RE: [projectvrm] Fwd: It's a factory. It's a store. It's Normal.

["T.Rob" < >]

Mass customization has been around for a while but this is different perhaps in the level of commitment.  Nike has let you build your own shoe but they still manufacture plenty of identical stock shoes.  Build-A-Bear is mainly selling the experience and the bear your kid totes home is a physical remembrance of that experience.  Many dental prosthetics are now manufactured in-house.  My dentist has a CNC milling machine that cranks out caps and crowns based on a 3D laser scan.  If you are in a hurry, you can get it while you wait.

 

The difference, I believe, is that the mass customization aspect of all these other vendors is secondary whereas Normal is making it a market differentiator and a strategic element of the brand.  Nike sells shoes, my dentist sells services, Build-A-Bear sells en experience (emphasis is on "Build"), but Normal sells the idea that YOU are unique and that a uniquely customized product just for you is, well, normal.  One-of-a-kind, on-demand, real-time manufacturing will be difficult to compete against.  I expect this will fuel a growing trend in mass customization as a tier-1 business model.

 

It doesn't hurt that 3D printing is taking over the world.  In addition to buying a 3D printer for yourself, you can upload your design to a rendering fab and then have it shipped to your door or go pick it up.  There are now filament-based printers with multi-color hot ends (the equivalent of the print head on an ink-jet).  Fairly new on the market are advanced models that use pantograph geometry or spinning print deck to reduce movement of the hot end, making them faster, smaller, more durable and quieter.  One such device currently on Indiegogo is a 3D copier.  It first scans the object, then renders as many instances of it as you need.  World, meet the Star Trek Replicator.  Minus the hot food.
http://iopt.us/1oyishN
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/blacksmith-genesis-all-in-1-3d-printer-scanner/x/5763458

 

http://iopt.us/1sHqpCU

https://reprappro.com/shop/reprap-kits/tricolour-mendel/

 

Rostock delta robot 3D printer prototype

http://youtu.be/AYs6jASd_Ww

 

I've also heard that the patents on the laser sintering fabrication process are expiring.  When those on filament-based 3D expired, those printers became widely available and cheap in a very short time.  Laser sintering uses a powder medium which is fused with the laser and then slowly built up.  Unlike a filament hot end, sintered objects have extremely fine resolution and need very little smoothing and polishing.  Not to mention they can be made from aluminum and other durable materials.
http://iopt.us/1t023TE
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/28/cheap-laser-sintering-printers-are-coming-thanks-to-the-expiration-of-a-key-patent/

 

Mass producing one-of-a-kind bespoke items seems very VRM to me.  I believe Normal will enjoy surfing the leading edge of a very big wave.

 

Kind regards,

-- T.Rob

 

T.Robert Wyatt, Managing partner

IoPT Consulting, LLC

+1 704-443-TROB

https://ioptconsulting.com

https://twitter.com/tdotrob

 

From: Doc Searls [mailto: ]
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 16:59 PM
To: ProjectVRM list
Subject: [projectvrm] Fwd: It's a factory. It's a store. It's Normal.

 

Not sure if this qualifies as a VRM company, but I love that it starts from the assumption that every customer is different — and that supply (at least for some kinds of goods) can (and in some cases should) meet demand that differs at the individual level. Very interesting concept. Anybody familiar with it? I'll try to get down there one of these days. It's here in New York.

 

Doc

 

Begin forwarded message:

From: HWKN < "> >

Subject: It's a factory. It's a store. It's Normal.

Date: August 13, 2014 at 12:49:50 PM EDT

To: < "> >

Reply-To: HWKN < "> >

 

 

It's a Factory. It's a Store. It's Normal.


NEW YORK, NY – AUG 13^TH 2014

When Normal, the exciting new brand producing 3D printed, tailor-made earphones wanted to create an environment to showcase its audio innovation, they looked to HWKN to bring their unique concept to life.

