I’ve always thought that origami was pretty neat. I’ve seen people fold paper into those prophetic fortune telling contraptions, make beautiful swans out of napkins, construct geometric fish in just a few creases, and create those highly fashionable newspaper hats. However, to be perfectly honest, aside from the occasional paper airplane, I had never made an origami figure of my own.
Of course, when I was offered the opportunity to test the Alphapets Origami Book, I had to give it a try.
1) Product Name: LOJO BALL CHAIR
2) Background Research:
Currently my daughter’s room is set up with her bed and a child size table with two chairs. The chairs are not very comfortable, as they are hard plastic. I wanted to buy her an inexpensive chair that was comfortable as well as fun.
3) Hypothesis:
To successfully set up the Lojo Ball Chair in Shyanne’s room, so she can have a comfortable place to sit while she reads or plays her video games.
4) The Experiment:
The Lojo Chair comes in its very own carry bag along with instructions and a hand pump. It’s also very light, so you do not have to worry about lugging a heavy item around with you if you choose to travel with it. It took about 1-2 minutes to fill each side up with air. The chair can be used in both the open and closed position.
Shyanne loves to use it in the closed position because she likes to roll it around and play on it.
The seat portion is very comfortable (it has a removable bean pillow btw) and the ball actually supports your back, which I was skeptical about.
5) Results:
I would definitely recommend the Lojo Ball Chair to anyone who has kids. It’s a great fun alternative to a boring regular chair. It’s also great for adults, I tried it out myself and it’s actually very supportive.
6) Conclusion:
I’m soooooo going to get one for myself!
The Lojo Ball Chair is available for $45 and available in orange or blue.
When Kira, our operations analyst, and Jonathan, our sysadmin, saw our new Beer Making Kits, they knew they had to try one out. And luckily for the UncommonGoods team, they shared their results freely. You might think home-brewing is one of those “Don’t Try This At Home” type activities, but read on. Kira and Jona offer up some great tips for the novice brewer.
Beer making kits are $40 each and come in Everyday IPA, Jalapeno Saison, and Chocolate Maple Porter.
1) Product name
Discover Electronics Kit
2) Background Research
Not only do I tinker with a lot of electronic hardware as a hobby, but also in my day job. I’m always confused about the finer details of how that doohickey connects to that thingamabob, so what better way to help me better understand than an electronics kit! This kit looked like it would suite my purposes as far as materials and research is concerned, and on the plus side its travel sized so I can take it on the go.
3) Hypothesis
With this kit I can teach myself how circuits works and hopefully create some cool gizmos and contraptions.
4) Experiment
I’m dedicating an hour or more every day following the instructions, building little gizmos (love that word), and hopefully having a little fun along the way.
5) Results
The instructional booklet was very detailed in how one can create something from nothing in a matter of minutes, before I knew it had created a series of LED lights in which blinked accordingly to serious of signals in which I set up, I was amazed. The walk-through in the booklet displays all of the pieces so that they are easily identified; this also helps with my memory retention since I could easily associate a picture to a piece and piece to a picture.
There is a section in the booklet where a formula must be learned so you don’t blow up your LED lights. (Nobody wants that!) But the formula was easy to follow and really helped in the more advanced sections of the kit. I was hardly ever satisfied with my decision of my final build, I either wanted to remove something or add more (more LEDS!)
The original breadboard was malfunctioning, but this was a probably due to the fact that I was building some rather unorthodox contraptions, so I had to get a new one. Regardless of the few speed bumps, it is an awesome kit!
After a few hours and days playing around with the kit, I didn’t need the booklet for reference any more. I felt like a pro, confident enough to speed through a build without fear of a though of “Will it work?” I have created tone-activated LEDs and LEDs that dim on and off almost like a Christmas light decoration. Overall it was an awesome and fun experience in a short amount of time.
6) Conclusion
Not only does this kit include the materials needed to get a understanding of electronics and circuitry, but it also comes with, in my eyes, the most down-to-earth, easily readable instruction booklet in the universe (well, maybe not the universe). I am waiting for the opportunity for anyone to ask me what Diodes do, what Ceramic Capacitors are used for, how to use Regulators, how timers work and where to put those darn Electrolytic capacitors so I can blurt out all the knowledge this kit has given me. I would definitely recommend this to a person of any age who is interested in making their own basic electronics, or someone who simply wants to have fun and learn at the same time.
