Wild Dream Book

Wild Dream Book page 16, ZipMount

Links to the video are underlined.

Zip back to 2009: I’ve always loved the handy zip tie- the nylon cable tie with the audible “zip” as it’s pulled tight, locking around an object. I envisioned a whole series of companion products that would be displayed aside the wall of cable ties at the hardware store, that no self-respecting toolkit or household junk drawer would dare be without.

I created a prototype of a clamp conceived for guerrilla marketers- to quick-install a client message virtually anywhere, and created a video (of me installing posters and signage to light poles, gutters, etc. and shopped it around the internet to manufacturers who make cable ties. A company in Massachusetts responded, we signed an agreement, and I began to develop a brand logo, and marketing materials towards its debut at the upcoming NIFS* trade show in late fall. The company hired an industrial design shop to develop the concept, and the ZipMount evolved into two identical pieces to cut molding costs (where they join at the fulcrum is both male and female).

By mid October we had a couple of stereolithography models. These are working plastic models as close as you can get to the final product iteration without actually manufacturing it. They’re for prototyping and the study and costing of mold cavities, and parts are created out of a plastic resin, built up molecule-by-molecule inside a “3D printer” which outputs them one-at-a-time from the CAD drawings.

Meanwhile, jazzed by the promise that I have a great partner and this product is actually going somewhere, I began developing a entire series of zip tie products I called the Zip Loop Plate System: 1) a fence system for pet or crowd control, 2) a hanger system to recover space in the attic or wherever there’s a secure column or rafter, 3) banner hangars for instant signs, 4) a emergency splint, and 5) the Compression Loop: a cable tie design with “two heads” for attaching to rope ends for an instant, permanent loop.

Zip Mount is still an open page in the Wild Dream Book. Foot-dragging by the first interested party led me to shop it to other manufacturers, and it’s in the ethereal limbo of “maybe” at the moment.

I never give up on any of them. If it’s meant to be… it will be.

Wild Dream Book is produced by Oates Design. Join the Facebook group for easy access to all story videos.

*National Industrial Fasteners Show

Anonymous asked: I admire your creativity. I believe you are a talented artist. I would be a follower but unfortunately you turned me off by including politics.

A great compliment, thank you. Ah, but politics are also an art, albeit done well by so very few. Have a very Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays, and a wonderful new year.

Bill

Wild Dream Book page 15, Holiday Greeting Cards

Holiday greeting cards have been popular since the invention of the postage stamp (1840), long before the digital age and social media. The project has always been a challenge for me- develop a piece that surprises and delights, and especially leaves the impression that my company might be just right for the job of developing custom communications for your company in the New Year…

I created my first one in 1988, a watercolor self-portrait acknowledging the battered cliché evoked by my name. Though 23 years later the Oates Design Christmas card still attempts somewhat to stay focused on the goal of self-promotion, when our girls began to arrive (1990) the cards began to be as much about them.

WDB Page 15 chronicles some of the greatest hits featuring favorite memories from the producers and players. Some cards were simple to produce and create, others extremely ambitious. 1990’s OH, OH, HO, HO was Amanda’s first modeling job (she was the New Year), and the first of eight cards which would be shot by our close friend, professional photographer, Pete Ceren. It’s noteworthy because Pete stood in also as Father Time.

Mitzi came up with the idea of knocking off the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book in 2005. The card was a 8-page booklet that many people thought was a teaser for the real thing, until they really looked at some of the items “for sale” (David Yurman braces, modeled by Sarah Lane, your own rodeo, bridge or mountain with ski lift).

I used to sweat the project concept starting about October 1, and the stress compounded if it wasn’t at the printer by Thanksgiving. The mailing list had ballooned up to 850, and I couldn’t particularly defend the benefits versus the cost, so we took a break in 2007.

The 3-year hiatus refreshed us all, and in late November a concept “jumped out at me”. 2010’s card shows the girls as expressionless store mannequins of the flat variety. Opening the card reveals Santa 3D glasses, through which the viewer can see our 3D’s (our 3 daughters) photographed using the anaglyph (3D) technique.

I thought we had moved beyond the self-imposed mountain-to-climb of trying to top yourself every year, so whether we’ll continue remains to be seen. I must say the casual and relaxed way we approached the project made it really fun and brought us together, and revived an excitement about the Holidays that I haven’t seen in years.

Merry, Merry…

Bill and Mitzi, Amanda, Sarah Lane and Taylor

Wild Dream Book is produced by Oates Design. Join the Facebook group for easy access to all story videos.

Wild Dream Book page 14 StartUp Memphis TV

Check out a exciting new documentary series about Memphis Entrepreneurs, launching Global Entrepreneurship Week November 15-21: StartUp Memphis TV. The premise of the Wild Dream Book is passion for innovation- the aspirations and talents of those involved in the ventures depicted and the professionals that nurture them is perhaps the perfect example.

Seven “web-isodes” (produced by Matt Beickert and the crew at TV II Multimedia will each focus on 3 or more of the firms currently under the wing of Emerge Memphis, providing snapshots of the visionary entrepreneurs behind them. Emerge Memphis in a large part plays an essential role in Memphis’s growing reputation for innovation. For those of you unfamiliar with EM, it’s a so-called “business incubator” that provides entrepreneurs (who through a screening process demonstrate well-articulated business models and business plans), secure funding and office space for a limited startup period. Emerge Memphis is physically home to member companies, several of which have graduated to find success independently.

Eric Mathews, co-founder and president of Mercury Technology Labs LLC, a for-profit venture creation company, is also the co-founder and president of LaunchMemphis (501c3), a non-profit organization to support entrepreneurial action. Eric and Leslie Gower, of the Memphis Center City Commission, envisioned the StartUp TV Memphis web episodes as a dynamic way to bring the world up to date on the exciting ventures these talented people are creating, right in our backyard.

Sound tracks are all Memphis or Mid South musicians. Featured in this teaser, are Dova Grove, and rapper Teflon Don (Donald Askew), who is also featured in an upcoming StartUp TV Memphis vignette.

Special thanks to all those who were so gracious sharing their time and expertise, especially Matt Beickert and Casey Latiolais of TV II Multimedia, and Eric Mathews.

StartUp TV Memphis will be found at YouTube.com/user/startuptvmemphis after November 15, but you can get a sneak preview clicking here, right now.

Wild Dream Book is produced by Oates Design.  Join the Wild Dream Book Facebook group.

WDB page 13: NewkyoolerREACTOR; Fueling liberal meltdown

Liberals: be warned- explicitly irritating content ahead. Really.

It’s election season, so I thought I’d drag this one out of mothballs: NewkyoolerREACTOR (video link). It was my attempt in 2005 to come up with a brand for anti-liberalism. George W. Bush (my hero) was in the White House. He couldn’t say “nu-clear” but he could open a can-o-whoopass on terrorists, unlike our current “leader”, who wants to find their sensitive side (when he’s not on vacation). But, let’s don’t go there. Go do that on November 2nd.

Until we can shake our comrade-in-chief, have some fun with the rest of the idiot left by checking out these tshirts and hats. The site as it was is defunct, but the link www.nreactor.com will take you to a page on the Oates Design website where the satire still lives. 10% of the proceeds go to the Memphis Tea Party (I take checks). (Donate to the Memphis Tea Party right here).

Wild Dream Book is produced by Oates Design. Join the Facebook group for easy access to all story videos.