 

 

NAME
Normal Earphone Experience

LOCATION
New York City, New York

COUNTRY
USA

TYPE
Retail, Office, Manufacturing, Branded Environment

SIZE
11,000 ft2

CLIENT
Normal Earphones

ARCHITECT
HWKN (Holllwich Kushner)

CONSULTANTS
JMV Consulting Engineering, PC (MEP), LaufsED LLC (Structural), Lighting Workshop (Lighting Design), Alphaserve Technologies (AV/IT)



 

After collaborating closely with Normal’s engineering team to understand their niche manufacturing process employing 3D printers, raw materials and product assembly, HWKN’s design team developed a concept for the 11,000sf space that combines both factory and retail environments in one, allowing customers to see behind the scenes as their custom earphones are produced in real time at the
turn-of-the-century industrial space on West 22^nd Street.

”HWKN brought the kind of exuberance and knowledge you want an architecture firm to have creating a flagship space for any brand - you can really see and feel that combination in ours,” said Normal’s founder Nikki Kaufman. ”It was fast paced and highly collaborative but the result is a number of unique auditory, tactile and visual details that we think come together to showcase our production methods and product beautifully.”
 
”We didn’t want to hide Normal’s innovative process behind closed doors,” said Matthias Hollwich, Principal of HWKN. ”Because customers engage with the brand by contributing to the production process, shopping in an ‘on demand factory’ became the essence of the retail experience.”
 
Modular wall frames highlighting individual stages of the process connect to the exposed structure while 15ft
floor-to-ceiling glass partitions allow for maximum transparency to product assembly spaces, meeting areas and work spaces. Seating and displays in the retail environment are sized to the precise dimensions of the structural columns to create architectural features that highlight the space in playful fashion.
 
The result is an energized, contemporary retail space of both presentation and production. By allowing customers to engage in each step of the manufacturing process HWKN has created an exciting retail experience based on the essence of Normal’s brand – changing the rules (and future) of American manufacturing.

Normal’s flagship space at 150 West 22nd Street, New York has now opened its doors to the public's earholes!

---

”We didn't want to hide Normal’s innovative process behind closed doors. Because customers engage with the brand by contributing to the production process, shopping in an ‘on demand factory’ became the essence of the retail experience.”

- Matthias Hollwich, Principal of HWKN

NORMAL

What is Normal? Normal CEO and founder Nikki Kaufman was tired of poor-quality earphones that didn’t fit. After going through dozens, she looked into having a custom pair made. What she found was an exhaustive process that involved a visit to the doctor’s office, uncomfortable silicon molds, a three week wait, and a $2,000 price tag.
 
As a founding member of Quirky, a consumer products company whose mission is to “Make Invention Accessible,” Nikki was exposed to leading advances in 3D printing, production and manufacturing. She knew there had to be a way to create high-quality, better-fitting earphones, with a more accessible price and process.
 
Her solution is Normal: an innovative brand selling tailor-made, premium earphones. Customized by the user and ordered via a free mobile app, Normals are fully personalized for each user’s ear, engineered and 3D printed in New York City, and delivered in as little as 48 hours. The company is a leader in using 3D printing technology to mass produce a consumer product, changing the rules (and future) of American manufacturing. Normals are a revolutionary way of listening to music.

HWKN

HWKN (Hollwich Kushner) is a full service architecture firm located in the heart of New York City. The studio creates a diverse range of projects spanning the worlds of culture, branding, and development from retail spaces, pop-up installations and hotel developments to large-scale residential and commercial projects.
 
Recent projects completed include the Normal earphone experience, the Fire Island Pines Pavilion, Mini Rooftop, and the winning entry at the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program, called Wendy.

 

For further information & high-res images
please contact Scott Miller at  ">  or call 646.461.6307

 

 

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Copyright © 2014 Hollwich Kushner Architecture DPC, All rights reserved.
 
HWKN (Hollwich Kushner) is a full service architecture firm located in the heart of New York City. The studio creates a diverse range of projects spanning the worlds of culture, branding, and development from retail spaces, pop-up installations and hotel developments to large-scale residential and commercial projects.

Recent projects completed include the Normal earphone experience, the Fire Island Pines Pavilion, Mini Rooftop, and the winning entry at the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program, called Wendy.

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