tutorial I

idea III - form

Idea 3 - Self-refilling pillar candle holder

Taking a different approach to design, but this time working from a form based rather than a material based solution. Looking at the pillar candle on my desk, I noticed that there was a large amount of unburnt material clumped together at the bottom that was wasted, and wondered how it would be possible to re-use this. I have previously melted down and re-cast candles, and its a right pain. From this insight I developed a concept of a self-refilling candle - taking wax that would naturally fall down the sides of a pillar candle and letting it flow into either an empty tea light or a bowl to be used as wax melts. However, I can see some problems within this design that will have to be tackled. • How to minimise the wax flow path so it won’t re-solidify causing a blockage • How to keep the holder at a temperature where wax can flow over it however not too hot to be able to be handled. • I will need to chose a material that is not porous to wax.

Tutorial 1 Comments

In my first tutorial, I presented my initial ideas, hoping to narrow down my choices and come closer to deciding on a project to continue to work on. After discussions, we came to the conclusion that my first two ideas were the strongest, and that there were too many pitfalls to my candle holder idea due to the materials I proposed to use, as well as the general idea. I chose to leave this idea, as to be honest it didn’t interest me that much and I thought I would be happier to put the time and effort to develop my other two ideas. I chose to co-develop these other two concepts until the next tutorial in order to inform my decision more. Within the next week I need to evaluate the possibility of each idea 1 and idea 2.

material - malai

Malai is ‘a newly developed biocomposite material made from entirely organic and sustainable bacterial cellulose, grown on agricultural waste sourced from the coconut industry in Southern India. [The company] work with the local farmers and processing units, collecting their waste coconut water (which would otherwise be dumped, causing damage to the soil) and re-purposing it to feed the bacteria’s cellulose production.’ - (malai.eco) This material looks promising as it comes in many different thicknesses, and seems to have been used for similar items before. My contact at Malai was initially very quick to respond and seemed very supportive of my project. However, the lead times of this material could be a problem, with up to 6 weeks predicted before delivery during the COVID19 pandemic. (UPDATE) After a few weeks of contacting Veronica from malai and requesting material, I was left with no response to my messages. I therefore decided not to go with this material.