Ed’s Workshop

Prototypes and community

There’s been a particularly industrious feel to the workshop over the last week with our makers taking various products through the prototyping stage. Working in a community means that when design elements don’t work the disappointment is shared and the encouragement from others ensures a focus on the tweaks and changes required to move forward. Notable is the shared sense of celebration when a prototype works. This week we’ve watched a fabric bag move through many stages of development to become a beautiful reusable wine-bag, ready for production as a gift item. Also we’ve seen remarkable progress in the prototype of a clock, where every piece including the hands, gears and frame have been hand-cut from reclaimed wood and is now in the delicate stage of assembly and adjustment. Another maker has cleaned back wood that was destined for a skip and adapted a saw pattern to create an elegant hand-cut bird sculpture.