#thetoasterproject

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“Left to his own devices he couldn’t build a toaster. He could just about make a sandwich and that was it." - Douglas Adams, (1992)

The Toaster Project- Thomas Thwaites presentation during our second Lecture.

I thoroughly enjoyed this presentation, it gave me insight into the deeper meaning behind the possibilities of working with material and process. Designer Thomas Thwaites “The Toaster project” introduces the effort and skill that is now taken for granted due to mass industry and the developing world which turns away from the very basic historical method, effort and skill that is involved with making materials such as metal, plastic and other material. His handmade Toaster was produced by foraging for materials, researching methods and trial and error experimentation. This project was sold and featured at the V&A for £20,000. “The Toaster project” book depicts his ordeal and efforts of creating this piece of design and is also available in a variety of countries and languages.

This process looked at “How far we have come” into our developing world as designers and makers by closely looking at what skill is required to make a simple toaster that is often overlooked from it’s complexity of many components and processes.

I liked the originality of this project and it definitely made me consider recreating something for myself from scratch with experimentation and incorporate this into my work in future projects, as it made me think about how much we take innovation and design for granted.

References:

Thwaites, T. (2011). The Toaster Project. New York: Princeton Architectural Press

Who here has ever tried to make an electrical appliance from scratch? And, how did it go? I'd love to find out...