Hey Everyone!
Hope your holidays have been awesome! Ive been spending time with family, and thinking more on the design and philosophy of the Okin. I thought I would share a few rambles, I think that people are enjoying the thought process behind the development, so I may as well!
After spending some time with the prototype, I am less attracted to the stem design. The stem just feels a bit too...something. I am going to adopt a more simple approach, more like my initial prototype with the simple tubular stem. I think it has something to do with my relationship to the object over time... the bamboo stem, at first, felt more complete to me.. it was like a finished painting. A simple stem, straight, undecorated..at first...may feel a bit boring, but it is more like a blank canvas. I think that over time, a more simple stem design will allow for a deeper relationship between the object and the user... it allows for more change to occur in the apparance of the stem. And in the hand, I think it will feel better.
I feel as though vaporizing, as an artform, is just starting to emerge. I see so many parallels between the act of vaporizing and..say..drinking tea. I would love to see vaporizing go in that direction, and make room for the mindful appreciation of the herbs and the experience. I already see that happening, and there are wonderful vaporizers out there already, but I am also frustrated by the abundance of poorly designed vaporizers, and their impact on our vapor experience... I know it comes down to personal preference, but I believe mindfulness to be one of the keys to happyness... and, it seems to me, that poorly designed and produced tools make it more difficult to simply enjoy the act of using them. How can you fully enjoy the taste and effects of a herb, if your mind is clouded with the frustrations of using a faulty vaporizer?
Generally, there is a major gap in price between hand made and mass produced products in western culture. Somehow we have lost the middle ground, the way of the small workshop, that produces hand made products at accesible prices. There are exceptions, of course.
I feel like I am often forced into buying products of lesser quality, because that is all the market allows. I understand the want for more, and the inability to afford it. I would love to make the Okin a more affordable way to get into vaporizing as an artform. To me, there is more beauty in a product like that, compared to something overly ornate.
Anyhow, I have decided to change the design a tiny bit, resulting in something that I think will both look, perform, and feel better, but also have a price point of around $100. I will not be changing the design of the metal tip at all, but only tiny aspects of the stem that will allow me to cut down on the manufacturing time, but retain the same level of quality. I think it's a win/win.
Take a look at this tea tray. The tea ware is so simple, affordable, and yet...perfected. The design and the materials are suited for the task, honed through time and experience. This is my vision for vaporizing in my own life, and it's the sort of experience I want to share with others through my designs. In the end, its the health of body and mind that most of us are after, and the less bullshit that gets between us and the enjoyment of our herbs, the better.
Thoughts?
thanks for sharing your solution finding process with us.
.... I'm pretty good in geography.