Squirreel iPod Cozy - Long gone are the days of making mix tapes, but the classic cassette tape isn't completely useless. This design takes a 'back to the future' approach, mainly comprised of old cassette tape reel along with off cuts of felt and polypropylene. The product merges the past and present, through upcycling the internal magnetic reel and knitting it into a practical crafty cover for current media wares.
For the most part, the product is made from completely from waste material with the cotton thread being the only virgin material used. As the brown tape is quite ordinary and unattractive, I chose to create a squirrel motif to make a whimsy and more appealing design. The plastic latch at the top creates a closure for the cozy as well as adding to the overall design by balancing out the motif on the front.
As cassettes are rarely used these days, most tapes are thrown out in the rubbish (if they aren't still lurking in people's garages) and therefore being added to landfill. By breathing new life into this vintage object, it increases the value of the obsolete product.
The final product is not unlike my original concepts, I wanted to use the tapes for a practical purpose and found that utilising the reel would be a good idea to do so. Through trial and error, I came to the conclusion that knitting the reel seemed to be the best solution for creating a new material out of a virtually defunct item. Constructing an iPod cover stemmed from the idea to merge the past and the present, which seemed ironically fitting. Surprisingly, making the product used approximately 70% of a standard 60 minute tape, meaning it effectively made good use of the original product.
Peer comments:
wow! Incredible! Between creative art and genius of a creation rather than creation. Good!
ReplyDeleteAmazing idea. must have taken you ages to achieve that result.I like the idea to use the tape from a cassette. One suggestion would be to give more detail to the squirrel as it seems like it has been neglected a bit.
ReplyDeleteI like how you fully use the cassette --instead of just making something from the cassette, you're actually pullingthe tape and making something new out of it. Very clever and I really like the end result. The only one I don't like is the use of plastic latch at the top.
ReplyDeleteThis iPod case is very eyecatching and the colour combination works really well. I love that although this is made from tape, the case is still stretchy and would hold an iPod tight. The plastic latch at the top seems a little clumsy to me although its added balance of colour is welcome.
ReplyDeleteThis product is very cute. The material use is amazing, and the process of knitting the product is astounding. I'm worried about its strength and durability. But it has an amazing design, and is very useable, nice work!
ReplyDeleteI love this product! My main concern is the strength of the sock and whether or not it would be able to withstand being thrown around. I just wish cassette tape came in different colours.
ReplyDelete