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Hey DN: Let's Make Something Tangible

almost 9 years ago from , Multidisciplinary designer & writer by day. Sculptor and sound artist by night.

Hey everyone!

I'm tired of building stuff for the web. I find it unsatisfying, short-lived, and frankly kind of pointless because most things people make on the web don't gain any traction.

So from today on, I'm ready to design and build real, physical, tangible products with anyone who wants to. You can hire me or we can work together and share the benefits.

Let's publish a magazine, let's invent something cool, let's make some utilitarian shit with wood and leather and cold metal, let's make stuff that people and touch and use in their real lives.

Email me at [mailto:devin@devinhalladay.com](devin@devinhalladay.com) and let's make something tangible.

35 comments

  • Danny WebsterDanny Webster, almost 9 years ago

    I feel like I'm witnessing a life changing event here - please post updates :D

    11 points
  • Sacha GreifSacha Greif, almost 9 years ago

    Please make a pair of headphones that don't get tangled in my pocket. Bonus point if they're made out of wood, leather, and cold metal.

    9 points
  • Devin HalladayDevin Halladay, almost 9 years ago

    Just to clarify: I want to make something that doesn't require software, that doesn't connect to your phone or your computer, something that never needs an update. I want to make something that lasts.

    7 points
    • Jodi WarrenJodi Warren, almost 9 years ago (edited almost 9 years ago )

      Have a look for a Hackerspace near you. I'm lucky enough to be near a really active one with full woodworking and metalworking sections, as well as a CNC laser cutter that I really want to find a project for!

      4 points
    • Daniel ClellandDaniel Clelland, almost 9 years ago (edited almost 9 years ago )

      In my honest opinion, you should make a really big knife and go live in the jungle (jungle optional, but knife making is a heck of a fun time).

      1 point
  • James Young, almost 9 years ago

    I don't make them but I've done something similar after having some similar feelings about web work (and some client issues in the past) and with my business partner we sell Japanese chef knives at Cutting Edge Knives which is a nice antidote to for us to the feelings you describe and we've been doing it for a bit over 3 years now.

    It's also been a fascinating insight into running a totally unrelated business and has helped our agency day to day web work too so I say good luck and go for it and try something different that's not just reskinning your website!

    4 points
    • Joe CJoe C, almost 9 years ago

      Hey James, just checked out Cutting Edge Knives, very nice. I've recently embarked on something similar with watches/clocks/timepieces. Wonder if I could shoot a few questions by you?

      • Did you go for a direct to manufacturer relationship? Or through the wholesaler route? I'm attempting to work with manufacturers at the moment for watches and clocks, but they seem reluctant to work with me. Perhaps because I am not quite large enough to warrant 'partnering'.

      • I was put into contact with a distributor for Timex in the UK, but again they wanted a lot of proof of sales etc. that I couldn't provide, being that I haven't opened shop yet. You ever meet that kind of barrier?

      Would be awesome to hear any advice or anything your happy to share, I'm all ears. Bookmarked Cutting Edge Knives, treating myself this Christmas for sure.

      0 points
      • James Young, over 8 years ago

        Hi Joe,

        Yep, we found similar roadblocks with the bigger suppliers we approached in the early days. Generally speaking, they probably just don't need the hassle of wondering what a new shop/website might do for their brand and we found a few wouldn't go near us without a bricks and mortar shop (we're just online).

        We were quite fortunate that we were able to research our market and got chatting with a fellow knife retailer who sold the same types of knife (high quality, specialist, difficult to get hold of stuff) and he took us under his wing as he was based in Canada and we weren't a threat to his business so were insanely lucky in that respect that he not only sold us some stock at cost to get us started but helped us by making introductions to the people who could supply us in Japan.

        But the short story was that the bigger manufacturers wouldn't go near us so although we did want the smaller ones anyway, our initial aim was to at least a few ranges from the better known companies to compliment the more specialist Japanese ones.

