Client: Darling Dazzles
Assignment: Take Autumn Spitzke’s idea and 1) Flush it out to a workable design 2) Render out realistic color proofs for showing the product to potential buyers and investors 3) Create several workable prototypes 4) Work with Autumn to help with manufacturing, including delivering all relevant files to her chosen vendor.
Autumn was introduced to me through a good friend saying I might be able to help. She does very well selling jewelry items at conventions and online but now wanted to manufacture a jewelry product of her own design. The product is a small metal pendant that hangs from a necklace. There are removable bezels on the front and a space inside to place very cool looking charm slides. Autumn has a whole slew of designs for those bezels and charm slides.
I took on the assignment because I liked that Autumn really knew what she wanted – and because as a decent human being, I wanted to make sure she could get through the design to manufacturing journey with as little pain as possible. There are traps out there that any product neophyte can easily fall in to.
On my first product I made all the classic mistakes and spent far too much money on just getting the product in my hand. What I helped Autumn do on this project was to go step by step and only talk to manufacturers when she knew her product looked and operated exactly how she wanted it. By having something tangible to show them – color proofs and an actual prototype – her vision could be understood easily, thus avoiding costly mistakes. Getting to this point didn’t mean breaking Autumn’s bank account.
One way I save time and money is by using solid modeling to design with. Solid modeling on the computer is harder to get free flowing organic curves many products demand but when you’re done and the client says “That’s it!”, you’ve already got the files to actually manufacture it, and making changes from that point on is fairly easy. When I was ready to make the metal prototypes, I could use those same design files to drive my CNC machine to cut the parts. And when it was time to finally go to a manufacturer those same files were the ones they could use to make the molds from. There was no wasted time rebuilding “study models.”
I could have sent those same files to a 3D printer company for plastic prototypes and have many times in the past but this was to be a metal product and the resin versions from 3D printing don’t have the durability nor the correct feel of real metal. I could have also used metal 3D printing but it is still fairly expensive and takes a few weeks to get each sample. By doing it in my own shop, I could do two or three versions in a day.
What has happened many times to me and I’m sure other designers as well, is that you’ll get a design and model good enough to 3D print and then send the file off. In the two week turnaround period, you’ll invariably discover ways to improve the design but you’re already stuck with the sample you created in the past. Doing it in your own shop saves time, is more free flowing and changes are easily made.
I did several iterations of the Pendent and the removable bezels with Autumn, sending her metal samples to show her what problems we had and what I’d suggest we change. Together we evolved the design and arrived at a final version 4. Autumn was then able to use the color renderings and the workable metal prototypes to find a manufacturer at a convention that met with her quality and financial requirements.
What I am most proud of with this project is that Autumn was able to go from a design on a few sheets of paper, to a complete molded metal product in a span of just over 4 months, and for a price that was low enough to eliminate the need for a single investor. She owns it all. That’s already a success in my book.
For more on Autumn Spitzke, check out www.darlingdazzles.com
Color Proof Samples
Machining prototypes on the CNC.
Manufacturers metal molded sample pictures 9/17/2015. These will be plated with rhodium for an incredibly rich finish. Gemstones will also be placed in the vacant holes on the round bezel.
Autumn Spitzke comments on her experience:
I had the pleasure of working with Effcap’s owner Frank, on my Darling Dazzles project. He was thorough, creative, patient and affordable. I can’t count how many times that I have had the thought, “If only I could invent…” It always felt so out of reach; the cost of like services are astronomical and the overall expertise is so hard to come by. That is until I met Frank. He has the knowledge, experience, resources and a dynamic personality that compliments a business relationship. I knew right from the start that Frank would be a perfect fit for my project. He was able to take my very amateur self-made drawings and bring them to life. He was able to turn them into professional images that eventually gave way to an actual prototype. I truly appreciate Frank’s dedication to my project. He was able to thoroughly move me through many of the necessary steps to develop my new product. I can honestly say that Effcap has helped make my dreams come true and I sincerely look forward to conducting business with Frank in the future.
UPDATE: 9/23/15 Watch Autumn unwrap her first samples from her manufacturer on FACEBOOK.