Yesterday we picked up our beautifully laser-cut and formed bowl stands from Prince Industries and transported them to Britt Industries for painting!

All I can say is, I wish we had found Prince first. They are organized, efficient, do quality work, and above all they do what they say they will do. It took us a year to finally get a product we are satisfied with, but I’m so glad we did. Starting the manufacturing process over again, though frustrating, has allowed us to make minor tweaks to the original design, helping us bring you a higher quality product. The bowl stands will be IN YOUR HANDS if you have pre-ordered, and FOR SALE ONLINE in the month of June!

Now that I’ve shared with you my affinity for bent plywood, here is another bowl stand with a completely different twist.

My good friend Tim Haley (of Tangible Design, inc.) collaborated with me to produce this gem. The following images are renderings of what we would like the final product to look like. We currently have a prototype, which is still at the welder.

These are just two of the color combinations we hope to make available:

In this design, the metal is clear-coated and left “au-natural,” and orange felt is wrapped around the bottom edges, creating a soft boundary for contact with the floor. The felt also adds some visual interest with contrasting color and adds a different textural component.

Here is another color combination we hope to produce.

This bowl holder is extremely sturdy – it is made of steel and has significant heft, which will keep it stationary while pets eat from it. It will also become a permanent fixture in its kitchen. Who says pet products have to be ugly and hidden away when guests come over? If pets are members of our family, then their furniture “counts” just as much as ours does.

I LOVE bend plywood!!! It is absolutely gorgeous. In my humble opinion, it is the perfect medium to express modernity and simplicity, with the often-lacking-in-other-modern-design-mediums warmth. And I think the world needs more of it! I designed and built this pet bowl stand 5 years ago, as a Christmas gift to my husband to use for his beloved (late) cat, Gorby.

I like the idea of holding the bowls in different ways within the same frame. This concept – holding one bowl from the top and the other from the bottom – informed the entire design.

I would like to develop a whole series of beautiful bent plywood pet products. I have sketched some initial (read: rough!) ideas I’d like to share with you. Your backing of this project will bring these to life.

More product idea updates will come tomorrow! Until then, pass it on. (and give us feedback if you have it, we’d love to hear it!)