, creating a unique contrast between high tech and low tech materials in each poised design. Each piece is inimitable and organic in shape due to the inconsistent shape of the wood, and then partially covered in an artificial biodegradable material to allow the creation of structures."



How & when does he make  - Two days prior to the opening on the 27th of September, Hardiman will be constructing the pieces within the gallery, filming the process, which will be revealed on the night of the opening.






When - 24 - 30 September, 10am - 5pm




Where - Dudley House ,  60 View Street , Bendigo.







Dale in the process

The factory line


No joints are hidden

















bare all, see all



















For more information - www.dale-hardiman.com



Wednesday 26 September 2012

Threaded Out Table


Threaded Out Table




Inspiration
‘Threaded Out Table’ was inspired by the need for furniture that is simple and easy to transport from one place to the next. Our cities are becoming never-ending jungles. Urban environments are getting tighter and more cluttered, which in turn, affects how certain products are designed/constructed. Furniture needs to follow in this direction by being portable, functional and easy to assemble.
Every day I see threads in products that are an essential part of the overall interaction and assembly, which allow quick and efficient interaction of opposing parts. Most of the threads seen throughout my observation were plastic or metal ones. But I wanted to combine aluminium and timber threads. Experimentation had to be done with different types of timbers to find the density that suited both the type of thread and the opposing female aluminium thread.   
The idea was that the table could be sturdy and strong like a traditional fixed table yet still have the ability to be disassembled. Having joints that are highly visible and show the person how parts interact, was a priority in the design.

How it works
The table has threads turned into Aluminium tubes and the timber legs have the opposing thread which matches. The thread is wide and relatively deep as well, to allow for the leg to be placed into the threaded Aluminium tube with quick location and rotation along the thread.
The Aluminium tube components have the underneath plate welded and are fixed to the table via opposing plates on the top of the table that pull each other together with connector bolts to allow a tight connection. By implementing threads to the legs of the table and also in the Aluminium tube underneath the table, each component can be rotated into place.


Sustainable principles
The only glue that is used is the minimal amount used to glue the table top together. The idea was to design a table that had minimal parts and this in turn means less materials and less manufacturing. Breaking the idea down to its basics and allowing the main components to become a feature rather than being hidden behind other parts also allowed the design to be as simple as possible to construct and produce. 

American Rock Maple and Malaysian Kauri are used for table top and legs which is sourced from Mathews Timber they have Chain of Custody Accreditation.  All the Aluminium used in the production of this table was offcuts from the metal workshop.

No lacquers are used in the finish of the timber components. Bees wax and Danish Oil are the finishes applied which are quick and easy sealers for the timber. 






Photography : Dean Haeusler

Photography : Dean Haeusler

Photography : Dean Haeusler




Check out Fringe Furniture 2012 which is apart of "Melbourne Fringe Festival 2012". Threaded out Table will be amongst some exceptionally crafted pieces at the Industrial School, Abbotsford Convent, 1 St Heliers Street.  

Dates: 26th Sept - 14th Oct

Peace out



 This design was a production from myself Rowan Turnham, 2012.

Big shout out to Dean Haeusler for the photography! He happily did the photoshoot at 8am at Uni. Also to Mick Dierer for letting me use his workshop, cheers buddy!

Monday 24 September 2012

Fringe Furniture 2012




Its that time of the year everyone. Fringe Furniture 2012 along side the Melbourne fringe festival is gearing up for another mammoth show to the public. The festival will be launched at the furniture exhibition!

Melbourne Fringe Festival has been running for 3 decades now. Last year the festival as a whole "presented the work of 3,393 artists in 330 shows, presented at 141 venues and locations across Victoria, to audiences of 256,800."

Back to the real deal, it would be great to see you all on the open night. There will be plenty of people and a impressive lineup of conceptual and crafted furniture!

*Dress to impress*

Open night : Wednesday 26th Sept, 6pm - 9pm


If you can't make it on the open night then you have plenty of time to check everything out. 2012 Melbourne Fringe Festival: 26 September – 14 October 2012

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Serving boards

Served up

So I had a client that wanted some Solid Jarrah serving boards to match his dining table. I got the wood from Matthews Timber in Rooks road, Vermont, Melbourne. The figure in this wood is deep and dark, love it! I suggested that a affordance be put in (hole) down the end to assist in picking them up as they are quite heavy. But they were happy without it. I put a radius over all edges which allowed the user to pick it up with ease. Overall great little project. Check out the process pics!







Check it, got some new letter punches




Here gluing up the Jarrah Boards, I how I wish I had a Festool Domino




Glue up for some nice thick handles!



Used "Ubeaut Foodsafe oil" -  Perfect for chopping boards. (Mineral based)

Monday 17 September 2012

Radio concept - Industrial Design


 Work and play or just work...

It has been a while since I last posted as the workload for Industrial Design suddenly piled up and so did preparation for the 3 exhibitions I have coming up in the near future. 

First exhibition is Fringe Furniture which is apart of the "Melbourne Fringe Festival" which has been running for 30years. Its a blast to be apart of such an event in Melbourne 2012.

The other two are one after the other up in Sydney with "Workshopped". And I can't wait for the road trip up with my table 'threaded out'.



The Brief

"Through either a radio or coffee machine, this project sets the “classic” industrial design challenge of re-packaging an existing product, in an established sector. Understanding constraints such as styling, human interface, materials, manufacturing, technical package and cultural context are critical elements to a successful design.
The interesting factor in this project is that the current market for both coffee machines and radios tends towards conservative, traditional forms. This project asks the designer to explore the past and present of design in order to create the future."


"Design a radio or pod coffee machine responding recent changes in the product category as described above. The device may take any form you choose but must fit within the overall dimensions of 300mm by 300mm by 300mm. The design must accommodate the relevant technical package and user controls."



Here's my response to the brief with progress shots and design process. 


The original concept before refinement



The interface is based on rings that circulate around the tubular structure 

The technical package is enclosed in a sleeve 










Suitable for large displays



Suitable for text and symbol display



How photons are created between the layers


I wanted this radio concept to employ the OLEDS (Organic Light Emitting Diodes). There are two main types of OLEDS. The Passive matrix is a grid layout of layers of cathode and anode strips that create open sections which are the pixels. The amount of current applied to the strips is proportional to the intensity of the light. I thought the PMOLEDS would suit the radio in communicating on the left and right of the volume and radio station rings. For example : as you rotate the ring away from you the volume goes up and the blue ring fills up like a bottle of water.  

The Transistor matrix is layers of Anode, Cathode, Organic layers but the catch is the Anode layer is over a "Transistor array". This formation creates a pixel grid much more suited for large displays.




I was happy with the final concept. The whole interface is based on rings that circulate the radio body. There is a gyroscope type of mechanism that refers the rings to the ground. That way the rings will always be level according to where the ground is. And to serve a 360degrees audience the front display is replicated on the back aswell.



Rough diameter, ready for rough shaping

Left plenty of room for sanding (p80 - p240)

Final model with all interface rings and OLEDS







Well that was a very rewarding project. And on to the next one!






OLEDS Images : www.howstuffworks.com