Chair 3, Post 6

Today, I welded the whole second half of the frame. Now I have two identical side profiles of the chair, which will be attached with steel tubing at points that require structural support.

Setting up the chair for welding with C clamps:
The welded sides, slightly offset so you can see the accuracy of the duplication.
The design for the arm rests. As seen from a front view.Look for a completed frame tomorrow!

D

Coverage on Grassroots Modern

Hey All,

On Friday, this blog was featured on Grassroots Modern, a wonderful design blog that looks for affordable and modern design. Creede Fitch, the founder of the blog, was hooked by my new and improved pitch!

Creede, who is not only a blogger but a manufacturer of modern and affordable doors (and capabilities to produce furniture), showed interest in manufacturing a "short production run" of one of my designs. He has the facilities, and the same passion for affordable design as I do, so I'm hoping it works out.

More to come soon--

D

Chair 3, Post 5

Oh man I'm feeling good about this project right now. I completely welded one side of the Chair 3 frame. It looks amazing-- definitely my favorite of the three chairs I've designed.

I'm not feeling great about the "viral marketing" campaign though. I contacted Fecal Face SF and Dezeen but neither responded to my story pitch. I don't blame them though, my story pitch was pretty weak. It's probably time that I draft an intriguing, well written email that I can send out to all the major design blogs. Basically, my strategy right now isn't working. I think this chair will boost my chances of getting published though, because of its modern and sophisticated aesthetic.

On another note, I am signed up for a 5 week work period at The Crucible in West Oakland this summer. Once I pass their entrance tests (hoping I will...!) then I get access to their equipment and facilities for a 5 week long period. What can I make in five weeks of straight metal fabrication? I think we know the answer to that one... =]]]

Cheers--

DJG

Chair 3, Post 4

Today I had to reconfigure two pieces of my third chair-- The back leg and the armrest. The armrest was much too low, at 6 inches above the seat. That would have made the armrest unusable, so I raised it to 9 inches, a standard height for comfortable arm-resting...

After cutting out those pieces, I took my time setting up the whole chair so I can weld all the pieces simultaneously. This is a technique my metal teacher recommended. This way can ensure the layout of the whole chair before beginning welding.

One of the key lessons that was reinforced today is patience. After realizing (thank god I realized) that I needed to reconfigure part of the chair, I got anxious. It wasn't according to my plan, and it made me frustrated that I had to backtrack and cut at the cold saw. It's the same issue as architecture model building-- which is time consuming and often requires backtracking.

As a result of my frustration, I was sloppy with my cuts, and had to backtrack even further to correct the careless mistakes.

I'm a little worried that the chair will be back heavy, meaning that it has too much weight on the back end of the chair and will capsize. Time will soon tell...!

What do you think of the design? I personally find it the most elegant one so far. It's so simple, which is awesome!

goodnight--

DJG

Chair 3, Post 3 and Piedmont Post Coverage

I'm veering off course, somewhat. Instead of starting on the original Chair 3, I'll using this new design:

The reasons are very logical-- I don't have enough of the rectangular tubing to complete the original Chair 3, so I created a new design that will require less material. It's also simpler! Lighter! More elegant!

I may be partially forsaking comfort for beauty though. The proportions of the chair are different-- lower to the ground and wider. I believe the aesthetic is more modern in appearance...

Here's a "miter joint." Taking some advice from John Mayer (not the singer...although John is a fan)

On another note, a Q&A session about my furniture was published in the last Piedmont Post newspaper. It is part of the coverage leading up to the PAINTS auction, an art auction that will raise money for Piedmont's art programs. I'll be donating a piece to the auction (perhaps the collab with Daniel).

Leave a comment!

Deej

D and D Collab (2) and Surveys (Chair 1)

I bear exciting news--my collaboration with Daniel is going very well. He's developing the sculpture like a pro! More to come, but here's the update:

As promised, I'll share some of the preliminary data of the survey I conducted on Tuesday:

- All four subjects ranked the aesthetic appeal of the chair at or above a 4 out of 5.

- 3/4 subjects responded that they would sit in the chair "regularly."

- All four subjects found the seat height to be "just right."

- 3/4 subjects would "recommend" the chair to a friend.

More to come on this front.

Goodnight!

DJG

D

Chair 2 Complete

I'm writing from the Lick library with exciting news-- I finished Chair 2 this morning.

I added the support the chair needed in the seat. I was pretty excited, to say the least:

Any ideas of where/who I can send this chair to online to get it published?

-D

Chair 2 Upholstering (2) and Surveys (1)

I made a promise to post everyday, and I will keep it as best I can. Even if it takes away from much needed sleep!

I upholstered Chair 2 today. Everything was going smoothly until I sat in the chair when it was partially upholstered. The seat, which is not directly reinforced underneath with steel framing, began to cave in. I quickly jumped out of the seat, but not before a rivet POPPED off the chair.

