Sweatshop
Plywood, Oak dowel, steel strap, foam, wallpaper strippers, buckets, misc. 2013
Sweatshop is a manufacturing concept and product range, based on steam bending wood. The workshop is portable, safe and the system of modular forms and jigs allows the wood to be bent for different components. Steam bent wood is strong in comparison to shaped or carved wood, because the grain follows the form and doesn't require glue like ply or laminated wood.
The Sweatshop production criteria demands simple techniques possible with limited tooling and machinery. The joinery system for the wooden dowel uses rivets and a resin based bandage. This produces very lightweight and strong bent wood frameworks. The setup communicates the production process making every stage visually clear, using colour to identify tools and jigs. The flexibility of the setup means it can be easily stored when not in use and established again quickly for a production run.
