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Ceramic dog slow feeder1/5/2024 I ended up using an extruder instead, which is a type of manual machine that I typically use to make handles for my mugs.įor the slow-feeders, though, I modeled a die that would give me the shapes I needed, and my friend 3D printed for me. The three-dimensionality of the shapes was something that married the two.ĭid you encounter any challenges when you were designing the bowls?īecause the shapes inside the slow feeder bowls are much taller than the shapes I make for my ceramics, I couldn’t use 3D printed stencils like I normally would. It was an inverse of something I have been doing for a long time. I make a lot of mugs and planters that have shapes on the outside, so it felt very natural to take something that I would typically do on the outside of the piece and move it to the inside. I thought that was a super interesting way to incorporate the brand’s focus on what makes dachshunds special into the bowls and make the product feel very Witzig, as though the identity was part of the product.Ĭreating these dachshund-themed shapes not only was on-brand for Witzig, but also had a strong connection to the Not Work Related pieces that I produce all the time. There was a straight line (for smooth coats), a squiggle line (for long), and a zig zag line (for wire). When you started thinking about the slow feeders, how did you incorporate the spirit of dachshunds into the design?ĭuring the brand development stage, the Witzig team had come up with the idea that different line types would represent different types of dachshunds. The bowl was basically as big as they were! After talking with a lot of dachshund owners, I realized I had to really shrink it down, and the final product ended up being half as tall. Once you see dachshunds in real life, though, you realize how tiny they are. I’m most familiar with border collies, and I think I had originally made the prototype with that size dog in the back of my mind. The prototype I brought to Witzig’s New York event was huge, because for some reason it hadn’t hit me how small dachshunds are. It also took me a little bit to figure out the right size for the bowls. I had never heard of slow feeders, and when I first learned about the need for them, I thought there was something adorably hilarious about it - that these tiny dogs get so excited about their food that they eat too fast and need a physical distraction to slow them down. What did you learn about dachshunds when you were designing the bowls? It's a pretty special physical experience. But it's actually really wonderful to be able to turn your brain off a bit and allow the muscle memory to take over. Most people would hate that, because it’s monotonous. My dream project is probably making 100 of the same thing. There’s something about making the same thing over and over again allows for efficiencies that you just don't encounter when you're making one-offs. I hope that bringing these skill sets together challenges what I’m able to produce.ĭo you have a favorite type of project to work on? These tools help me design and visualize a product before producing prototypes and samples, and also make it easier for me to communicate my design intent to clients. It’s taken about three years to transition from a career in architecture to what I’m doing now, but my architecture background still plays a role in my work - especially in the 3D modeling and all the illustrations that I make when I’m conceiving or proposing a project. I decided to quit my job, and found a freelance job that I could do on the side while I was shifting more towards my ceramics. During that time, I started selling my bowls, mugs, and planters at local markets, and I was surprised by how much people were buying. It was a pretty brutal, soulless experience. It was the kind of place where you’d get in in the morning and not know when you were going to leave, or if you were going to be working through the weekend. In 2017, the architecture firm where I was working was very large. Eventually though, as I grew in confidence, I expanded into planters and mugs, which are my staples today, and began adding attachments and holes to my designs. As I was getting started, I made primarily everyday objects like cups and vases, which were the most familiar to me. I had done ceramics in high school and gravitated towards the medium. I missed the physical experience of building things, and so I started doing ceramics on the side. When I started working full time at an architecture firm, I got really restless, because I had never sat still for so long. I went to school for architecture, and got my master's from Columbia.
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