I'm going to open directly this time, and state something that is often overlooked by the new designer, or the idea generator. Sometimes, referred to as the ‘creative’. It’s the testing of an idea, how to go about this process and an appreciation of its intrinsic part in any investigation. Something very important and learned through experience.

Now, I’m beginning to realise that the purpose of these little word injections is to give an insight into what Dan and I do as part of our making practice. But in doing so, it is not an attempt to berate or belittle others, to paint ourselves as superior in some way. To be unkind, arrogant and generally not very nice, is just not a way to go.

So when referring to the new designer, idea generators, or creatives, I am simply drawing on some past experiences I have witnessed unfold, on a repeated basis as a likely, and very forgivable consequence of a role within an educational context. One in which the incompatible qualities of unfamiliarity and massive ambition somehow combine, sloshing around all over the place, like that individual, trying to carry their twelfth pint back from the bar, to the table they’ve forgotten the location of, in an establishment that is foreign to them, and heaving, with ravers, and glow stick shakers. A tricky scenario, and maybe best avoided.

The takeaway here is that we are all capable of unwittingly finding ourselves in some version of this situation, but hopefully can learn to avoid it through practice. So when I see maty, swaying in the bar, looking confused and lost, instinct tells me to help the situation, not chastise it.  Having been there myself, I’ll probably laugh with it, but not at it. Be kind. 

So, I’m considering a particular element within a current project we’ve got going on. Specifically, the handleless cupboard doors and drawer fronts that in consultation with us, our clients have decided upon. Currently, they exist as a drawing in sketchup, a render that details their form, colour and our decorative aspect. What it won’t show me is any information that reveals how it will be built in IRLWRA (in real life with real atoms). Essentially, this image is an idea. More importantly, untested.

Now, let's consider Bruce. He’s got an idea, and that is to walk from Wrangaton at the south side of Dartmoor, to Okehampton on its North. He has never done this before, or even visited Dartmoor, but someone on Trip Advisor said it was ace, and made it sound straightforward. Again unfamiliarity and massive ambition somehow combine. In my opinion (and that is all it is) there’s two ways this can go. One, use an ordnance survey map and a compass to interpret the terrain, understand distances, time, gradient, obstacles, dead ends and the location of all the pubs. Obviously, we now have all that in our pocket, the digital truth provider, Apple or Microsoft based. The other way this can go, is to take a screenshot of a map, in such a way that when looked after employing the zoom function, all information becomes pixelated, unreadable, and as useful as blunt chisel is to fine woodwork. One of these ways has a happier ending than the other, if the ambition is to reach Okehampton in one piece, in good time, and having had a nice time on the way. Really, one either knows what they are doing, where they are going. Or they don’t. And I suppose if you don’t, you might need a map, and if you use one, make sure it's a helpful one. 

I’ve built an actual object, a small section of the handleless cupboards. It's actually the third iteration. The first version allowed me to understand the sketchup render in three dimensional terms, showing me the bare bones of its form. The second version refined the form. I asked people to handle it, explaining that it was a component of a drawer that peoples fingers would interact with. They gave me feedback, and this was very helpful, informing me of what worked and what doesn’t, where to walk, and where not to. I’m getting somewhere here. 

It’s this third version that I’m taking up to a CNC machine shop whom we work with (Apply Works - I highly recommend them). The form is finished, in as much as it all feels good in the hand, and I already know how it will interact with the inset hinges destined to articulate it. All I need now is a quick chat with our machinist, a few questions. The answers will tell me how to draw up the CAD file, which I will then send back to them. They will press ‘go’ on their machine and all components we require will be cut. All the testing is appropriate, conducted in the correct order and checked with the right people, the final product is made. We will collect, decorate and assemble ourselves, paying attention to all the details that make the difference between a piece of plywood, and a beautiful thing.

Hello Okehampton. Let's get a pint.