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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]

#231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the best ideas come when you make something that you really want for yourself. In 2020, I really wanted an eink calendar to hang on my wall. Still, many people built one for themselves and never turned it into a commercial product. It’s a lot of work and some of it is boring. And you have to pay for certification and worry about all that paperwork that comes with a business. It took me 3 years: https://shop.i…

link is broken for me

Fixed

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

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the idea is in a large part aimed at van-lifers, so a notched rod could be quite beneficial

There are too few of them to justify the production run costs.

And yet, the Kickstarter has achieved triple their goal already.

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

#233
post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the best ideas come when you make something that you really want for yourself. In 2020, I really wanted an eink calendar to hang on my wall. Still, many people built one for themselves and never turned it into a commercial product. It’s a lot of work and some of it is boring. And you have to pay for certification and worry about all that paperwork that comes with a business. It took me 3 years: https://shop.i…

> And you have to pay for certification This is the thing that got me down and it seems to be the biggest barrier to entry for commercializing hardware products. The CE/FCC certification is killer.

CE is much worse than FCC. Maybe the US Market would work as a start?

I can recommend Sunfire Testing for certification. They are used to working with hackers.

If you want you can email me and I can maybe help with you with some advice.

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

#234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the best ideas come when you make something that you really want for yourself. In 2020, I really wanted an eink calendar to hang on my wall. Still, many people built one for themselves and never turned it into a commercial product. It’s a lot of work and some of it is boring. And you have to pay for certification and worry about all that paperwork that comes with a business. It took me 3 years: https://shop.i…

link is broken for me

[deleted]

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

#235
post #136
post #63

I came across the Kickstarter [1] for this as a Facebook ad and passed over it for all the reasons folks are citing below. Folding hanger? What's the use case? But watching the video, she's really put a lot of thought into this. The system with the paired rod is pretty slick. I love the notches for keeping the hangers spaced. This solves a problem not everyone has (not me, for instance--I have full-size closets), but…

Worth noting this is Simone Giertz, she's a very popular maker on the internet, and her youtube channel has over 2M subscribers. A lot of her funding on KS is porbably based on that alone. It is a cool design, but 3 years? She definitely worked on other projects in that time. Ultimately the volume taken up by the clothes is the same, you either have a shallow but wide closet, or deep but narrow. If you are not worrie…

Yup. My reaction when I saw the KickStarter campaing: it's Simone Giertz, so it's legit. If it were just some rando who's not a name I recognize from the DIY sphere, I'd assume it's fraud.

I bet many people will buy it because of who made it, even if they don't need it.

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

#236
post #63

I came across the Kickstarter [1] for this as a Facebook ad and passed over it for all the reasons folks are citing below. Folding hanger? What's the use case? But watching the video, she's really put a lot of thought into this. The system with the paired rod is pretty slick. I love the notches for keeping the hangers spaced. This solves a problem not everyone has (not me, for instance--I have full-size closets), but…

Yeah, it's kind of cool. But $20 for one foldable coat hanger is pretty outrageous, esp. considering that wire coat hangers you get at a cleaner's are virtually free, and you can fold them by hand.

Not the same thing! Sure! But close. And almost free.

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

#237
post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And you have to pay for certification This is the thing that got me down and it seems to be the biggest barrier to entry for commercializing hardware products. The CE/FCC certification is killer.

CE is much worse than FCC. Maybe the US Market would work as a start? I can recommend Sunfire Testing for certification. They are used to working with hackers. If you want you can email me and I can maybe help with you with some advice.

thats a great reference, thanks!

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

#238

I just love the maker's mind. > I want something that does not exist, I will make it. Making things has never been so accessible, if you don't know how to start, join a community and ask, if they are hostile, just ask chatgpt and start from there. 3d printers are 200$, esp32 is the same cost as arduino nano. Want to make AI things? Make them. Want to make coat hangers? Make them. Want to make a book stand? Make it. I…

> Want to make AI things? Make them. Want to make coat hangers? Make them. Want to make a book stand? Make it. Or, you could just, you know, buy them. My beef with people who say, like you do that 3D printers are cheap or you can buy an arduino/pi/whatever, is simple. People consistently fail to value their time, and the startup cost. The startup cost because your thinking works on the assumption that people know how…

>People consistently fail to value their time, and the startup cost.

For many people, most of it is spent doing such BS, doom-scrolling, binge-watching, games, and so on, that taking time making DIY stuff would be quite an improvement with regards to value their time, outcome, and even their mental health.

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

#239
post #136
post #63

I came across the Kickstarter [1] for this as a Facebook ad and passed over it for all the reasons folks are citing below. Folding hanger? What's the use case? But watching the video, she's really put a lot of thought into this. The system with the paired rod is pretty slick. I love the notches for keeping the hangers spaced. This solves a problem not everyone has (not me, for instance--I have full-size closets), but…

Worth noting this is Simone Giertz, she's a very popular maker on the internet, and her youtube channel has over 2M subscribers. A lot of her funding on KS is porbably based on that alone. It is a cool design, but 3 years? She definitely worked on other projects in that time. Ultimately the volume taken up by the clothes is the same, you either have a shallow but wide closet, or deep but narrow. If you are not worrie…

I was also thinking that the nearly 200 orders for a single coat hanger must be more of a sign of support for the creator than a sign of demand for the product.

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

#240
post #149
post #63

I came across the Kickstarter [1] for this as a Facebook ad and passed over it for all the reasons folks are citing below. Folding hanger? What's the use case? But watching the video, she's really put a lot of thought into this. The system with the paired rod is pretty slick. I love the notches for keeping the hangers spaced. This solves a problem not everyone has (not me, for instance--I have full-size closets), but…

The notched rod looks neat, but isn't rifling through the clothes on the rack kind of an essential part of the experience? Can't do that with a notched rod. First time I'm illustrating a comment with stock footage: https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/studio-shot-of-hand...

It's not a kind of experience I want to be consciously aware of. However, I find the notches too limiting - I can fit 3x as much clothes on a rod.
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