Indie Furniture, out of Switzerland, has come up with an innovative way to allow consumers to create their own customized bookcase by providing universal connectors that connect wood panels sourced from the local hardware store or carpenter.
Calling itself a "bespoke storage solution," Indie Furniture seeks to provide DIYers with a straight forward assembly process that is shipped in an energy efficient manner. The clamps, made out of recycled aluminum, are available for shelf depths of 6 different sizes and are easy to assemble — all that's needed is an allen wrench.
To help in the creation of the bookcase, the website features a Configurator that allows the user to design the bookcase based on the desired dimensions. The Configurator then not only provides the number and types of joints needed, but will also create a customized cutting plan for the wood needed.
To learn more about these universal clamps, visit Indie Furniture. Note that clamps are somewhat pricey at $20 a pop. Here's hoping that one day ideas that promote sustainability and customization won't cost an arm and a leg.
Nicola Enrico Stäubli, the designer behind Indie Furniture, focuses on creating open source concepts for the consumer, allowing the consumer the ability to take part in the design process as well.
(Image credits: Beat Schweizer / Indie Furniture; found via Core77)
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It's an awesome idea! Especially for renters who move from one place to another! Pack up your storage and go!
I am lusting after that staircase!
these are such a great idea - it really is a shame that they have to be priced so high. sort of feels like it robs the idea of it's actual value.
"Here's hoping that one day ideas that promote sustainability and customization won't cost an arm and a leg."
Dream on. By the way, we need you to replace all your light-bulbs again.
But seriously, this looks like a good case for buying one and backwards engineering it to make your own on the cheap.
These don't *need* to cost an arm and a leg, but it's charitable of you to say so. Some products that are made/shipped with sustainability in mind need to be pricier to cover costs, but not things made from recycled aluminum (as long the item is simply designed itself.) Looks like this company knows their audience!
$20 each?! Here's hoping another company makes a cheaper knock-off.
$20 is wayyyyy to much for me. But I do like this idea! So simple and practical that even one who doesn't know how to do woodworking can make something out of it!
It's a great idea, and others can now take it & run with it.
Perhaps Target will make a knockoff.
LOVE the staircase.
Growing up in the 70's, my parent used joints like these to make a bookcase for my room. I remember the metal being bronze...but I have no idea where they got the hardware from. I'll have to ask to see if they remember!
I've always wondered why I haven't seen this sort of thing since I was a kid. Seems like a great way for those who are sort-of handy to create custom-fit shelving. I know it made a great Barbie condo set-up :)
Yeah, perhaps Target will make a knock-off, betraying all the principles and goals of the design... farming off production to China, a low-wage country with a predatory and artificially-low government-set currency that has been a significant factor in the destruction of the the North American manufacturing industry... Finished products will of course be lower in quality, and will be shipped across the globe, requiring the burning of fossil fuels... Oh, and a young designer will have his design ripped-off. But hey, it'll be CHEAP, and that is the most important consideration.
I don't get it. Not at all. Overpriced any way you look at it, not really very attractive, and doesn't really seem to be that innovative either.