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How they make it

Prototyping

“We ordered the first prototypes in an embossed pattern,” explains Marquina, who works with several Indian manufacturing facilities. The Nanimarquina team instructed the manufacturers to use a...

01.01.09
How they make it

Die Cutting

As Boontje’s signature style is often associated with cutouts, Marquina’s solution was a good fit. Sheets of felt from Rajasthan go into a die cutter, which is essentially a combination of a waffle...

01.01.09
How they make it

Weaving

Depending on the size of the rug—they come in three sizes—one or two technicians at SPN operate the loom, which involves painstaking manual labor. “Every two or three lines,” Marquina explains, “we...

01.01.09
How they make it

Cut

Organic merino wool arrives from Vermont, woven and mounted on rolls over a yard and a half wide. When asked what makes the wool organic, Notkin explains that the sheep grazed on pesticide-free...

01.01.09
How they make it

Prep

Zippers, buttons, and other add-ons are rendered unnecessary by Looolo’s pillowcase closure system, which uses a tried-and-true technique: overlapping flaps on the back. “Zippers and...

01.01.09
How they make it

Pattern

Notkin, who started her career making costume jewelry, has a knack for romantically contrasting hues and textures. In fact, her favorite part of the creative process comes before anything is made...

01.01.09
How they make it

Stuff

The fronts and backs are sewn to each other inside out and then turned right side out—“we just make sure the corners are nice,” says Notkin. Each pillowcase is hand-stuffed with a...

01.01.09
How they make it

Concept

On every scale, from cottage industry to mass market, production starts with research. Johnstone begins by scouring the globe for team members who have the right skills and design sense to match a...

01.01.09
How they make it

From 2-D to 3-D

“Very aggressive” is how Johnstone describes the design schedule. They move quickly from a few rough sketches to a virtual 3-D model. AMOI and HWL take advantage of the time difference, working on...

01.01.09
How they make it

Prototyping

After the sketch-overlay and technical-design phases, AMOI provides a 3-D model. In the nine months that follow, the shape is subject to intensive prototyping before delivery to the factory line. ...

01.01.09
How they make it

Finishing

When finishes are chosen and every-one has signed off, the factory line begins to churn. “We do a short production run of about 500 phones,” says Johnstone, “and use them heavily to gather feedback...

01.01.09
How they make it

Dumpster Diving

The first step in the Scrapile process is to acquire raw materials. Salgado and Bettencourt are beggars, not choosers: Any wood—from cherry to walnut—will do. With help from a local...

01.01.09
How they make it

Building a Block

With raw material in hand, they painstakingly assemble their scraps into a solid, ten-foot-long block that is eight inches square. To achieve the striated pattern of cascading bands that is...

01.01.09
How they make it

A Design Emerges

All of Scrapile’s sharp modern forms come from the solid block of wood. The pieces have evolved from basic, boxy shapes to more complex lines as Salgado, who does most of the design, has...

01.01.09
How they make it

Putting It Together

With a design in place, the block is trimmed down to size, planed, sanded, and edge-cleaned. Planks are cut with precision, to ensure the waterfall pattern aligns exactly, and pieces are glued and...

01.01.09
How they make it

Slicing

The design files are sent to EOS GmbH, a Munich-based factory with six different types of laser-sintering machines. Before they begin, a slicing software divides the Trabecula into some 6,000 cross...

01.01.09
How they make it

Sintering

“Sintering” is not an everyday word for most people—it means using laser energy to melt and fuse particles. It’s traditionally applied to metal, but nowadays it works very well on certain varieties...

01.01.09
How they make it

Unpacking

When the bucket has cooled, it’s time to assemble the pieces. Ahmadou Kaloga, an EOS applications support technician, usually does the unpacking. “It’s like an archeological dig,” says Kyttänen. “A...

01.01.09
How they make it

01 Woodblocks

Woods’s prints begin as marker drawings on acetate. “We have a set of patterns that have been reduced from wood grain,” he says, “and we use them as a library, and change them around. So it really...

01.01.09
How they make it

03 Prints

Before the furniture is assembled, each piece is painted jet-black and printed with the CNC-cut MDF woodblocks, which Wrong calls “crude but very effective.” Enamel paint in various shades is...

01.01.09
How they make it

04 Groove

Once the pieces are assembled, their stepped miter joints are glued together and clamped to dry. Wrong routs a three-millimeter perpendicular groove along every 90-degree corner of each piece. The...

01.01.09
Product Reviews

Birdhouses

Dear Dwell: We'd like to get a modern-looking birdhouse. Which ones will look best in our backyard? —Erik Edwards, St. Louis, Missouri

written by: Christopher Bright

photos by: Peter Belanger

01.01.09
How they make it

Structural Steel

The first workstation sits just outside the factory’s rear entrance, where deliveries of recycled steel are deposited.

01.01.09
How they make it

Rough Frame Construction

In the third stage of rough frame construction, after painting and prepping, structural insulated panels (SIPs) are dropped in from above and attached to grooves set within the basic frames in...

01.01.09
How they make it

Finish Construction

Finish surfacing comes next—windows, drywall, cabinetry, ornamental metalwork, tiling, appliances, and fixtures are put into place.

01.01.09