I planned this week’s post as a profile of a new product I’ve been working on: utensil or cutlery rolls. I’m still working on the utensil roll design, though, which means that there’s really nothing to profile just yet. That also means that there are no photos. Instead, this week’s post is a bit of a behind-the-scenes look into what I do to create a new product.
Starting Points
For the utensil rolls, I’ve been prototyping and experimenting but haven’t come up with that perfect, eureka-moment, I LOVE IT! version that will become the Something Different Upcycled utensil roll. I looked at and considered different versions of small, narrow zippered pouches, drawstring bags, and rolls. To be honest, it took me a while and a bunch of research to even decide that a roll is the format that I want for something to carry reusable eating utensils!
I’ve got a list of criteria that I’m working toward meeting in this design:
-must be secure enough to keep the utensils in and random day bag or backpack contents out
-must keep the eating utensils from clanging together
-must be washable
-must have a place for a napkin
-channels must be adaptable for different utensils, depending on personal preference and need. Not everyone uses straws, for example, but the people who do probably want a spot for one and possibly a cleaning brush as well.
-must be constructed of only fabrics (I didn’t want to start messing around with interfacing or snaps or other closures)
Thoughts…
Because I only make things that I would use myself, I eliminated the zippered pouch right at the beginning. The utensils I’m most likely to bring along with me are from my kitchen and I really don’t like to hear them clanking together in my bag. The drawstring bag also got eliminated for the same reason but not before I noodled around with the possibility of making individual full-length channels for each utensil. That seemed like a cool idea until I planned out how to make a sample and realized that it would be difficult to use and clean properly. I even tried to figure out a way to secure one of the Something Different Upcycled napkins around the utensils to hold them together but that didn’t seem sturdy enough.
So that left me with the utensil roll. I started with the one that Anne-Marie Bonneau at Zero Waste Chef has posted, mostly because I wanted to understand, hands-on, how to put together a simple but effective cutlery roll. It’s a great starting point, but it still isn’t quite what I want.
Progress…
I’m still working on the SDUpcycled utensil roll design, which has already been through a few prototypes (some of which you can see on the Something Different Upcycled Instagram feed). Longer top cover flaps, how the ties attach, the number of channels for utensils, and how to include a napkin are a few of the things that have been under examination and experimentation. I anticipate that utensil rolls will be added to the shop sometime the next few months (early to mid-Fall 2024).
A request…
In the meantime, I need some input from you: Tell me about your meal-on-the-go needs! Do you use a utensil roll? If so, what do you love about it? If not, why don’t you use one? If you could design your perfect one, what would it include? Is it important that your lunch bag and/or napkins match your utensil roll? Please share your thoughts in the comments or send me a message. Thank you in advance!
What do you think of this photo-free blog post style? Comments and thoughts welcome on that topic too!
This is a great idea! I hate the sound of my cutlet clanging together in my lunch bag and I LOVE the idea that I can throw this in with my lunch/backpack quickly.
Glad you like the idea! I’ll post about them here and on Instagram once they’re finished and ready to go. 🙂
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