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I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]

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Re: I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]

#41
First reaction was; "This is really dumb. It'll take up twice the width."

But after watching through to the end, Giertz comes off really genuine and it's an inspiring short story of failure and problem solving, and I love that. I believed at the end that she's solving a unique problem. Can't hate on it.

Re: I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]

#42
post #27

Isn't the point of a coat hanger to hang your clothes uncrumpled? If you're compromising on that aspect, wouldn't wall hooks fit most use cases? For places where space is at a premium a normal coat hanger on a telescopic rod would be a viable alternative in many cases, i.e. have the clothes rotate almost 90°, and mostly overlap. You can also stack the coat hangers vertically, e.g. with cheap plastic brackets like the…

There is a pretty major difference between crumpled and folded. A soft/wide radius fold isn't going to leave wrinkles or a major crease but it may still be noticeable. A sharp/small radius fold will leave a crease but will be significantly less noticeable on most clothes than wrinkles. And either way the crease would be along a stress point where wearing the clothes would smooth the crease out quickly.

Speaking of crumples, it's interesting that the final design makes the apparent compromise of not folding the clothes down the middle, but slightly off to the side.

But in the discarded invention pile we can see an older design that folds down the exact middle (it has springs on the bottom).

Re: I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]

#44
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hopefully she already started the patent process, otherwise it’s either 1) an expired patent 2) an existing patent 3) she actually invented it but won’t profit at all from it

Patenting this for her portfolio maybe, I can design and print a folding plastic hanger in 1 piece in less than 24 hours. A mold not far behind if i reached out to a shop... you raise an interesting point I think gets asked in nearly every YC interview. How do you build your moat or stop any big players from competing with a very similar product. I think she actually misidentified the problem she was trying to solve.…

Shit. You do have a really good point. There's not many examples of hanger bars mounted so close to a wall or in a tiny closet already. Most people who might use this would have to be building or installing one for this custom purpose.

I also wondered if it wouldn't make your shirts more wrinkly or have the potential to leave creases. I don't think anyone cares to invest in a space-saving solution like this if it means all their shirts will be wrinkled or creased. Unless space is the primary constraint, like a tiny apartment, tiny house, or custom van build.

Re: I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]

#45
post #41

First reaction was; "This is really dumb. It'll take up twice the width." But after watching through to the end, Giertz comes off really genuine and it's an inspiring short story of failure and problem solving, and I love that. I believed at the end that she's solving a unique problem. Can't hate on it.

RVs frequently have closets where this is a problem. I ended up buying tiny hangers, but would rather have had this.

Re: I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]

#46
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hopefully she already started the patent process, otherwise it’s either 1) an expired patent 2) an existing patent 3) she actually invented it but won’t profit at all from it

Patenting this for her portfolio maybe, I can design and print a folding plastic hanger in 1 piece in less than 24 hours. A mold not far behind if i reached out to a shop... you raise an interesting point I think gets asked in nearly every YC interview. How do you build your moat or stop any big players from competing with a very similar product. I think she actually misidentified the problem she was trying to solve.…

Most of the options on Kickstarter include both the hangers and low profile rod/brackets (and a shelf on the fancy one). The tier without a rod included says:

> While using your own rod isn't recommended, we got a lot of requests for it so here you go! Please read our FAQ before buying so you're aware of the pros and cons. Some basic DIY knowhow required.

I think she knows the hanger is only useful as part of a system.

Re: I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]

#47
post #18

Those wire hangers are murder in clothes. You want thick wooden hangers that will last you a lifetime.

For anyone who wants the best hangers that money can buy, Kirby Allison is what you want: https://www.kirbyallison.com/pages/the-hanger-project-story

Re: I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]

#48
post #41

First reaction was; "This is really dumb. It'll take up twice the width." But after watching through to the end, Giertz comes off really genuine and it's an inspiring short story of failure and problem solving, and I love that. I believed at the end that she's solving a unique problem. Can't hate on it.

RVs frequently have closets where this is a problem. I ended up buying tiny hangers, but would rather have had this.

Excellent point. Experienced that pain last year.

Re: I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]

#50
post #18

Those wire hangers are murder in clothes. You want thick wooden hangers that will last you a lifetime.

When my son was about 5 months old, he was crawling in the bathroom floor while I was getting dressed in the adjacent walk-in closet. He was playing with the closet door and closed it. I didn't think much of it, but then I noticed that he had also opened a drawer which prevented me from opening the door from the closet (terrible apartment design!). I was stuck in the closet alone, without my phone, unable to get out. I panicked a little bit since it was early in the day and my spouse wouldn't return in about 10 hours. Long story short, I McGyver'ed my way out thanks to a wire hanger that I found in the closet: I straightened it and used it to push the drawer back in through the tiny slit that was left through the door and the frame. I used to hate wire hangers too, now I make sure I always have a few in every closet, just in case, you never know :)
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