Hasta La Ideas

I was kind of on the fence about designer Cory Grosser‘s “Turtle/Turtle” when I first saw it on Kickstarter a couple weeks ago. Not that the personable Angeleno’s design object wasn’t worthy of a post—I interviewed him during NeoCon this year—but quite the contrary: I figured he’d have no problem raising the $7,500 he was seeking to produce it.

However, as early as the beginning of this week, Grosser’s pet project had barely crossed the halfway mark, and I began to doubt my intuition. While I had no obligation to post it, I also had no reason not to (save for the fact that we’ve seen a glut of Kickstarter projects lately).

Well, it’s down to the wire now, and with just 24 hours to go, “Turtle/Turtle” is less than $300 from the green light.

Turtle/Turtle is a minimalist toy, child’s seat and decorative interior object. We think objects for kids should be well designed too, so it was designed with the same care, materials and details as the high-end modern furniture that we normally design. Like the Eames’s Elephant designed in the 1940’s, Turtle/Turtle is a hybrid object that can be used for play or decoration. It’s a gift that you can give to a child that they can keep for life.

This last notion, that the “Turtle/Turtle” has a bit of longevity, is particularly interesting to me: the design object is intended to take on the nostalgic value that is typically attached to a blanket or plush toy (or, of course, an Eames elephant). Thus, the frame is made out of powdercoated steel for sturdiness, while the saddle leather seat will develop a nice patina with age.

If you’re not sold yet…

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