February ’16: I moved into a new flat in Edinburgh. We were really chuffed with the flat but it was lacking decorations and character. I’ve been collecting vinyl for around 5 years and have, for much of that time wanted to utilise the artwork on the cover as a decoration. With lots of free time on my hands, I set about a project to develop a frame which would allow me to display my records on the wall.
Boring empty walls...
I decided that it must fulfil the following criteria:
- It must enable people to display their records on the wall
- It must be able to be hung without using nails (my flat’s rented and I know the landlord won’t hesitate to deduct £££ if the wall is damaged…)
- It must be easy to quickly to remove the records from the frame when you want to play a record.
I did a couple of low quality sketches before making some prototypes. The first few ideas worked to some extent although for most of them, my vinyl ended up on the floor.
I really like this sketch by Brendan Dawes on his design process. It pretty much sums up how all design projects go for me.
After many iterations to the design, I’ve developed something that I’m really proud of; and I’m calling it Record Roots.
About the Record Roots Frame:
- It holds 8 standard 12 Inch vinyls but can be zipped together to hold as many vinyl as you want to display.
- It’s made entirely of beautiful, quality fabric to fit with the interior of your home.
- It’s primary means of attaching to the wall is using damage-free adhesive hook & loop tape.
- The hook and loop tape works really well on substantially flat surfaces but if your wall isn’t flat (e.g. brickwork) it can be attached using screws through eyelets on the top edge.
- The design is now patent-pending!
So what’s the plan now?
I’m planning to launch the product on Kickstarter in June 2017 to fund the first production run.
Why do I think I can do this?
I’ve been working as a Product Designer for a few years now and am experienced at bringing successful, innovative products to market. Earlier this year, I launched the Arcido Bag on Kickstarter and we’re on schedule to deliver the bags on schedule. I’ve got a close relationship with an awesome manufacturer and together, we’ll make sure that it’s made to the highest quality and that vinyl enthusiasts love this product.
Time to ask a favour:
As I’m sure you can imagine, I’m working tirelessly to get the word out there about this project. It’s a product which I love and I know other vinyl enthusiasts will also. I’d be so grateful if you were prepared to share this with anyone who you think might be interested.
Most importantly, please enter your email address below. I want to keep you updated with the upcoming product launch.
If you have any questions, please send me a message. All feedback is appreciated! I’m on twitter: @Fenchington
Thanks, Felix
