laser engraving trials of map designs

we started testing out our designs onto the leather, and it worked out well, for these trials we sampled on normal lambskin, not the hardened LASRA lambskin as we didn't have any sizable LASRA leather to trial on yet, even though this leather is a lot thinner, it still wormed well, when we have the thicker leather to test on we can engrave deeper and see if it creates a bolder contrast, and can play around with line thickness and depth. We think that this testing shows that our ideas are plausible and we can go ahead into our products full swing now 

Design ideas

last week we all started making a design for laser engraving. we thought a good New Zealand themed idea would be to make outline drawings of maps/locations around NZ. we started with wellington just to get a basic idea of how it would look - here's how it is going so far. is time consuming and yet to be completed, but we think it would look awesome being laser engraved onto leather as we have seen examples of maps being laser engraved onto other leather products.
we also have a more close-up street view example. Pics to come :)

Foiling Inspiration

I really like this idea, foiling on leather, this one almost looks like its indented slightly like its been engraved then foiled in the engraving, a technique id like to try.

I think this is quite an interesting technique and not too sure how its been created, i think its using the existing fur on the leather and burning it away in some places and foiling. The lambskins we are working with are furless but we could look into recreating this technique with the use of flocking in areas and foiling in others.

I think this is a really strong technique. Not necessarily for a necklace in our case but foiling full blocks and then laser cutting it. Gives the structure of leather with a foiled colour.

Similar to the above picture, creating foil coloured leather might be effective.




These are just examples of wall art with foiling. Its quite a modern, contemporary thing, which could be a good reason to at least experiment with it.

Engraving Inspiration

I really like the technique of engraving. I love how the lines change colour based on how deep the engraving is, however the deeper it is the more compromised the quality is. I think that the idea of using really thin delicate lines is really effective, and shouldn't change the quality of the leather or the way it sits. The examples on the phone cases are really effective and detailed however are on wood, so definitely a technique that needs to be tested on leather asap.

Laser Cutting Inspiration

I think these three designs are a nice idea for laser cutting the leather and applying it to another fabric. you can still have the aesthetic of leather but reinforced with another fabric, maybe even another, non-cut leather.

Laser cutting on a lighter leather could quite possibly create these burnt edges, we could look into using that as a design feature as it is quite successful in this piece

I quite like the idea of using the entire hide in a project. For example using the laser cutter and cutting out the shapes, letters like in the piece, and then being able to use both the letters but also the shape that is left behind in the leather, maximising usage, minimising wastage.

I think this design is just a very successful piece aesthetically, and would be the kind of thing we could achieve with the lightweight lambskin. 

This is another example of a design that i think we could use both the cut out but also the piece left behind, could be an experiment that we do where we use both in one piece.

navigating not knowing or managing co-creativity.

to think about "Newness" and being original.
Navigating not-knowing.
The trigger response is also known as lizard brain. 3 F's - Flight, fight, or freeze.
Causes one to freak out.

Convergent thinking
A -----> B
Race, one answer. NOT creative

Design is not about trying to fin the 'right' answer. trying to find 'possibilities'
this is known as divergent thinking.
 A-------<><>--------- B
diamond, double diamond.
its a repeat process, creative thinking.

To work well in a group:
Trust in self, Work well under pressure and be aware of process and being aware of when and where you get stuck. Then making the right decisions to move forward.
Suspend judgement - brainstorm, no critique, no idea is a bad idea. pro's, cons.
openness - listening, having empathy.
Play - go out, move, diffuse tensions. have fun.
Risk Taking - support each other.
Concept blending - creates a stronger outcome.

Customer experience design, design in Business.
business is continually evolving customer needs.
In the digital world, everyone needs to accommodate to the ever changing needs.
design is seeing the market opportunity in between the customer needs, and the efficiency business need.
Not to see the designer as a hero, but as a facilitator.
Rapid prototyping, the design process should never end.
and iterative process - design, build, test, refine, repeat.

Lambskin- Funded project

On LASRAs website they have a small section on their current lambskin project, this is a screenshot of the section. Its a useful read to get a good grasp on the project and their reasoning behind embarking on the project.

LASRA Client Meeting. Intial Project Info

LARSA- Meeting with the Client- Geoff Holmes

The four main meat companies in New Zealand that slaughter the animals, and sell to supermarkets are Affco, Ansco Foods, Silverfern Farms and Alliance.