        Getting set up - like web work I guess - is a case of who you know as much as anything.

        If you're getting into watches, you might want to drop Matt at The Big Watch Shop a line sometime as he's a friend of ours who's followed our path and set up and he might be able to point you in the direction of more specific watch related stuff :)

        Feel free to drop me a line if you ever have any more questions, we've been lucky to get help and support at critical points in our business so it's good to try and share that karma.

        1 point
        • Joe CJoe C, over 8 years ago

          Thanks James, that's all very helpful - kind of glad to hear that I'm not the only one facing the hurdles! I may drop you a line with a couple more questions over the coming weeks - I really appreciate that.

          Good luck and speak to you soon.

          0 points
  • Vinh LeVinh Le, almost 9 years ago

    woodworking is cool

    4 points
  • Ruby ChenRuby Chen, almost 9 years ago

    I love making TANGIBLE stuffs too!

    1 point
  • James Dinsdale, almost 9 years ago

    Went through this phase a couple of years ago, and designed and built a full line of guitar amps and effects pedals by hand. Huge amount of fun, but no way of getting the capital to turn it into something real (this was before kickstarter)

    1 point
  • Mathew SissonMathew Sisson, almost 9 years ago

    Went through the same process you are going through right now a few months ago. I decided to redesign one of my favorite games: Werewolf and focus more on physical goods moving forward.

    I loved designing the carrying case for it, but it was fascinating learning more about card printing, manufacturing, fulfillment. and distribution.

    If any folks have a card game they've been wanting to make happen, I'm all ears. I want to start getting people's awesome game ideas out there.

    You can check out my final product here if you're interested: http://playwerewolf.co/

    1 point
  • Bruno CamposBruno Campos, almost 9 years ago

    A few months ago I started Character under the same premise (https://www.facebook.com/charactr) , I wanted to use my hands more, besides that I wanted to let non-designers learn about typography. After a first batch I dropped the ball and I've been wanting to produce more but it demands more time that I can afford, I'm trying to organize myself in order to get back to it.

    1 point
    • Devin HalladayDevin Halladay, almost 9 years ago (edited almost 9 years ago )

      Hey that's awesome! Anything I can help out with?

      0 points
      • Bruno CamposBruno Campos, almost 9 years ago

        Hey Devin, Thanks a lot! I like to think that yes, there must be something we can work out, maybe you can drop me an email to bruno (at) pupilaestudio.com and we can discuss on ways to collaborate with the Character project.

        0 points
  • Eric PanEric Pan, almost 9 years ago (edited almost 9 years ago )

    This is awesome and I totally agree! It's one of the reasons why I love working at Celery to be close to people making all kinds of tangible things!

    Right on, Devin! Do keep us posted!

    1 point
    • Devin HalladayDevin Halladay, almost 9 years ago

      Awesome! I've seen Celery around but I've never had a chance to use it—this might be a good opportunity!

      I'll make sure to keep everyone posted :)

      0 points
  • Joel RosenJoel Rosen, almost 9 years ago

    Devin... you rock. Let's make a goddamn magazine. I'll shoot you an email now.

    1 point
  • James Young, almost 9 years ago

    and should you want to make something, kitchen knives are a pretty nice choice. We've worked with one web designer who does actually make some really nice stuff which we've sold Blok Knives

    1 point
  • Beau HankinsBeau Hankins, almost 9 years ago

    Dude! Agree with everything you're saying. These are exactly what my thoughts have been over the past months. Leaning towards a passion in analog photography/ print design over my digital work. Will definitely hit you up bro!

    1 point
    • Devin HalladayDevin Halladay, almost 9 years ago

      Sweet! I'm actually working on self-publishing a magazine, but I'm really looking forward to working on some new projects.

      0 points
  • Kevin RabinovichKevin Rabinovich, almost 9 years ago

    Are you still working on The Guild?

    0 points