On a recent fishing trip to the Catskills Mountains, Customer Service Supervisor Laura Frost tests out a solar-powered water bottle to see whether it holds up in bear country.
1) Product Name: Solar-Powered Illuminating Water Bottle
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| The water bottle in action |
2) Background Research: I haven’t been camping or fly-fishing in years, and I was itching to embark on a nature adventure. I also have quite the collection of electronic gadgets that I didn’t want to drown while on the river. I needed the phone since I was out on the water by myself, a flashlight in case I was still out after twilight (when the trout are happy and active), and a camera to document my trip. On top of all that a night-light is a must have for dark, Catskill nights… in bear country. Gulp!
3) Hypothesis: This double-duty bottle can be a gadget-container during the day and a cheery night-light at night.
4) Experiment: Use the bottle to carry my camera and cell while on the river during the day and have a light that won’t depend on batteries at night while fishing and camping Willowemoc Creek in Sullivan County, NY.
5) Results: If you haven’t ever fly-fished a river know that you have to carry a lot of gear. There’s the rod, the net, the fly vest full of tackle and what-not, plus water-proof waders, and heavy felt-bottomed boots. One is then expected to traverse moving water going over slick, mossy rocks. Grace while doing all this is not an easy thing to pull off. Within the first 10 minutes on the Willowemoc on the first day I stepped on a slick rock and found myself sitting in 10 inches of creek. The good news? My camera and phone were perfectly safe in the Bottle, bobbing in the water while attached to my waders!
This water bottle features a really wide mouth, so my camera and phone fit with room to spare. The draw-sting that comes with it turned out to be handily adjustable. It attaches to the lid and the bottle, so I could attach it to my fishing waders without the worry that I’d drop the bottle while walking the stream.
Back at camp I emptied my gadgets and clicked the light on. It gave off a both a soft white glow and a red glow, which the packaging claims is better for night vision. The light was really handy while I prepped my hot dogs and s’mores.
It was also a welcome night light in my tent. The solar panel charged all day, so it was ready to glow for 8 hours. (It has a really cool, smart solar panel so the light won’t glow using precious battery life, while the sun’s shinning.) The red light was good inside the tent while I settled into my sleeping bag for the night.
The only let down? It was not a good flashlight for getting to the campground’s restrooms. The glow is good in a contained tent, or sitting on a picnic table, but couldn’t throw a long beam like a flashlight can.
The rest of the weekend I kept a mini-flashlight tucked in the bottle along with my cell and camera. My feet got steadier, and I was able to fish deeper water with confidence that my electronic gadgets would be safe. I was able to get some beautiful pictures of the stream and the rainbow trout I caught as well as get a good night’s sleep with my night light nearby.
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| The perfect view |
1) Product Name: Make your own Ukulele Kit
2) Background Research: This is a joint project that my partner, Leo, and I will endeavor upon as a team. I have a continuing fascination with building models. In college I built a full-sized circular saw with a rotating blade entirely out of cork. I also am a working painter. My partner can play the accordion, trumpet, piano and guitar.
3) Hypothesis: The do-it-yourself nature of the project will enable both of us to bring our talents together to create a functional instrument that will have continued playability.
4) Experiment: I will paint the body of the ukulele and Leo will demonstrate the sound.
5) Results: Music has the capacity to transport one to specific moments in our lives so I wanted the ukulele to speak to the present in my own life. I’m about to celebrate one year living in Brooklyn, New York, so I decided that a view of my daily commute home from work would be the prefect landscape. I’m fortunate enough to live within walking distance from the UncommonGoods warehouse so I enjoy the sights of Brooklyn’s Fourth Ave each day. Additionally, from a compositional standpoint, I hoped that the median would echo the fingerboard of the ukulele.
The wood grain behaved differently than the stretched canvas that I am more familiar with. The gouache soaked into the wood and bled slightly (I decided against applying gesso). I enjoyed the effect in the large color planes, like in the sky, because it added a softness that would have been difficult to achieve with the brush alone.
After I completed the body, it was time to assemble the instrument. The directions kept declaring “This is a point” whenever something important was about to be written, but due to my lack of general guitar anatomy and the somewhat confusing translation miscues, I admit I found myself perplexed on what the “point” was. Nevertheless, my partner and I trudged along, despite some complications with gluing plastic to wood (be sure to use clamps). We found a metric ruler and assembled the hardware.
