Upcycled Bottles: a new way to hang
Although my desk had the ability to be worked on, my coat and bag were often in the way.
Squashing a bottle vertically gave me the idea of knob shaped 'thing' that could easily act as a handle or hook to balance items on. Attaching this to a carefully designed sheet or mechanism that would enable it to be mounted on a wall or door would then make a product ideal for my situation.
A lot of my peers have commented on how successful this product is; especially since I have been using it every day whilst they still have their coats and bags sprawled over their work space, they have even asked me to make them each this product too.
I think the diversity of the product I have created is really successful in it's own right. I chose to tin sheeting as the back panel of my design to reflect the contemporary cool colours of the bottle.
Originally I wanted to make an arrangement of hooks using acrylic sheet in different colours that would form a more striking aesthetic and add abit more fun when I hang my coat rather than seeing a reflection of my disformed face. However it came apparent that metal had better properties for a one-off job:
Cutting process:
In order to create the rectangle needed, tin only needs to be put under a guilotine once marked out; whereas acrylic would need a jig set up on a band/circular saw for the most accuracy and more than likely need sanding down. If it were a batch production, acrylic would be much easier to use with a laser cutter and the ability to product exact products in minimal time.
Central and end holes:
With metal, a punch press can easily be used to create any desirable hole size; however plastic needs a drill bit and a battery/pillar drill- the smaller holes would be easy to create but it is difficult to source larger drill bits as they would often use a router for large holes and a jig. Again if I were creating in mass, a laser cutter would be able to make these holes prefectly.
Bending the sheet:
Tin can be curved in a sheet metal roller, then the ends would be ammended using a machine similar to the guilotine that creates angles in sheet of material; however the plastic would be very difficult to make accurate each time unless using a mould at a very high temperature in a vacuum fomer, followed by a line bender to create the necessary angles to be parallel to a wall; causing a lot of hassle for a one-off product.
As you can see, I was able to measure the hole of the bottle neck accurately so once the bottle had been inserted on the outside, the lid could be screwed back onto the underside to ensure the following things:
Stability: so the bottle itself doesn't move when heavy items are hung from it.
Form: allowing the air inside the crushed bottle to stay the same and not open back out to it's original state.
it would look untidy if I had to use glue to keep the bottle in place when there is a perfectly good lid to use- even thought the lid is conveniently hidden underneath the curved panel anyway.
Maintainance: if for some reason the bottle were to be damaged or the user decided to change the colour or shape of the desired bottle hook, it can easily be removed and replaced by the screw cap.
Hanging my coat provides the perfect example of use for my product, showing up close that the coat is firmly in place and the shape of the crushed bottle itself means the coat will not slide off or out of place unless someone were to remove the coat slightly upwards and over the lip.
I made sure the sheet of the tin was also approximately the same width as a coat (or the average user's shoulder width) so the product didnt look out of proportion when in use, but also to ensure enough material to hold possessions without warping or damaging the product.
The hook provides many grooves or lips to add greater surface area and therefore more friction for when hanging item from the device. These photos successfully demonstrate how a bag could not only hang between the head of the bottle and the panel, but balance on the bottle itself.
Although it can balance on the bottle, I would not reccomend doing it regularly as it will likely put unnecessary tension on the product and the user may need to change the bottle more frequently if it becomes weak.
Of course there is only a certain amount of volume and weight you can hang on products like these, but my design will easily hold my heavy bag and coat together for a whole day with minimal warp to the back panel that bounces back when the items are taken off.
The hanger is easily adaptable to be made in mass and cost efficient if there were any breakages to occur.
To conclude, I think this product worked really well and if I could make it again, I would definately try to make a larger quantity of the product so I could not only give them to my friends, but also experiment with colour, shape, quantity of hooks per design and maybe look at sketching matching items, for example, a shoe rack.
Appreciate this project if you would purchase one yourself- thank you!
