I have been working with a single water-jet manufacturer for years and I consider this relationship a valuable and necessary one. When I first approached the water-jet company with my coat rack design I had an idea of what thickness I was interested in and I also knew I wanted the material to be aluminum vs. steel for weight.  The next steps were driven by working directly with the company to determine which alloy would give me the strength and buoyancy I was looking for.  The focus then turned to nesting and which overall sheet size would give me the best yield.  Working directly with smaller, individually operated manufacturers is important to me, not only from a desire to support like-minded smaller businesses, but also because it allows relationships to develop that informs my design practice.  This was certainly the case with the Merkled Coat Rack as the process of working with the water-jet company helped to guide the piece through the development phase, into full production and eventually to the development of a full product line utilizing the cut offs created from the coat rack.

 

-Kari Merkl, Merkled Studio