Here is one current idea for marketing our bowl stands in stores, while promoting our tax exempt mission – to raise funds and awareness about heart disease in dogs and cats.

The second card reads:

… 20–40% of all dogs suffer from some form of heart disease

… caring for a pet with heart disease can easily cost owners upwards of $2500/year

… 100% of the purchase price of this product goes to The Big Hearts Fund, a non-profit that helps pets with heart disease get the veterinary care they so desperately need

… with this purchase, you are helping. Give yourself a pat on the back (or a scratch behind the ears!). You deserve it.

Got the light blue prototype today and applied rubber to the bottom edges – I’ll let the images speak for themselves. Suffice it to say I’m ecstatic.

http://bigheartsfund.org/assets/4cd704bcdabe9d2650000057/blog/hallieeating_sm.jpg

http://bigheartsfund.org/assets/4cd704d5dabe9d2e96000029/blog/lucyeatingupclose_sm.jpg

So now what are the next steps, you ask? Well, we’re working on finding a bulk supplier for the stainless steel bowls (anyone know of one!?). We’re also finding a way to make the seam where the wrap-around rubber meets look “seamless.” And lastly, Tim is scaling up this prototype by a few inches to accommodate larger bowls and larger, taller dogs. On the first run, we’d like to have two sizes available. We have the second color combination chosen; more pictures will be posted by the end of the week. Stay tuned…

We took our metal bowl holder prototype to the painter/powdercoater today. We are having two samples painted – one in a navy blue, and one in a light blue textured paint. Turns out the light blue is also antimicrobial paint… SCORE! Another potential selling point!

We are looking at ways to cut manufacturing cost of this product. Those of you who like materials and processes may find the following interesting: turns out spot welding will be cheaper and easier to perform than the bead welding we used on the original part. Additionally, you may notice in this picture that the bowl holder is missing the “shelf” piece that runs beneath the bowls. Taking this piece away is one potential solution for decreasing weight and manufacturing cost (read: welding cost).

We also found a potential new metal former today who uses primarily CNC cutting machinery (as opposed to the waterjet cutters we used previously). He suggested various ways to decrease weight without compromising structural integrity, and is making us another less expensive prototype. Another thing that makes him awesome: he is right next door to the painter! Bottom line, if we use these guys to produce our product line, all they have to do is walk across the hall for painting and finishing. No shipping between facilities! Fantastic. They were also happy to help us and give us a tour of their facility – not bad. And finally, when we carried our dog bowl prototype into the facility through the office, the secretary barked at us. It was awesome.

So as you can see, things are progressing! Stay tuned… I hope to be able to post pictures of the painted prototype soon enough.

Last week we received the prototypes of the metal bowl stand we’ve been developing, and I’d like to share photos of our progress with you. This is one of the items we will be developing with help from our generous backers.

And here are some other views (sans bowls!) for your enjoyment:

Front View

Side/Top View

Obviously this prototype is still unfinished raw metal. Also, it is in 2 pieces which need to be welded together. The two pieces are for stability and visual interest. It also increases the weight of the product to keep it from sliding on the floor when the dog eats from it.

We are looking into painting and powder coating options for the final finish. Earlier posts show computer renderings of some colors we are considering – I’ll post my favorite color combo again so you can use your imagination with the photos of our current prototype!

http://bigheartsfund.org/assets/4cd6ff24dabe9d2b1300003b/blog/bhf01003lightblue_grey.jpg

Also, the gray wrapped around the bottom edge will likely be a waterproof treated felt material, or some kind of silicone/neoprene. This will create a soft, non-scratch barrier for contact with the floor, as well as provide visual interest with textural contrast.

Will keep you all updated as progress develops! Cheers!

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!)