Meat has really good value, it has seen a huge rise in value over the last 10 years, you can find small portions of meat at the supermarkets for about $25.

Meat companies are not interested in the skins as there is not a lot of value behind them. All they are really focussed on is max profit from minimum effort, and meat does this for them, they just dispose of the skins.

Unfortunately the skin hasn’t risen in value over time like meat.

In 1988 it was about $10 a skin. It has sat at that level for the last 20-30 years. So far there has been no reason to invest in it as there has been not benefit come from it.

There is very little demand for the skins now therefore why it is so cheap. Before 2001 a skin would be around $40 when there was a company in making finished leather products. China’s commodity market has collapsed a bit. Their interest in buying the skins has fallen off. Now it leaves some of the lower grade product going for about $25 a dozen.

The options are sell it as a salted skin, take the wool off and throw it away-it then become a waste product, its likely use is being sent overseas and made into gelatine and pet food, so therefore there is a sustainable aspect to the product- saving it from being waste.

The potential behind the idea of using Lambskin leather is huge, they just need help showing people this. Convince them to invest. – Need to entice companies to come forward.

-Could be a new design idea for the use of leather, could be ideas in how to sell it to them.

Numbers look good- just need something a little more to entice

Design/marketing/anything. The Client does not mind what we come up with, he just wants to sell the product in some form, somehow.

All the science behind the product has been done; it’s the selling that the company needs help with.

12-14 August, Conference in Queenstown, promoting the product.

Lambskin is naturally very light in colour so therefore can be dyed into any colour. Lambskin is dyed in dying vat with pre-metalized acid dyes.

Lambskin is appropriate for children’s shoes as it has stretch and is very soft, great for growing feet.

There is also a huge market for shoes for stewardesses. They look nice and professional and are very comfortable. A company called Cloud nine make these.

Lambskin is COMFORTABLE!

KUMFS are interested in the product.

There is a huge variation in each skin. The middle of each skin is the thicker, stronger area and the edges are thin and stretchy, not recommended for shoes.

-       Find alternate use for edges to avoid any wastage.

-       Accessories are small and would be suitable use for lambskin.

The more of the product the more interest and potential the product will get.

LASRA is a non-profit research organisation. Their research is co-funded from the government. To receive funding for research they pitch their ideas against others and if their idea has potential they receive funding. That it how the initial research for the lambskin has been funded.

LASRA Don’t have the facilities to do the design- understanding materials is important.

Lambskin production:

raw to finished- 1 week

Pickled to finished- 4 days.

LOWE corporation, Hawkes Bay

The sell on to any and everyone-production produce 40%

Construction of production in China is CHEAP- yet they are keen to keep it in NZ.

Leather- synthetic product from natural resources.

Footwear is just an option.

Pickeled state- $25 a dozen

$2.40- $2.80 per square foot.

Companies in the footwear market don’t spend less than $6 per square foot.

PROMOTE THE SKINS-NOT JUST FOOTWEAR

How much benefit vs cost

$2-$4 million for plant.

Leather testing

Example of some embossed lambskin. It works best if soaked in water prior and pressed with a pressure of 0/3

Laser cut lambskin. the circle has been rastered. I think that it is a really effective technique. i love how it creates a 2nd colour as if it has been printed.

hardening leather. By soaking the lambskin in water until it stops bubbling it is a lot harder when it dries

Local Artists

laser engraving on leather is such an awesome way to get a print or form of artwork onto leather. I assume these examples are done on cow's leather, but surely it could do the same thing on lambskin leather. It could be an idea to have local artists get involved in the Lasra project, and to have their artwork engraved onto some form of accessory or product. Could be wallets, phone covers, book covers, interior items, or just wall art. These are a few examples i have found that i think are really interesting! Thoughts?

more ideas

wallet ideas

there are a few interesting wallets and purses that could be made. All of these designs are very lightweight looking, which would suit the lambskin leather.

initial designs

I started doing some designs, that I though could work with the Lambskin, these are leather accessories

This first one is a phone wallet, the phone can slip into the third pocket, and they could have made out of different colours since the leather can be dyed into any colour

 These are some watch straps I designed, they would be embossed designs onto leather straps

This is a wallet design, that features  New Zealand embossed onto the front as a design, I chose to make it New Zealand, as LASRA really wants to keep production in new zealand and also the lambskins are made in New Nealand, so this can be a big selling point, I imagine it could be sold in souvenir shops

This was my inspiration, so it has a shaped edge, but my design would have embossing as well