Maki Nakaya-Sommet
design concept:
a technologically manufactured product using natural materials
4 months / 2015
A plate made from cattle horn, shaped in a way that it can be used as a spring mechanism in a belt buckle.
That's what I found out after having tried out different manufacturing methods over several months.
In this section, I will show you how I worked on this project using what at the time was a newly acquired skill
and is now my favorite software: Adobe Illustrator.
1. variations of the mechanism
After having found out the potential application of the material as a spring, I sketched out some variations of the mechanism with Illustrator before moving on to cardboard mockups and finally the real material.
Here are the problems I faced:
1. the cow horn, with its beautiful patterns, is not visible enough
2. connecting the horn to the belt is difficult
(no metal may be used, otherwise the buckle may be damaged)
3. how should one tighten or loosen the belt?
4. it looks very complicated...
2. my solution
1. widen the horn part up to the point where it needs to be thin for the mechanism.
2. thanks to point 1, there's now a hole through which the belt can pass without the need for an additional element such as a strap.
3. since the horn surface has enough friction, the length of the belt can easily be adjusted.
4. it's very simple now!
3. the concept
The belt buckles are easily detachable and reattachable, which means that users can decide which design they want for the day.
The horn plates are unique and have a different surface structure and different patterns on each side, which adds even more variety.
By employing laser-cutting technology, manifacturing the buckles is a fast, cheap and precise process.
Rita
the belt buckle
