I'm reminded of similarly useless "sustainable cardboard furniture" that came out about a decade ago.
On the positive side, kudos to whomever in marketing/pr at the design firm got this useless product so much press.
This is just the sort of "win" that a design consulting shop loves to have for actual briefs that lead to real moving-the-needle revenue. One example would be SmartDesign's modular slip-on "S-Grips" that led to the iconic vegetable peeler that then bled into the "design language" of every product at OXO.
I liked the part where they were looking for someone to manufacture the handles, and the Japanese machinist said "If he could make it, I can make it!".
Indeed, having gone down the rabbit hole of machining (both to see if it would be a viable hobby and if it could even be a career), this was the attitude of the shop teacher: "if you can think it, you can probably make it". I am far more surprised that neither the American nor the Taiwanese manufacturers said this. Then again, perhaps it was because management didn't talk to the guys who made things!
(Now that I think of it, had they done that, perhaps they would have gotten the answer "We can do it, but the fins will wear down the tool too fast, at least until we can figure out a better material for the tools!" instead of "Nope, we can't do that!")
Brilliant write up. I remember using the old ones, and only last year found the oxo model. truly amazing. Many important lessons in product design in that article; with the most important in the last sentence - it has to work!
I've tried swivelling peelers a few times and every time I return to my forty year old Lancashire peeler with its blade held on the plastic handle with tightly wrapped cotton string. A bit like this one: https://www.pattersons.co.uk/lancashire-peeler.html
that's something i never understood: why do they sell peelers with a movable part? like we are meant to peel in curves and expect the knife to follow the curve beautifully? the fixed ones are easier to use and easier to clean!
The hinge allows you to peel in both directions (i.e. forwards and backwards across your potato/carrot/etc. without lifting the peeler.) It also means it can track a rough surface more easily. I haven't had any issues with the hinge, and I use a dishwasher for cleaning - what issues have you run into?
I find the movable ones cut a thinner peel, probably the blade is held at a more optimal angle if it can find its own position, or maybe my particular movable one is just better-made than my fixed one.
Expressing patronage of sustainability is emotionally equivalent to expressing patronage of artistry. Functionally a $10 chair from Goodwill will support a person equally well (and also be an expression of patronage for a person with options).
Some say Teenage Engineering products are mostly PR to promote their design studio (which is contracted by e.g. Ikea). Because indeed, value for money is not there. Or the product itself is preposterous (like their voice recorder).
MUJI used to have lots of that (20-25yrs ago). Shelves made from cardboard tubes, etc... You could tell, one bump and it would be destroyed. I think they got rid of most of them.
indeed useless, you can use arbitrary anything - a book, a notebook, the earpods, the wallet -> all work. besides the thing blowing wind does not make much real difference it seems.
Have one for several years. The main problem is cleaning it. Good luck cleaning the dust and spider webs from hundreds of individual holes. But otherwise, it's extremely sturdy and stable.
On the positive side, kudos to whomever in marketing/pr at the design firm got this useless product so much press.
This is just the sort of "win" that a design consulting shop loves to have for actual briefs that lead to real moving-the-needle revenue. One example would be SmartDesign's modular slip-on "S-Grips" that led to the iconic vegetable peeler that then bled into the "design language" of every product at OXO.