In today’s day in age, the cost of everything is going up… inflation, supplies, materials, labor, etc. Which begs the question on your next project – Do you DIY (do it yourself)?
DIY deck – Why not give it a go.
This deck project was planned from the beginning of home renovations. The French doors were added to replace some large windows – but there was a 30 inch drop as soon as you stepped outside. A deck needed to be built to create a landing for the new doors.
To get a quote from a contractor, we were looking at around $5000 to get this project done. We wanted composite decking, and a sturdy build. Instead of forking out our hard earned cash – we bought the materials, laid out the deck design in CAD, and went to work.
Timeline: The project took about 3 days – layout, construction, and finishing.
Play testing is the best way to figure out what works and what doesn’t. This is true for all prototypes – as a matter of fact – this is the whole point of prototypes; finding out what works. Is this a viable product, game, or concept? Does it work as intended? Are there adjustments that need to be made? What can you do to make it even better… or simpler?
These are all questions you need to ask yourself before you’re ready to move to market. Here at VSSL we can help:
Build the prototypes for play testing, proof of concept, or looks-like/works-like modeling.
Design the branding, logos , and graphics to give your concept a personality.
Guide you in the right direction to make your concept a reality!
Double down on what you need, and make it extra special for your kid!
Backyard Playhouse ShedAdding a playhouse to a garden shed!
This shed concept was designed and built to fit a very specific client need! They needed extra storage space for their garden equipment, but they would sacrifice their backyard space and take away part of their child’s play area. Why not combine them?
We designed a shed to be both, a storage room for lawn equipment and a 2-story playhouse for the kids. With the wall being 8′ tall, we were able to mount a floor at 4′ and also built a ladder with a trap door leading to the second floor. It wasn’t enough to just add a floor – we needed an upstairs and downstairs window, a functioning half size door, and we completed the project with solar lighting, a portico roof, and exterior porch lighting.
Not only did the client get their storage needs met, their child got a two-story playhouse to maximize their child’s play.
Sometimes the easiest way to think things through is to build it in 3D – then figure out the details.
3D design is the latest trend in the global markets – you have META and their 3D virtual world, 3D virtual products on many websites, 3D BIM modeling for architecture and construction, 3D virtual prototypes, and so much more.
What can you do with a 3D model?!? – Well, to start, you can turn it into a physical product. 3D printing has made leaps and bounds in its technological progress. You can print out of plastic, rubber, silicone, resin, powder, metal, concrete, and even food. It is changing the way we perceive and develop the modern world.
Here at VSSL, we can turn your concept into a 3D printed model for you to show the world. It is an amazing technology that can help you develop concept iterations in no time at all.
A skateboard wheel designer’s journey to find purpose! – Purposeboards
Custom Peanut Board and Design – Purposeboards
Skate with Purpose!
Sometimes the world presents you with an opportunity to do something…not just anything, but something with purpose. Unironically, it lead me to create Purposeboards LLC.
Purposeboards is a passion project originating from my life as a product developer for a skateboard wheel manufacturer. I spent my days developing CAD models, molds, parts, tooling, and ultimately wheels. I worked with the top skater’s, from around the world, that wanted the next best thing. Fortunately for them I was good at my job and ended up designing a few wheels that broke world record’s for speed and stability. Although it was an exciting industry to be a part of, I felt it lacked innovation and inclusivity. The skater industry, as I found out, was some of the most exclusive, closed groups of people I’ve been around. If you tried to change anything about ‘the way they do things or the way they’ve been done’ there was resistance. If you simple wanted to learn to skate to be included – you had to do it on your own time until you were ‘good enough’ or ‘daring enough’ to roll with the lords of dogtown. This left a lot of people on the margins, who just wanted to give it a chance.
Well, I wasn’t about that status quo – I decided to try and tackle that issue by making skating more approachable.
When you think of the typical ‘skater’ – you probably think punk teenagers. Well, you wouldn’t be too far off. In 2006, 71% of skater’s were between the ages of 12 and 17*. If you didn’t know how to skate, you couldn’t get into the culture. Well, back in 2012, I decided to make skating more approachable by designing a board simple enough for a toddler, and approachable enough for parents to get them one.
The Peanutboard was born. I designed this board with safety in mind. Deconstructing everything I knew about a skateboard, and redesigned it, from the ground up, to include a slower roll speed, more stable turning ability, a shorter and wider platform, a soft foam top, larger and softer wheels, and, for good measure, I even included handles in the deck for a kid to sit or lay down to ride it like a kneeboard. There was nothing like it on the market. By this time, the fastest growing demographic was 9 years old and younger*. This was my market.
I saw a void in the market, that nobody was catering to, and found a need that needed to be filled. Since I didn’t want to create just another product, I decided that I needed to create products with purpose; something functional that makes people feel unique and included. I named the company Purposeboards – where every board is designed with purpose, to showcase that custom product design doesn’t have to be just another gizmo or gadget, but that it can be larger than itself. It can give people a sense of inclusion and purpose. Our approach at VSSL carries that same mantra!
vessel noun [C] (CONTAINER) – a curved container that is used to hold liquid.
vessel noun [C] (PERSON) – a person who has a particular quality or who is used for a particular purpose!
Decide who you want to be. As a vessel, you get to choose. What are your qualities? What do you want to your purpose to be?
Being a vessel comes with a lot of responsibility – you can only pour out what you allow in. If you want to be a inventor – are you surrounding yourself with innovation? Are you training in the skills you need to succeed? Are you pouring out, in your design studio, what you have created in your head? Are you becoming a vessel of innovation?
People have their own purpose – their own vessel. Some choose to be a vessel of light to help guide people on their journey, some become vessels of destruction and tear people down around them. Identifying your purpose, your vessel, will allow you to pour into others what you’ve grown into yourself.
At VSSL, we are filling our vessels to overflow into helping people on their journey of innovation and purpose. We have filled our lives with design, skills, and seeking our greater purpose. We hope we can be a vessel of light to help you find yours.
Luke 8:16
16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.
