Toto2 Basket Kit Listed

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The Toto2 basket kit is finally listed at ModMinSucc+Sundries. Studying the above pictured basket, which is not the one Dorothy carried in the movie — this is the wicked basket — gives me the idea to try some thick/thin weaving. Thanks, Almira Gulch!

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The Toto2 instructions ran to one-anna-half pages O_o

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Printed front and back, folded in half. Tidy. But of course I spotted the spacing error in the name (twice!) after they were all printed. It’s going to stay in for now :/

And now it’s time for a glass of relax and eyes away from cameras and screens. Check it out!

Colors

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It’s late, and the light is incandescent, but here is the first offering of 1:12 scale modern office accessories. There is a horizontal file holder, a vertical file or magazine holder, a cache pot (which means a useful container to catch all the loose things), a rubbish bin/trash can, and coordinating-colored file folders. The horizontal file holder can also be combined to form a two-level multi-purpose holder of things. The first colorway is orange, yellow and gray. Available over at MMS+S real soon!

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Scarlett has embraced the warmth and cubby holes of my husband’s music studio, at least in the evenings when he is home. For incomprehensible to me reasons, the noise does not bother her. She bites guitar strings and scales bass traps. And only occasionally chews wires. She’s such a good buddy cat.

Absent, Not Idle

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The Toto2 basket kit stalled when photographing the instructions, and underwent a minor redesign. Necessitating more prototypes and models, etc., as everyone who has ever been involved in bringing a product to market knows. At least I am my own boss and manager, and our production meetings are… relatively honest and supportive of everyone’s efforts.

Then I got distracted with designing some office supply products: a coordinated group of essentials, in different colorways. Here is the first, in gray, orange and yellow, that will eventually have a fashion name like Southwest or Urban Warmth. The kits will consist of a horizontal file holder, a vertical file or magazine holder (not pictured), a cache pot, and a trash bin. Oh, and coordinating file folders. The trash bins would also make stylish planters, given a coat or two of planter-style finishing.

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And then there was this development. One day I came home and noticed a small artifact on the kitchen floor… a tiny thing I knew was a prop from Argo Wool Works, which is next to the Sea House Warming Hut. Supposedly safely ensconced atop a six-foot tall cabinet, protected by a buffer wall of foam core. (Relegated there after the previous degradations on the work table.)

Breached. I knew not yet how. A day or so later, as I was working at the work table, I heard a thunk behind me and looked up to see Scarlett, atop the living roof. She is now agile enough to leap four feet in the air from the adjacent desk to plunder forbidden miniature worlds. And plunder and pillage she has done.

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I documented these first raids, then cleared all the stuff, and her, out. There have been many subsequent scruffings, even though she knows it’s wrong.

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The tiny shelves, once filled with wool products, are decimated. Her hopeful forays have been abated as long as I remember to position my Luxo lamp at an upward angle, blocking the leap from lower desktop to shelf top.

New Basket Kit, Stormy, Scarlett

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This was me last night, after finishing the stormtrooper kit. The beauty and precision of Bandai’s design and manufacturing is so elegant, I was inspired to rethink several of my kit components. I spent all morning redesigning and test cutting, watching the Cricut machine’s performance with each iteration. As a result, I’ve made small improvements to the kit building process and experience, and improved kitting efficiency. When one wears all the helmets hats in a business, small improvements make a big small difference :)

BTS: For instance, the first version instructions for the newly-listed round basket with handle kit had you measuring and cutting parts for the handle. Tricky measurements, too, like 9/16 of an inch. I realized this was contrary to my core value proposition *snerk* of taking the tedium out of miniature building; that’s what machines are for. Now there is a pre-measured and cut handle assembly piece that took me like four tries to optimize for the Cricut. It’s still fiddly to make, but no rulers are involved.

The stormtrooper’s name is… Stormy. He and Zilly have yet to meet.

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I think Scarlett is getting big, with permanently dirty toes. At seven months old, she’s not at that super leggy stage, but who knows?

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Oh, and here’s a beauty shot of the new basket. It’s colored W&N Promarker Orchid. (This was my favorite color when I was a young girl, but I called it lavender :)

New Basket Kit, Newsletter, Godzilla

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A-tisket, a-tasket, a new basket kit! Shown here in base white, how many of you will want to make yours green and yellow? This one is open, round, a little shorter than the lidded basket (9/16 x 1¼ inches, 14 x 32 mm) and with a/n optional handle. It works well for knitting, fresh produce or catch-all.

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The kit instructions include an explanatory diagram for the first time! I’m finishing up the photography and bits later; the kit’ll be available over at MMS+S tomorrow, individually and as a 3-pack.

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The February issue of Cut, Fold + Make goes out tonight at midnight, so you still have a few hours to sign up (link in upper right column) for a monthly dosage of creative provocation and exclusive content. Hint: boxen!

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Godzilla wants to show you his new lovey — an iridescent vert comme un lutin (leprechaun) named Verti. The two are inseparable, and it’s heartwarming to see the monster so happy-go-lucky.

 

Boxen

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Gee golly gosh oh man golly, does taking something to market take some time? Answer: yes. Not complaining; I want to get it right as right as I can make it can be.

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Up in the MMS+S shop today are three cardboard box kits. Three sizes of boxen, each the epitome of scale fidelity and utility. If you didn’t know you needed these before, well, it will soon become apparent.

