This blog provides a forum for students, instructors and others to share information and ideas about the Spring Thesis Program at Parsons the New School for Design in New York City.
Hi Chika, I got really excited today in class when you started talking about hammocks. I love my hammock, and I think it would be a great project for you. It fits your ideas very well: you get a practical and fun way for a city kid to get the feeling of camping without leaving the city. I think that sleeping outside is one of the best parts of camping, and you can do that very cheaply and easily with a hammock.
But a hammock is not an easy thing to design; you need to consider the way it will be supported, the material you will use, the structure, and how it is folded up and stored. My Ikea hammock sits outside every day in the rain, so it has to be suitable fabric for that. You also need to think about how a city hammock is different than a camping hammock or an old fashioned back yard hammock. Maybe you could add features to increase the feeling of being in the forest, while still being in the city. I would guess that a city hammock doesn't have to be super light weight like one you are carrying in a backpack, but there may be other requirements that would make it distinct and so marketable (there are already many hammocks on the market, so you should be looking look for a niche). Also, when you go camping, you usually tie your hammock to two trees. It may be hard to find two trees the right distance apart in the city, so you might have to develop some other ways to hold the hammock. Maybe some kind of lightweight carryable structure for this purpose.
If I were you, I would drop everything and go into high gear research mode about hammocks. I just googled it, and and found this picture. It is supposed to be Columbus discovering the New World, only to discover a nude indian on a hammock! I wonder when hammocks were first used.... steven
Hi Chika, I got really excited today in class when you started talking about hammocks. I love my hammock, and I think it would be a great project for you. It fits your ideas very well: you get a practical and fun way for a city kid to get the feeling of camping without leaving the city. I think that sleeping outside is one of the best parts of camping, and you can do that very cheaply and easily with a hammock.
But a hammock is not an easy thing to design; you need to consider the way it will be supported, the material you will use, the structure, and how it is folded up and stored. My Ikea hammock sits outside every day in the rain, so it has to be suitable fabric for that. You also need to think about how a city hammock is different than a camping hammock or an old fashioned back yard hammock. Maybe you could add features to increase the feeling of being in the forest, while still being in the city. I would guess that a city hammock doesn't have to be super light weight like one you are carrying in a backpack, but there may be other requirements that would make it distinct and so marketable (there are already many hammocks on the market, so you should be looking look for a niche). Also, when you go camping, you usually tie your hammock to two trees. It may be hard to find two trees the right distance apart in the city, so you might have to develop some other ways to hold the hammock. Maybe some kind of lightweight carryable structure for this purpose.
If I were you, I would drop everything and go into high gear research mode about hammocks. I just googled it, and and found this picture. It is supposed to be Columbus discovering the New World, only to discover a nude indian on a hammock! I wonder when hammocks were first used.... steven
3 comments:
Hi Chika,
I got really excited today in class when you started talking about hammocks. I love my hammock, and I think it would be a great project for you. It fits your ideas very well: you get a practical and fun way for a city kid to get the feeling of camping without leaving the city. I think that sleeping outside is one of the best parts of camping, and you can do that very cheaply and easily with a hammock.
But a hammock is not an easy thing to design; you need to consider the way it will be supported, the material you will use, the structure, and how it is folded up and stored. My Ikea hammock sits outside every day in the rain, so it has to be suitable fabric for that. You also need to think about how a city hammock is different than a camping hammock or an old fashioned back yard hammock. Maybe you could add features to increase the feeling of being in the forest, while still being in the city. I would guess that a city hammock doesn't have to be super light weight like one you are carrying in a backpack, but there may be other requirements that would make it distinct and so marketable (there are already many hammocks on the market, so you should be looking look for a niche). Also, when you go camping, you usually tie your hammock to two trees. It may be hard to find two trees the right distance apart in the city, so you might have to develop some other ways to hold the hammock. Maybe some kind of lightweight carryable structure for this purpose.
If I were you, I would drop everything and go into high gear research mode about hammocks.
I just googled it, and
and found this picture. It is supposed to be Columbus discovering the New World, only to discover a nude indian on a hammock! I wonder when hammocks were first used....
steven
Hi Chika,
I got really excited today in class when you started talking about hammocks. I love my hammock, and I think it would be a great project for you. It fits your ideas very well: you get a practical and fun way for a city kid to get the feeling of camping without leaving the city. I think that sleeping outside is one of the best parts of camping, and you can do that very cheaply and easily with a hammock.
But a hammock is not an easy thing to design; you need to consider the way it will be supported, the material you will use, the structure, and how it is folded up and stored. My Ikea hammock sits outside every day in the rain, so it has to be suitable fabric for that. You also need to think about how a city hammock is different than a camping hammock or an old fashioned back yard hammock. Maybe you could add features to increase the feeling of being in the forest, while still being in the city. I would guess that a city hammock doesn't have to be super light weight like one you are carrying in a backpack, but there may be other requirements that would make it distinct and so marketable (there are already many hammocks on the market, so you should be looking look for a niche). Also, when you go camping, you usually tie your hammock to two trees. It may be hard to find two trees the right distance apart in the city, so you might have to develop some other ways to hold the hammock. Maybe some kind of lightweight carryable structure for this purpose.
If I were you, I would drop everything and go into high gear research mode about hammocks.
I just googled it, and
and found this picture. It is supposed to be Columbus discovering the New World, only to discover a nude indian on a hammock! I wonder when hammocks were first used....
steven
sorry for posting this twice, Chika, something crashed, and it didn't seem like my original post worked, so I redid it, now there are two.
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