Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster

Well as we gear up for the holiday seasons we took a little time this morning to introduce our new shop manager Mike and our new Shipping Manager Armando to the team. With these guys help we are aiming to make our acrylic furniture like the Daft Punk song "Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster". Congratulations guys on the promotions. Make us proud.

Custom Office Furniture

Here is a rendering of a custom sofa we are creating for the laser eye surgery center. It has a steel base with custom leather upholstery. It is still in production right now but as soon as we have photos of the finished piece I will post them.

Office Screen

We like to start with photos in order to see how a finished piece will look in an office environment. This is another area of the same eye surgery center. We have found that the more planning that we do, the more efficient the design process is.

Efficiently Designed Office

We were hired to make this office more beautiful and more efficient. I will show more photos as we update the office. It is for a laser eye surgery center.

The Pizza Bender

We just got in some custom metal pieces to create a new plastic bender out of a retired pizza oven. We have designed a way to retrofit the oven so that we can use the same heating elements but are able to more accurately and evenly control the way temperature is dispersed. As soon as we get the thing assembled I will post some photos.

Who Wants To Build Their Own City?

We just figured out the best way ever to use our recycled scraps and cut-offs. We are cutting all of the pieces down to uniform sizes and hand polishing all six surfaces to give adults the coolest little tangrams/lego/erector/blocks set ever. I will keep you informed as we get more photos but it is sure to be the most fun you can have on your desk without sexual harrassment charges.

Efficient Use of Materials

When producing our amazing furniture we have a lot of cut-offs and scrap. We are working on ways of using these materials more efficiently and the firefly lamp is an example of this. The base is a solid 1 1/2" piece of cut-off acrylic that would ordinarily be recycled. We trim them to size and polish them so that we can use it as a base for this beautiful lamp.

Efficient Engineering

We recently have taken on an amazing engineer by the name of Jeff. He lives and breathes efficiency. He is helping us streamline our operations and has already been an amazing asset. As if it could be and more perfect for here, he is also a talented designer. Here is a link to some design and 3D modeling he has done.

Clear Pricing and Free Shipping

Acrylic Furniture Designer, Aaron R. Thomas, Clears the Haze in the Online Furniture Business

The Lane Table

This table was made from a bowling alley lane salvaged from the Polynesian style "Java Lanes" in Long Beach, CA. Java Lanes was the oldest bowling alley in Long Beach and was originally built in 1958. It was torn down in 2004 to make room for condominiums. We love using reclaimed materials because of the richness that they provide. They are also an efficient use of an otherwise wasted material. We have this table in our showroom and are hoping that we can sell it, in the ultimate irony, to a condominium owner on the site of the former bowling alley.

Organization Part 3

This is part 3 of ongoing updates about our "Organization Day(s)" I came in today to see a transformed shop. This week we are getting some great new equipment and as soon as it is in place I will shoot some photos and show the changes.

Organization Part 2

I guess the organization is taking a little longer than expected. Apparently this should turn the shop into an efficiency machine. I will keep you posted as soon as I have something to post.

Organization

Today is "Organization Day". We have an engineer (the smart kind, not the kind who drives trains) coming in to help us transform our entire studio into a model of efficiency. I will show some after pictures as soon as we get some. Note the clutter in this before photo.

Efficient and Environmental

I found what may be the definition of efficiency in design...Earth Friendly Moving. Spencer Brown, founder and owner started off as a product designer and was bitten by the environmental bug. After realizing how wasteful the moving process was and that an average of 20% of Americans move every year he set out to change the way we do it. EFM will bring moving boxes made from recycled bleach bottles to your home or office along with sustainable alternatives to bubble wrap and packing paper. Best of all they only charge $1 per box per week. Not bad when the standard cardboard variety costs a few dollars and takes time to assemble. Here is a rundown of what they have to offer:

The RecoPack:

These heavy duty stackable boxes are made entirely from recycled plastic bottles salvaged from our landfills by the truckload. Reusable, strong, and economic, these boxes are sending shutters through cardboard manufacturers everywhere.

Geami Paper:

This alternative to bubble wrap is made from recycled paper and is shot out of a veggie powered machine on the back of the trucks at over 150' per minute. 100% recycled.

The RecoCube:

These are made to replace styrofoam peanuts out of recycled paper sludge, starches, and sugars. When you are done with these just throw them in your garden and they become compost for your flowers and vegetables.

The Poopy Pallet:

These pallets are made from over 500 used baby diapers. They have all been sanitized and are now a great alternative to wooden, forest depleting, pallets.

Bio-Diesel / Veggie Oil Fleet:

Everything is delivered on a Bio-Diesel / Veggie Oil truck that actually creates electricity from waste. Ask Spencer about it and he will give you a run-down of the technology involved.

Anyone have anything that can top that?

Efficiency in Design

Welcome to my Efficiency in Design blog. The focus of this blog will be to explore ways in which designers can use the concept of efficiency to not only enhance individual designs but also to reduce waste, cost, time, and effort. I feel it necessary to add an immediate disclaimer to this site by telling you all that I am employed by Aaron R. Thomas design in Costa Mesa, CA. In fact it was this company that led me on my quest for greater efficiency in design.
Above is an example of an efficient solution that we came up with for some retail displays in several flagship stores for Mulberry USA. The client wanted a large chain made of gold rings to hang their purses on in retail windows. We came up with a design that not only impresses because of the high quality but is also practical in cost, re-use, and shipping. Instead of going with the clients direction to use large metal rings we chose to use acrylic because of it's flexibility, weight, durability, and strength. We created a jig to bend each ring after heating them in the oven and sanded grooves in them to dictate where they rest before painting them with an automotive paint and clear coat. The beauty of this design is that each ring can be easily pulled apart and assembled in an array of formations. These rings also cost less to ship because of their light weight and they can be repainted for different looks and seasons. Although the finished design looks both simple and beautiful a lot of thought went in to the design.
I invite all viewers to submit to me any examples of efficient designs and hopefully with a collaborative effort we can gather a community centered around efficient design.