Monday, May 9, 2011

SketchChair Miniatures



Paris Renfroe brought this to my attention = The folks at Diatom Studio are raising funds for their SketchChair project by offering miniature chairs to everyone who pledges a $25 donation. A $50 donation lets you choose a mystery mini chair that is one-of-a-kind. All pledges go towards completing SketchChair software, a free, open-source tool that allows novices and experts to design and build their own furniture and exchange design ideas via an online community. You can learn more about it here. Currently, the chairs are scaled at 1:9. Why? Tiago and Greg of Diatom Studios had this to say:

"They are at 1:9 scale, as this was the most practical scale for us at this stage. We have cut at a number of scales however (1:6, 1:7, 1:10, 1:12 and 1:14) and hope to offer some designs at 1:6 and 1:12 scale for order from SketchChair.cc sometime in the not too distant future, after the campaign has finished. We would appreciate your feedback on what scales would be good to offer for these."

I told them that the best scales to offer these gems are 1:16, 1:12 and 1:6.
Oh, and YES, software users can make miniature furniture too! I see a lot of possibilities here...


Images: Diatom Studio
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17 comments:

  1. dalesdreamsMay 9, 2011 at 9:25 AM

    This is fascinating! I've bookmarked the site and hope to explore more of it later. Thanks so much for sharing this info. :)

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  2. PepperMay 9, 2011 at 11:24 AM

    Fabulous! Anything that helps us modernists is great news. Thanks for the heads up =0)

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  3. PubdollMay 9, 2011 at 12:23 PM

    Fun and fab chairs, and thanks for adding 1:16 to the suggested scales :-) All the different scales out there is sometimes frustrating, I would love all the small scale items to be in either 1:6, 1:12, 1:16 or smaller. The most frustrating is the 1:3 scaled miniatures from Alessi. How cool would it have been to have them in a smaller scale? Perhaps good for my wallet that they're not though...

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  4. AnonymousMay 9, 2011 at 1:49 PM

    Fabulous design . The best would be 1:12 ...:)

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  5. AnnMay 9, 2011 at 2:27 PM

    I've known about this software when they were still hosting it off their university website (I think it was university endorsed?). It's really great to see them start a kickstarter campaign though.. That just means they will develop the software even quicker.

    I love how design (in miniature) is democratizing like this. Just give it another year and just watch modern minis explode!

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  6. AMCSviatkoMay 9, 2011 at 3:04 PM

    Gah! You bet me to it! (And I thought I'd managed a scoop...)

    ;-)

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  7. My RealittyMay 9, 2011 at 6:18 PM

    OK, I ordered a sketch chair to tony up the I house, I think it can handle the bigger scale.
    I recall you saying you aren't a "maker" type.
    If I can't put this together we may have to drag Minidork to B Bar to help me. Whadda ya say? C

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  8. Modern MCMay 10, 2011 at 8:53 AM

    Hey Pubdoll,
    Yes, those Alessi miniatures are such a mean tease at 1:3--really, is that even a miniature?? Chuckles. Looks good in a play kitchen I guess. If they made those in 1:12, I'd scoop them all up. My wallet has been known to weep...wait, that was me...Smiles

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  9. Modern MCMay 10, 2011 at 8:58 AM

    Hi Ann,
    We really have to keep pushing the industry and knocking on the door, ey? I really hope to see the day when modern miniatures become more mainstream and easier to obtain--of course, then I would probably be spending more cash...

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  10. Modern MCMay 10, 2011 at 9:08 AM

    I will not take scoops from TSS.
    I will not take scoops from TSS.

    Smiles. ha ha! Yeah, we really need a hub that runs tickers and updates and has links to every modern miniature blog. What's funny is that Paris sent this to me in early April and I contacted the company for more info and then forgot about it until they replied yesterday. Are you gonna snag a chair or two? I'm sure you could come up with some interesting furniture designs once the software launches.

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  11. Modern MCMay 10, 2011 at 9:11 AM

    Hi MyRealitty!
    Ha ha! You are right, I'm not a "maker" type but I might give this software a try. I did order every chair. Nice to give funds to a project like this and get something cool in return. I'm sure I can use the kids' chairs in a 1:12 scene.

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  12. My RealittyMay 10, 2011 at 3:03 PM

    I am not only impressed with your generousity (kiss up, kiss up) but your bravery with scale. My I house looks gynormous. C

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  13. AMCSviatkoMay 11, 2011 at 6:13 PM

    Buying chairs is on my list: alas this fortnight I have to spend large amounts of money renewing my driver's licence.

    But... There's a 3D printer 5 minutes up the road from my place at Make Hack Void and I'm talking to a friend's fiance about learning how to use CAD software so I can have a go making some mini pieces myself. You know, with all that spare time I have...

    ;-)

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  14. togohMay 15, 2011 at 12:34 PM

    wow, all the furniture in your blog is just awesome, it's so well made! i wish someone has shrunk me !

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  15. proençaMay 20, 2011 at 12:28 PM

    great idea!

    love your blog! it's an incredible inspiration :)

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  16. callsmallJune 3, 2011 at 3:49 AM

    I hope they resolve their Amazon refund issues so that I can get my chair!

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  17. Modern MCJune 3, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    Ha ha! Yeah, I know, Call Small. That was a bummer email for sure. It sounds like they got a serious customer service fail from Amazon. That's a lot of money to have lost...

    ReplyDelete

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