The AstroPod Story

It was about 12 years after making the first AeroPod that I thought about developing another signature piece.  All I knew was that it should be horizontally oriented and have legs of its own.  As such, it would inevitably become more “furniture-like” than the AeroPod, but in my mind it still had to be a unique piece of functional art. 

For weeks I studied classic car designs from all periods and sketched pages of ideas, trying to find the perfect balance between furniture and automotive sculpture.  I finally settled on a symmetrical oval shape supported by a cradle and legs in chrome metal.  Hinged doors didn’t make sense for this shape so I chose to use metal slats like those found on the grill of a Rolls Royce and fashion them into a sliding tambour.  The interior cabinet would have to be buried inside the decorative shell like a ship in a bottle for it to appear seamless and, of course, it needed to be large enough to act as a decent bar.

The challenge to make it all work was on and I spent the next year shaping the body plug, making the mould from it, casting the shell from epoxy, making and fitting all the components for the interior cabinet, figuring out the configuration and having the metal cradle and legs fabricated, and finally putting it all together as a finished piece.  The result was something spacey like a lunar landing module from the 1960’s, so the name “AstroPod” seemed perfect.

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The AstroPod shares many of the features that make the AeroPod unique, but is also different in several ways.  Personalization is key to everything I make, so it is important that the purchaser be able to specify any automotive colour that is meaningful to him or her.  The interiors are currently available in either a liquor cabinet/server or a wine cabinet, and come with a consistent “engine turned” laminate finish.  This semi-standardization makes it more production friendly, resulting in a significant saving for the purchaser.  Naturally, an engraved signature plate is attached, though this time without a number as it is not intended to be a limited edition. 

 The AstroPod was well received at the Architectural Design Show in New York where it made its    debut.  The first order was for a silver one with a set of three matching mirrors in descending oval  shapes for the entry foyer of a custom home.  Mounted directly above, the mirrors give the      impression the AstroPod is “landing”, animating the whole two-storey space.  I couldn’t think of a better introduction for this second member of the pod family.  

AstroCrystalsmaller

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