Today we completed the structural build-out of the interior exhibition space. The final touch was a swinging door that will separate the exhibition space from our living space (which consists of a bed and two tiny “closets” that each hold two milk crates worth of clothes).
As our departure date approaches (February 1!), we began laying out the locations of each of the 40 products within the Airstream’s exhibition space. Check out our first attempt to get it all to fit! More info on the exhibition here.
Our Design Revolution Road Show posters have arrived! The 13×20″ posters have been hand screenprinted by Christian Helms of The Decoder Ring (thanks Christian!) and will be distributed to the schools for promotion soon. Look out for the bright pink posters on your school’s campus in the coming weeks and months. Each poster will include date, time, and location for the Airstream exhibition and our lecture.
As of today, December 9th, we some newly updated information regarding a few of our school stops! As we schedule the parking spot and lecture times at each of the colleges and high schools, we will continually make this information available. Additionally, please check the individual school pages for the most up-to-date information. Here are the latest updates:
One of the products we just unpacked is the educational toy Mobee, designed by a Parsons New School student named Eddie Chiu. Mobee is for now just a prototype, though it is a phenomenal concept for engaged and tactile learning for children with cerebral palsy or visual impairments. By moving the knob piece through the track, a child develops fine motor skills and sensory sensitivity. Color differentiations and whiteboard drawing space allow for individual engagements that are unique with every use. The textures in the pathways, which include raised dots, ribbings, and larger “speed bumps,” also raise aural awareness for children with diminished visual capacities. The nine-piece toy is incredibly beautiful in person, and we imagine would be a playful and educational experience for young children with sensory challenges. Mobee will be features in the exhibition and can also be found in the Education section of the book Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People.
Yesterday, we went to pick up the Airstream trailer from Signworks in San Carlos, the company who printed and applied her exterior decals. The vinyl decals include a pink and black racing stripe (the design of which was conceived by C2, one of our sponsors), along with “Design Revolution Road Show” text on both sides and inside the exhibition space, and a presenter/sponsor section by the door. Watch the video to see how they were applied and the final product, check out the whole photo album on our Flickr page here, and look for the pink stripe when we roll into town!
Over the past few months, we have been working diligently on the conversion of our 1972 Airstream trailer. The vintage trailer will be the mobile exhibition for the Design Revolution Road Show, highlighting the 40 humanitarian products and products. We have gutted the entire interior and built it out into a more open, flexible exhibition space. Watch the video to hear project manager Matt Miller explain how we’ve renovated the space, and how the exhibition will be laid out!
See our previous post, from back in October, about the floor plan and new walls for the exhibition, too.
The last few of our exhibition’s products are arriving this week, including the SpiderBoot, a sturdy set of footwear that helps protect landmine detection teams from injury and death. The simple boot is essentially a snowboard binding attached to a 4-legged base (basically a small table), which is strapped to the person’s foot around their normal shoes. The four points distribute the person’s weight more widely, making it less likely for them to detonate a landmine should they step on one.
As we get closer to our February 1 “launch date,” we’re also getting ready to outfit the Airstream trailer with vinyl decals, including a big pink and black racing stripe, website, and of course, “Design Revolution Road Show” front and center. Before we can take the trailer to get her decals applied, we have to ensure that the exterior aluminum paneling is polished as thoroughly as possible. Because we’re close to the beach, we’re having some problems with salt water corrosion, which makes our polishing process even more important in the long-term weatherproofing of our rig. Project H-er Matt Miller has been working for weeks now, finding the right rubbing compound and recipe for a chrome-like finish on this 37-year old Airstream. Watch the video to see how he does it!
After months of agonizing over the last days of our old and beloved “Marge” (a 1996 Ford F250 diesel behemoth of a truck), we have officially upgraded to a new and more reliable ride. On Black Friday in Half Moon Bay, California, we purchased a pre-owned 2007 Ford F250 diesel XL, 4-wheel-drive, which is fairly bare bones but exactly what we need, equipped with a tow package, telescoping mirrors, and built-in trailer brakes. Our new truck, however, is for the time being nameless. With Large Marge’s big shoes to fill, we feel we need to get to know her a bit better before proclaiming her moniker. However, if you’ve got great ideas, we’d love to hear them. Currently in the running: Peggy, Beatrix and Princess (because she’s so new and shiny). In the meantime, welcome to the newest member of our Design Revolution Road Show family.