After the ukulele was fully assembled, my partner researched how to string and tune a ukulele on Youtube as a supplement to the written instructions. As a guitar player, the process was not difficult for him, but he noted that the tuning of the ukulele was much different than that of the guitar. Because of the nylon strings, as opposed to the metal strings often found on acoustic and electric guitars, the ukulele may be more forgiving on the fingers of a beginner string instrument player.
6) Conclusion: Whether displayed on the wall or sitting on the player’s lap, the ukulele was a success to both one’s ears and one’s eyes. The time we committed to the ukulele-building project was rewarding and justified.
Click here to see Mary Catherine and Leo play the Ukulele!
1) Product Name: Cat Chalet
2) Background Research: I just adopted my first pet, Tammy Faye Baker the cat, and wanted to make sure she was sufficiently entertained, with a toy as cute as she is.
3) Hypothesis: Cats love cardboard boxes, so Tammy Faye will love a fancy cardboard cat chalet even more!
4) Experiment: Assemble adorable cat chalet and see if it would catch the Tammy Faye’s interest.
5) Results: I assembled the chalet, which is about a 10 minute process. There are several decorations to chose from to place over the door – I chose the cardboard fish.
I hung one of the cardboard ball toys from the roof with some yarn, set the chalet in the middle of my living room, and waited to see what would happen.
She was a little cautious at first, and walked all the way around it, sniffing all the way. Finally, she decided to go inside. (A little catnip may or may not have been involved in this experiment.)
Now she loves to retreat to the chalet for short intervals (I call them her “vacations”). She doesn’t chew on it, but she does use it all the time to scratch her face. I also stick a laser pointer in the back and wait for her to pounce.
6) Conclusion: Cats DEFINITELY love cardboard boxes and cardboard chalets!
1) Product Name: Diana F+ Camera by Lomography
2) Background Research: I’m an avid camera collector. Medium format and 35mm are my favorite films to shoot. After acquiring a Holga (also by Lomography) 2 years ago, I soon after became interested in the Diana F+. My Holga has never failed to capture beautiful, soft, surreal images. Once you become familiar with the camera, depending on your artistic style, it can become a very expressive and fun toy. The Diana F+ is very similar in that it’s very lightweight, purely plastic, and uses medium format film.
3) Hypothesis: From images I’ve seen, I expect the Diana F+ will produce some super saturated images – hyper bright colors. With experience with my Holga, I also think there may be some light leakage around the frames. As far as shutter speed and aperture are concerned, the Diana F+ appears much more complex and unpredictable, so I’m pretty sure quite a bit of my first roll will be blurry, over-exposed, and/or under-exposed.
4) Experiment: One of the beauties of this camera is it’s easy to take with you everywhere, so I kept it either in my purse or strung from my neck for the entire month May.
5) Results: I was very concerned with brightness, fearing my images would be over-saturated when shooting outdoors in very bright light, but I was proven wrong. Many photos were much darker than I expected. There was light leakage in some images, but not enough to distract. The worst light leakage was from from my first roll – I didn’t take very good care of it before having it processed (I know, shame on me). The best example of this leakage is actually an image of Larry Murr, Uncommon Goods’ Inbound Auditor! There’s a nice big KODAK right over his head!
Most of my second roll was shot in Coney Island – these images were brighter, and the colors richer. They were also very dreamy and soft – objects and people look as if they’re floating in the images. Although they were a bit blurry as well, I thought it was a nice effect.
An issue I had with my images was overlapping exposures, so I should have installed at least one of the additional frames that comes with the camera. The Diana F+ is also very delicate. I recommend acquiring a protective case of some sort. The shutter release is very sensitive and the film spool advances more freely than one would like it to. The lens cap wasn’t too secure either – mine disappeared after a week.
5) Conclusion: My second roll came out better than the first, so using the Diana F+ well involves a great deal of practice and becoming familiar. If you prefer super sharp images, a tripod is necessary, sometimes even when using the fastest shutter speed. I will definitely continue to use the Diana, as it appears there’s still a lot to learn about the camera. It’s a fun, lightweight, and I love the dream-like quality of its images.
About the researcher: Tara is Accounting Liaison to Operations and Return to Vendor Coordinator at UncommonGoods. She’s an aesthete and enjoys photography, inventorying, urban exploration and technology.