I’m pretty much over my basket weaving overload aversion, and am looking forward to bringing the mildly-redesigned Toto basket into production. Priority: next.

Thank you, thank you all for your support and interest. You make a difference.

New +Sundries

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We’ve been engrossed in producing things around here, and the studio is a mess. Piles of papers and things on every surface. The answer is miniature file folders, in many colors, including classic manila.

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They’re available now over at MMS+S, part of a new line of miniature office supplies.

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The precut folders are packaged in a “kit” of a dozen 13 — all you do is fold on the score line :) They will also be available packaged in a custom box, (which will also also be available as a kit) along with some other boxes and sundries. Because good studios and offices need them, to be tidy studios and offices.

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Figuring out box design dimensions, assembly, and cut and score lines. Getting more proficient at drawing in ways that translate well to SVG. Really appreciate the scoring tool feature of the Cricut machine.

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Model building, instruction writing, label design, photography and kitting are all in various stages of completion. (For the Toto basket, too! And delightful hen-and-chicks succulents.) I am closing my eyes and tapping my heels together three times. And thinking to myself …

Success, Failure, Success

I took the coast road down to Santa Cruz on Wednesday. There was a mad gale blowing, and pouring down rain, and I just didn’t feel like hydroplaning on the Peninsula freeways. Mid-week, the coast road — in addition to being spectacularly beautiful — is a good place to think, and I needed some thinking time. The weather was intense, especially on the open coastal bluffs; the road oddly deserted, and I felt alive and free, so happy to be on the way to seeing my baby girls (the little mama, Maddie, and the bun in the oven :)

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I had this great idea to do diagonal weaving that occupied much of my drive, with the first project being an open-sided ottoman on stylish legs. After our joyful reunion at preschool, and snacks, Maddie and I sat side by side on the couch, she absorbed in an animal show on the iPad (special treat!) while I sketched out my ideas. Above you see some of the sketches, along with Maddie’s later commentary. And the next day’s failed attempts to devise a workable diagonal paper loom.

But no. I tried a few variations, redid my measurements, cut different spoke looms, wove this way and that, but it’s just too hard to do in paper, and not fun at all. Feh.

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However, my notebook has been enriched with an almost-4-year-old’s visions. This is one of my favorites. So much going on!

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Today, after happily spending the morning kitting and filling MMS+S orders, I noticed the supply of old presentation materials I have been hacking and re-purposing for shipping was dwindling. (Seriously, they are like 20 years old? And I’ve held on to them all this time? = paper hoarder.) I determined to craft new ones. Some trial-and-error, but I learned how to use the Cricut scoring tool (super useful!) and cut up bunches of cardstock that is too heavy for weaving (thrifty!) to make colorful new shipping inserts.

Heartfelt thanks to Brae and Keli for writing about the basket kits. Your esteem and influence is plain to see, and I am so very glad that you like them. In our tiny community, you set a standard of generosity that is priceless.

Lime Spice, Liners, Soon, Stretch

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Last night, I thought this color combination was a really good idea. Note my test markers in the lower right corner… I rejected better colors for the jolt of lime. Tsk. But all is not wasted. I refined the Toto basket handle assembly, and experimented with interior/exterior color differences.

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Which led me to this, this morning. I’ve been holding onto this fabulous piece of wrapping paper for some years, creases, tape and all. With the sticky mats of the Cricut machine, I sacrificed precision of placement for precision of cutting.

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Perfectionist me was disappointed, but do it me did something.

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Basket liners! I don’t know why I thought the wrapping paper offcut would make a good photo background, but here you can mostly see three of the round lidded baskets, stained golden oak, dark walnut and cherry, with their new bling liners. I quite like the contrast between understated exterior and patterned inside. And, as a technique! I encourage you to explore.

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The new basket kits require larger packaging, which necessitates a different form for the instructions and mailer. Here is a ’neak preview of the thing. The weather forecast is for clear skies tomorrow, so I’m hoping to finish the instructions photography then. And then, then, actually list them in the shop!

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Finally, of course, Scarlett. I’ve shown remarkable restraint in not posting multi-daily photos of her adorableness. At almost seven months old, she’s approaching cat teenhood. The best thing to have happened to the harmony of our multi-species family is her access to the great outdoors. She still torments the two older cat boys relentlessly, but a lot of her alpha ways are absorbed in bug-and-other hunting and exploration. And she’s still got that crazy striped lemur tail.

Cutting 1/16-inch, New Basket, Erosion

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After trying several different 1/16-inch materials — illustration board, mat board, chipboard — I finally found a cardboard I can get the Cricut machine to cut all the way through (on the 2mm thick leather setting, five passes with a deep cut blade). Unfortunately, it’s from my cardboard stash pile, and I’ve no idea what it is :\ These circles will make an easier base to work with on the soon-to-be released round basket kit.

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Here’s a peek at a new rectangular woven paper basket. Too bad the light is so poor; the two colors of this prototype are “Spice” accented with “Burnt Orange” and are very appealing. Still very early stages. Now that I can command shapes… ideas may expand.

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Keeping things real, here in Northern California (in Pacifica, at least) we’re enjoying some drying out time, after a series of very wet, damaging storms. This is the remains of the already sketchy trail that leads to the sometimes-beach below the bluffs at the bottom of the hill. It’s the last super-low King tide, and a beautiful view stretching to the Marin headlands. Gratitude, thankfulness, appreciation.