AD12 Furniture Exhibition - RMIT

Furniture will be on display from the 2012 graduates of Associate Degree in Design (Furniture). These furniture pieces show the final product of countless hours of constant design, experimentation & prototyping. 




Exhibition Information


Melbourne Central

Level 2, Lonsdale St Overpass


28th November - 3rd December




Here are some pictures of some of the furniture that will be there! 

Popper Light - Andrew Hnatojko

Perch Graffiti - Jaz Wood

The Clam Chair - Ben Brayshaw, Ben Grand and Don Abeyratne

Centre Piece - Jack Lewis and Josh Tuulakitan

Lionheart Stool - Ash Allen

Sticks and Stones - Ash Allen

 Franklin Table - Ash Allen

 

Make your own Glue - Gelatine Glue

Gelatine Based Glue

Gelatine is derived from collagen a protein substance that exists in the ligaments, tendons and tissues of mammals. “Gelatin is a purified protein, derived from the selective hydrolysis of collagen”1 Most Gelatine on the shelf is used for edible purposes such as jelly desserts, marshmallows and powdered milk. 

It is produced by boiling all the tissues, ligaments and tendons of animals. But the actual process to produce gelatine powder or sheets is lengthy. 

1  )      Pretreatment

2  )      Washing

3  )      Extraction

4  )      Purification

5  )      Drying

6  )      Grinding

7  )      Blending and quality control

The purpose of using Gelatine in this glue is that it forms the binding agent for other materials. After cooling it becomes a rubber like material. It is ‘thermo glue’ in that it can be re-heated for re-application. It is water soluble and is 100% natural.

Glycerin is an organic compound derived from either plant oils or animal fats. It is used in foods to keep them sweet and moist. Its attributes are that it is odourless and does appear as a clear liquid.

 Vinegar is used to provide some sort of resistance barrier against mold and bacteria.

Recipe : Basic gelatine glue

Ingredients 

  6          Tablespoons of Water

  4          Tablespoons of Gelatine Powder

  2          Tablespoons of White Vinegar

  2          Tablespoons of Glycerine

  2          Hand full of wood shavings

Bring the water in a pot to the boil. Turn off the heat and add the gelatine and mix until all clumps are gone. Add the white vinegar and then the glycerine and stir well. Add in Wood shavings and stir in. Allow mixture to cool.

The reason I added in wood shavings was to give the glue more rigidity and strength. I also mixed in Aluminium powder in another experiment which gave the final cured glue less elasticity and higher rigidity. For this application I am using the glue as a binding agent for the wood shavings. If you want to just use this solely as glue then don’t add in the shavings.

Powdered Gelatine, Glycerine, Aluminium Powder, White Vinegar, Wood shavings

Add in water, boil water

Turn off heat, Add Gelatine Powder

Mix in Gelatine well

Move Glue over to a Plastic tub

Here I am mixing in Wood shavings

The glue has dried, Thick  and rigid with rubber like properties.

 Reference Quote 1: http://www.pbgelatins.com/about-gelatin/

The furniture of "Three Sides to Every Coin"

The open night for 'Three Sides to Every Coin' was abuzz and lively. During the speeches Franklin one of the teachers at RMIT said that the title of the exhibition was a great summary of what it is to be a student or rather a designer maker. In that, sometimes you just have to take risks, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. And when a particular joinery method or cut doesn't work, we learn from it and improve on the next.

The work on display was a culmination of responses to specific design briefs that the students had to respond to. One brief I believe was a storage piece and the other was a culture inspired piece. Of course the brief's went into a lot more detail than I just did then! 


Thought I would show some pictures from the exhibition on this post! Enjoy!

 Sticks and Stones (Tasmanian Oak Dowel,Crumbed Rubber,Resin) - Ash Allen

 Franklin Table (16mm Pine Ply, CNC cut) - Ash Allen

 Franklin Table - Ash Allen

Lionheart Stool (1.6mm Expanded Steel Mesh)  - Ash Allen

Kudu (Fijian Mahogany) - Douglas Duvoisin

Luca (Concrete & Stainless Steel tube) - Douglas Duvoisin

(Bamboo Board, Steel Sheet) - Hamish Maggs

Mirror Chair (Reclaimed Messmate) - Hamish Maggs

Piano Stool (Fijian Mahogany) - Hugh Maloney

- Hugh Maloney

The SBR 1419 Chair & Ottoman (Recycled HDPE Board) - Joshua Bourke

- Joshua Bourke

- Marianne New

Gymea Day Spay Stool (Camphor) - Marianne New

Gymea Day Spay Stool - Marianne New

Rebirth (Blackwood from Kinglake, Victoria)- Mick Dierer

Walnut Sideboard - Nathan McMahon

Beech Chair (European Beech) - Nathan McMahon

- Sunbum Jin

Fan Storage - Sunbum Jin

Also this will be the last group of students to go through the Diploma of Furniture Design & Technology at RMIT. As the course has been disposed off. It is a shame, this just means more skills and jobs in manufacturing going overseas......again.

The Exhibition was held at - Off the Kerb Gallery

http://www.offthekerb.com.au/

Very cool space to exhibit and show off your work. They are now calling for artist applications for May - August 2013. Get on Board!

