Saturday, February 3, 2018

Pencil Rolls, Handle Designs


This is a storage clipboard. Despite having reached the heights, experimented with a small but proper writing board, and having spent most my life using a book as a drawing surface, this is my favorite arrangement I've ever had. I prop it on my knees and draw wherever I want. I can tilt it for watercolors, or lay it flat for measuring.


Whenever I need an eraser or scale or more paper I can just open it up.

In the bottom I keep the pencils. I kept my old pencil roll in there for a while, but it was pretty awkward to lift up all the clipboard flaps AND unfold the roll every time I needed to draw. I made these new fitted rolls, so I have two fewer flaps to untangle.


I forget the potential of hand sewing sometimes.  I'm going to start sewing the tags on like this, with the blind stitch. Looks sharp, crisp to me.



Despite looking 2D and being a little rough on the edges, I did put some thought into the practicality. For instance, the pouch is cut on the bias so it can stretch a little and the top edge is more resistant to fraying. The hems are designed so the pen clips cannot snag on them no matter how they are inserted.


I sewed all the way through the back, a bit 'How Ya Doin''. If I was making them for someone else, I would do some inverting origami instead of making all these seams visible. It might even be possible to make the seams on the front side of the pockets disappear. Hmm... suppose I should draw it-



The top drawings are ideas for a oyster knife handle my friend wants me to make. The oyster knife was already made, a silly shape for a hand tool, bad design apparently. He said he couldn't really understand the drawing (below), my own bad design! Always remember the purpose of what you're making, always remember the purpose of what you're making...


I started again from the ashes, dusted off my manual drafting, and made the drawing below. Better shape too, I think.


These were a few ideas for a coat hook for my dad, made to match the style of his furniture. He hired me to make sixteen, for some coat trees I also helped with.


He decided on the round design pictured in the bottom right-

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