That was easy to replace, but the weak seat needs reinforcement, so I will either weld on a supporting piece or devise some other method to solve that problem. I wouldn't want one of my chairs to break!

Today, I started to conduct the market research for Chair 1. I asked four Lick students- Tomas, Haden, Nick, and Jeremy- to sit in my chair for approximately an hour each. I created a survey, which I will share with you tomorrow. Although today's data isn't conclusive, I saw a trend-- that the chair could be improved on a comfort level, especially over prolonged periods of time.

Chair 2 Upholstering (1) and Clay Anderson

Today I started to upholster Chair 2. I didn't too far, alas.I also took Chair 1 out of the metal shop and up to the Chemistry room, where I sat in it for the entirety of Genetics class. I wanted to test its comfort level. My verdict is that it's comfortable enough, and it definitely supports the body correctly. Tomorrow I'll try to pass on my chair for others to sit in, and so the ergonomics experiment will begin.

Today I'm featuring my fellow metalworker Clay Anderson, a very promising sophomore at Lick and an avid cyclist. His chair is fabricated completely with bike rims and reinforced with nuts and bolts.


To increase comfort, I believe he will be threading tires through the spokes and then inflating the tires for cushioning. Wish him luck, and leave him feedback if you want.
Until tomorrow--

D

Gauging Comfort Level

From now on, I will try and post on the blog daily, even if I don't have any "progress report" on the project.

I've been thinking about how to gauge the comfort level of my first chair. More specifically, I want to know how differently-proportioned people feel in my chair. Is the backing well placed for someone who is 6 feet tall? Is the seat low enough for someone who's 5 feet tall?

To answer these comfort-related questions, I will need to devise some kind of testing system. My first thought is to take a sampling of my high school community. Say I assign the seat to one person each day. He/she carries the chair to each period and sits only in my chair. At the end of the day, I debrief the person with a survey.

I personally have no experience crunching numbers, but I could recruit an AP Statistics student to analyze a few weeks worth of survey data. The results would be submitted with my chair design to manufacturers. This approach could add another dimension to the presentation of my design.

Thoughts? I want to hear them!

-D

Marketing 1

Yesterday, my first chair was posted on www.chairwhore.com, a blog that features only chair designs. Suffice to say I was pretty thrilled to see my chair on a blog I follow regularly. The experience of being published, whether online or in print, is extremely rewarding because the coverage recognizes the significance of the project.

I'm happy to create furniture with or without the fame or money, but it is always icing on the cake knowing other people are seeing your design. I just wish I could get some more feedback!

This wish to get more feedback is inspiring me to craft creative solutions.

One idea is a street critique, where I bring my chair to Downtown SF or Downtown Berkeley and get feedback about the chair's aesthetic appeal, its comfort level, and its marketability. The people I would meet in this exercise may also find themselves interested in following my blog-- increasing my readership and fan base.

What are your ideas to help me collect feedback (market research, really) about my first chair?

Off to write my English senior paper!

-D

Chair 1, Complete!

I've posted over 20 times, and this is the first time I am posting something complete.

Today, I riveted traffic signs to Chair 1. You may ask, what is riveting? Let me work you through the process.

First, I drill a hole where I want the rivet to be.

Then I "rivet."

Riveting consists of putting pressure on the rivet so it expands in the hole:

The finish looks like:

Now for the exciting part-- trying to get my design posted on design blogs. I'll probably take some high quality images (non-Iphone, at least) and send them to the major chair blogs (www.chairwhore.com; www.chairblog.eu). Hopefully they will like my design and execution of the design.

And how could I post anything on this blog without Gilli or Rachel making an appearance. This time, in Mr.Clifford's jumpsuit. We are seriously considering buying everyone in the Fab studio one. I like the idea!

Very fashion-forward, if you ask me. Fashion bloggers, be on the lookout for more avant-garde outfits coming out of the Lick metal shop.

If you haven't commented yet, today is your chance! I'd love your feedback.

Much love,

DJG

Chair 1 Upholstering (2)

Hey all,

I'm back from my spring break. Into quite a few colleges, so I have this month to decide. I'm pulling for a school I was wait-listed at though, it's my top choice right now.

Anyways, to metal: I've cut all the pieces for the upholstering of Chair 1. Tomorrow I'll re-shine the frame/ make the frame look as nice as possible. If I finish that, I'll spray the frame down with a coat of Shellac to give the metal some shine and a smooth texture. Then comes the riveting. And then I'll have one chair complete!

Here are some photos of today's work:

I notched the traffic signs that fit onto the bottom.

Bottom of the chair, where the user will be able to place objects that are related to the use of the chair (i.e books for reading on chair, remote controller for T.V watching in chair).

The backing of the chair--> an arrow pointing down, pointing out the obvious, that there is a place to sit below!

Till tomorrow.

-DJG