'Three Sides to Every Coin' - Furniture Final Year Exhibition

 

" 'Three Sides to Every Coin' is the culmination of RMIT's final year students work in Diploma of Furniture Design & Technology throughout 2012. The works are a showcase of the talents and skills the students have acquired over the journey and demonstrates how all the angles of design have been approached and resolved and as such demonstrate the 'three sides of every design'. The works explore two major briefs given during the year, one representing an approach to a culturally influence piece and the second based on a designer-client relationship and formulating a brief to the clients specifications. Both briefs have yielded some spectacular results from the future of Australia's furniture designers/makers. "




This year is the last group students to successfully graduate from the Diploma of Furniture Design & Technology at RMIT. There will only be the Associate degree of Furniture design from now on. As they have discontinued the course. So go support these students!  

Powerlab - Irregular Forms - Dale Hardiman

Dale will be at the Powerlab in Brisbane this week producing his work from Irregular forms. I previously posted a story on his exhibition in Bendigo, Victoria.  Which was on from the 24th - 30th of September. So he is backing this up in Brisbane. If your around go check his work out!

http://amassdesign.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/irregular-forms-dale-hardiman.html 

Powerlab is a series of artist residencies at Brisbane Powerhouse focusing on the development of new ideas, experimentations of form and performance work.

Powerlab supports and fosters leading creative minds in project based developments with visible outcomes.

Powerlab aims to bring energy of the sector to Brisbane Powerhouse, providing Brisbane Powerhouse with a strong connection with new art, new artists and new ideas.



Powerlab is the Brisbane version in some ways of the Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne. In that Designers and artists go there to show their process, ideas and work to the public.

The powerlab

 

Dale set up for Irregular forms

 

Some of his work!

http://www.brisbanepowerhouse.org/

The Designers of Workshopped 2012

The Crew of Workshopped 2012 - These are the people (including myself) behind all the exquisite work exhibited!

Before the open night we all gathered around for a group photo, great diverse group of people. I had a chance to talk to quite a lot of the designers that participated in the exhibition. Very interesting to find out how they go about their design process and also where they were at in their careers.

Although I didn't stay for too long on the open night as I had to fly back to Melbourne that night. Which was a shame, as I would have loved to have stayed longer. But hey when you have uni exams, you just got to get them over and done with.

MUS(IC)LE - Matthew Harding

These speakers made by Matthew Harding are highly evocative, they really set apart from the generic plastic cased speakers of today. Cypress Pine is used for the body, its prominent grain sweeps around the form giving it fluid like detail.

But its actually the inspiration that also sets it apart as the speakers are inspired by muscles structures. There are two units that make up the the device. One houses the battery and speaker, the other houses the Ipod. They are directly linked via a cable.

 Also check out the video that shows this speaker in action :

Product Drawing - Monash Industrial Design

How about that, one year already completed in a 4year course. Last week I officially finished University for the year and oh what a feeling it is. 

I thought... how long do I actually spend at uni? Roughly I spend about half the year at Uni. Which is not that much. So that makes sense that the time that I do spend there is mostly intense learning mixed with the combination of folios, models, research and assignments thrown in to keep the mind ticking over. 

This post I'm just going to give you a snapshot into the second part of Product drawing. This was quite intense with the use of the Wacom Cintiq's (24inch). They are great devices to enhance the visual communication that is needed for us in the industry. The pens that accompany the Cintiq are quite good, responsive and light to use. But the awkwardness of using the the two buttons (right and left click) at the end of the pen still startle me every time I sit down and use it. Maybe these actions that are completed through these interface buttons could be translated into a more natural and fluid action that the users hand can perform?

Wacom Cintiq 24inch - Image : www.engadget.com

So here is the image which is a collection of the work for the second half of semester 2. Each week we were given a different type of product to draw. Whether that was shoes, storage or exploded views, each week we had to get 5 fully rendered pages done. Quite a task, many hours were spent at uni trying to get it done before the deadline.

I realized there is a long way to go in terms of improvement in my rendering technique and shadows and highlights. But its only early days. And the fact that these Cintiq's cost a very nice sum of $2,600. I think that I will be continuing to use the Universities labs and not going out and buying one. Would be nice though...

Workshopped 2012 - Open Night

Last night was the open night for Workshopped 2012 at the Design precinct in Surry Hills, Sydney.

I had the pleasure of exhibiting my latest creation - "Threaded Out Table". Which will be at both the Design Precinct in Surry Hills and the Supa Centre following after.

There was a huge number of industry and media in attendance and also of course we can't forget the designers with family and friends which made up a lot of the numbers as well!

The exhibition is spread through the Whitehorse design council building / Arthur G and Euroluce shop floors. 




Important dates

Design Precinct : 31/10/12 - 09/11/12

Supa Centre (Moore Park) : 14/11/12 - 25/11/12

Threaded Out Table - EuroLuce Show Room

 

The rear part of the exhibition.... had furniture and lighting on ground and up the stairs

Setup of Workshopped 2012

Plinths repainted, Product assembly and Placement!

 Furniture lined the stairs upwards (Excuse the bad photography)