Tag: modern miniatures

Toto2 Prototype, First Article

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Rounding out +Sundry baskets, here is the final Toto2 basket prototype. There are at least two handle styles possible, and I played with the idea of basket hardware.

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I improved the proportions from the first Toto, and experimented with lid types.

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Here is the first article. It’s Minwax Golden Oak stain and W&N Promarker Marsh Green.

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Tomorrow, light and electricity permitting, I’ll be able to photograph the instructions and shop listings. There’s a big windy storm blowing in, and with the ground already saturated… Everything will be alright.

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.

 

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

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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.

Basket Kit Listed

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The first woven paper basket kit is up on Modern Miniature Succulents + Sundries! Starting with a pre-cut kit takes all the tedium out of miniature basket weaving.

(Vocabulary enrichment moment: When looking for a nicer word than ‘tedium’, I encountered longueur, and this reflection by Francine Prose:
“I find myself using this word more often than I probably should, to describe those boring stretches of a novel or play during which your attention drifts … I would probably use it even more frequently were it not so difficult to spell. What I like is how the sound of it suggests a combination of languor and length — the languor produced by something that is unduly long — though I have learned that its derivation has to do with length rather than lassitude.”)

I stuck with tedium. Anyway, some outtakes from the instructions:

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Just color, weave and glue :)

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Voilà!

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.

Prototyping Complete

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Feeling confident about the rightness of the basket kit patterns, I move on to test-coloring the white base cardstock. My charming husband gifted me a set of Winsor & Newton water colour markers, and I’ve been eager to use them. This is, um, not exactly — nor even close to — fine art, but watercolor tints differently than either stain or alcohol markers. I used an intentional kind of crosshatch to fill the larger pieces. Gorgeous color/colour, yeah? W&N Mauve 398.

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I built the purple mauve watercolor basket, and moved on to an alcohol marker. These bleed and blend much more readily into the cardstock. W&N Pear Green Y635.

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Here are our happy fellows to date. In this picture you can see the difference between the heavier-weight yellow basket, and the slightly lighter-weight, tinted and white cardstock ones.

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I realized that tinting the outer edges of the lid pieces (even though they are eventually covered) helps mask any gluing misalignment, so had to test-make one more basket. This is W&N alcohol marker Duck Egg.

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And here are the last two basket prototypes, with some hen succulents, held up to the last of our stormy, freaky light. I noticed a similarity between the terracing of our wee hillside backyard, and the woven fabric of the baskets. Huh.

Basket Kit Progress, Bobo Fun

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This was my desk, late last night, working away on the paper basket kits. After many pattern iterations, file conversion aberrations and test cuts, I had the basket itself fairly well worked out. I was thinking about basket lids — if, how and why — when I had an idea. I was too tired to implement it, but scrawled some notes.

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This morning I drew the pattern and did a test cut.

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And yay! It works swell! (Also, chilly in the studio this morning! My poor fingers.)

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It’s a simple construction, very open to customization.

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I’m thinking about handles now. But enough! I want to get these kits out.

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For those who saw the item in the January newsletter referencing my delight with the typeface Bobo — designed by Jean-Baptiste Morizot in 2016 and published by Indian Type Foundry — I put together this logo. Each character in the all-caps font has at least three variations. So fun, even as an example of expanding your notions of what makes a thing a thing. (And it’s available from Fontshop right now for half price.) Check it out!

Machine Love, Sundry Basket

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I first learned weaving paper strips to make perfect miniature baskets from Jane Harrop. I’ve used her technique quite a bit for all manner of woven containers. I’m no stranger to precise measuring and cutting of things, but the Cricut machine is ideal for streamlining and automating the process, namely the precise measuring and cutting. I draw the lines in Illustrator, and export as a SVG. Here you see a 1/16-inch (1.6 mm) layout of base and weavers. Perfectly cut by a happy machine.

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Beginning weaving. This is for a finished height of 1.5 inches (38 mm) which translates to 18 inches (46 cm), a substantial-sized basket. On a 1.5-inch (38 cm) base, that’s a lot of weaving of black paper, late at night, on the first day of the new year.

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Slow progress, though I enjoy the process. This height (or width) of basket requires tacking down the weavers every three or so, to maintain integrity. It gets gluey.

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Come next morning, I’ve rethought my premise. All black is challenging to work with in the best of light. Also, black cardstock as a medium is very monochrome and flat as a believable basket. And the starting height requires *far* too much time weaving for a prototype or proof of concept. So I redrew the base to half the height, and cut a new pattern from white cardstock. I used an ebony Minwax touchup marker to stain the base, which lends a more organic color to the paper. I was about to stain the weavers, when, hey! that looks cool!

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I’ve once again lost the light, but I think you can see how appealing this black-and-white woven tub is! More importantly, having the tedious measuring and cutting work reduced in producing such a thing — whether round, oblong, square or oval, handled or no — in whatever color suits your purpose, because *you* decide… might this be a thing for you? I’m going to put a basic kit in the shop which will accommodate up to a 1.25-inch round bottom, a 1/16-inch weaving base and more than adequate weavers. I’ll gladly draw to your specifications, as well. It will take me a few more days, but check it out and let me know!