Hasta La Ideas

Here’s a good example of using design to address a humble but unmet need. Art Director Herb Bigelow has invented the Beehive Picture Hangers, which seem a much more intelligent way to hang photos—and hold them securely to the wall while you’re dusting. The pitch video’s too long by half, but give it a scan and you’ll get the idea:

It’s undoubtedly an improvement over the current system of miniature J-hooks and wire, or even worse those cheapie plastic brackets; but good design doesn’t come cheap, and at five bucks per set, will the consumer bite?

Apparently the answer’s yes, at least on Kickstarter. The Bigelows were looking for just $42,000 to tool up, and at press time they’d landed $56,000 with five days to go.

By the way, the price drops significantly if you buy in bulk; and if you buy the smaller, original iteration of the product, it’s as low as two bucks a pop.

While Bigelow has patented the design, I still think he’s nuts to throw the CAD drawings up onto the campaign page–in this day and age, I expect one pirate or another will try to dupe the design and 3D-print some.