Crowdfunding furniture

Hi all, crowdfunding furniture doesn’t seem as popular as other product design genres, maybe because of the size of shipping furniture? This would be a good place to share ideas about the topic and share campaigns regarding furniture if or when you launch them! here is mine, all feedback welcome…

http://www.indiegogo.com/ESCAPsulE

Hello, and welcome. If you’re looking to share your project, please see this thread as an example of the kind of thing we prefer to see.
(Hint: process!)

I appreciate the advice Chris,
I would like to share my project and I have attached some additional development work here but I would also like to discuss other people’s crowdfunding experience in this area.

I will add some scale model images soon and continue to update with progress…
Troy

Perfect, keep them coming!

Hey Troy,

there are already quite a few threads on people’s experiences with crowdfunding projects. Very good reads with a lot of useful insights. Check the projects thread for more posts like this one : Design/Manufacture - Post Kickstarter Thoughts

I would like to hear a bit more about the project from your side too. It looks like you only have a very simple 3d model at the moment. I can’t but wonder if the final product will be comfortable, easy to produce and be a good fit to the 5-95% body types. I do see you have some experience with furniture but looking at your IndieGogo page, I wouldn’t have the confidence to invest. It just doesn’t look like you have this project all the way through (mock-ups, business plan, etc.).

Thanks for the feedback holtag,
The business plan has been put in place to the extent that I have sat down with experienced manufacturers in the field of roto-molding furniture here in Melbourne and we have outlined the full process required for my specific design which will be easy to produce with a time frame of 9 months approx. When I say easy, well as easy as rotomolding can be. Like all manufacturing there can be problems such as porosities in the aluminium casting which could delay the process. The plan also included how to make it adaptive for interior and exterior scenarios and I do have some distributors interested. The dimensions have all been carefully calculated and I have previously laid up the full size inner seating including the lip for the leg area in card and tested the size which will be sufficient for the majority of body types. The beanbag inner like all beanbags will conform to the body shape and be comfortable.
The initial draft had a lot more technical information but after feedback from many people the majority thought that most people viewing the campaign would not understand it and it was better to eliminate it before launching.
Maybe I’ll look at adding more info back in if I receive similar feedback? I’m hoping to have the full size styrene model completed mid-way through the campaign which may sway people such as yourself to invest? :slight_smile:
feel free to ask any more questions.
Thanks for the info on other crowdfunding threads I’ll look into them…

Troy,

A few observations. Some people like the feedback sugar coated. This is just straight feedback.

You have one rendering from one angle that is mirrored, tinted, and used repeatedly. The screen grabs are not showing the shape in a way that communicates to me. More visualization is needed. A mock up will definitely help.

You use characterized figure with big heads in the representation. I have no idea what the human scale of the chair is. Important to know how it will fit into my environment. Correct 2d scale figures and cross sections would be enough.

123D Make from Autodesk will give you the tools to split your model into flat layers of any thickness, you can build a 1:1 representation out of cardboard, wood, polystyrene, anything flat. If you use this tool, be careful when importing, it does not keep any scale and requires you to accurately scale inside the program. To build something as large and expensive as a rotomold tool, naturally sitting in and getting feedback from a 1:1 model is critical. Equally critical for me as a sight-unseen purchaser to know that you have done that groundwork.

Hi Troy,

I think one of the problems is the lack of detail and it would be great if the renderings were a little more refined. The renderings show glossy, but to my knowledge all roto molded furniture is matte because of the texture of the material. I know it is possible to roto mold polycarbonate, but I am assuming this is polypropylene. There is also a lack of clarity on what exactly is going on with the upholstery. A few renderings of this chair in environments would greatly help tell the story of the furniture. Side note, I would worry that because the sides are higher than the person it would get quite hot if you were sitting outside in the heat with not much airflow. If I were to invest in the chair I would want to have full confidence all details and manufacturing issues are resolved and with the few renderings you provided it is hard to open the wallet. You might have all of these issues worked out, but I think you could do a better job communicating the design.

Other than that it is great to see you going for it! Best of luck!

Well put.

Thanks for the feedback, all constructive feedback is good feedback and I’ll be taking it all on board. Just quickly to CH, it is possible to have a glossy finish on roto-molded furniture, it is how the aluminium casting is treated which determines your finished surface ie: polished, etched etc.
cheers, Troy

progress! stage 2, funding to date has helped build a full scale styrene model. Almost there, still needs some cleaning up, a bit of shaping and the beanbag… From the rendering there has been some minor changes such as the angling to help it fit through a standard door and a widening of the front for leg space. Obviously the matte styrene also looks quite different but this is progress…
escapsule_styrene-1.jpg

and another image… this is just with a standard beanbag, a custom one will be completed soon. A standard sits too high.

looking good. how did you go about making the model? (I think I can see polystyrene layers…edit…i just looked at your indiegogo page, you should post the process pictures here).
you got a lot of press for the chair, was this based on the original renders? I’d like to know how you went about it- did you send out press releases?

Hey sanjy009, The model was made by slicing up the 3d model and then having the layers waterjet cut, as you mentioned there was a video of it which you can see here…

Yes, that’s correct I received a lot of Press based on the renderings before the campaign, one of the reasons I ran it. Other press is from when the campaign began. I didn’t send out many press releases and in fact the ones I did weren’t the sites and mags that it featured with. It’s an interesting journey and insight to marketing when you run a campaign!