Something I would love to see is an open-source attitude entering into the furniture manufacture ecosystem.
What Ikea sells you is, essentially:
a) a set of instructions for making furniture out of basic components
b) those components, produced and distributed through a highly-efficient supply chain
So break those two apart! Let hobbyists and carpenters share or sell their furniture designs. Just specify the components in a standard way, so suppliers can compete to supply the components for each design.
So you turn a monolithic business into one where smaller groups can compete on each part of the system. One company can cheaply supply cut wood in Seattle, another just sells its funky shelving designs without worrying about the infrastructure.
Most bits of this ecosystem already exist -- the furniture-making hobbyists, the DIY stores, the suppliers of nails and screws. They just need a bit of systemisation (and marketing) to pull them together into a system that can compete with a monolithic supply chain.
I agree! You can check out http://www.aalo.co/. Disclosure: this is a startup I founded, with the same intention of what you just mentionted above. Shameless plug :).
General public (especially the millennials) have better knowledge and insights about good design and it has become much more democratic. The problem is that millennials just don't have as much money to spend on furniture, let alone a space to put them in. Ikea's Delaktig line is definitely a step in the right direction, but it still can't provide the level of freedom that "Ikea Hack" does.
I believe the answer lies in a system that provides the basic structure, which lets the individuals design and build on top of it. This way, you can achieve designs that are more unique, multi-functional, and affordable.
My first impression was that it's basically cast iron pipe designs, implemented with your custom components. Not a bad idea, especially as the pieces are more streamlined (slip in elbows) but doesn't really hit me as a real "system".
On your "about us" or product page you should do a small write-up about that actual materials and components. Basically, how is this different or better than cast iron pipe or Klee clamps?
I'd really like to know if your system can support significant weight because most of the designs (except for the garment rack) are small structures that you would expect to hold only 10-20 lbs. I would guess from the weight and dimensions of the garment rack you are using 1-1/4 OD x .065 wall aluminum round tube.
Our goal in terms of functionality, is to make it easier for people to enjoy the versatility of pipe fittings (Kee Clamps, FitzKitz) and slotted extrusions (80/20, Minitec) while providing a seamless design better suited for living spaces.
As you suggested, it'll definitely help us to have a better explanation of our materials and structural integrity. I'll work on updating the information :)
Right now our components are designed to widthstand similar loads as a 1"x1" T-slotted aluminum framing system, and it's been a fun but difficult challenge to make it more cost efficient and user friendly.
You seem like you have very good knowledge of building materials and furniture making in general! Would love to have you on our beta creator group so you can give us even more feedback as we develop the product. Thanks!
This is part of what https://www.opendesk.cc/ is :). They've obviously focussed on the office furniture segment early on, but there's some bedside tables and other things appearing. You can download their designs, tweak them in a CAD program of your choosing and then get them lasercut.
What Ikea sells you is, essentially:
a) a set of instructions for making furniture out of basic components b) those components, produced and distributed through a highly-efficient supply chain
So break those two apart! Let hobbyists and carpenters share or sell their furniture designs. Just specify the components in a standard way, so suppliers can compete to supply the components for each design.
So you turn a monolithic business into one where smaller groups can compete on each part of the system. One company can cheaply supply cut wood in Seattle, another just sells its funky shelving designs without worrying about the infrastructure.
Most bits of this ecosystem already exist -- the furniture-making hobbyists, the DIY stores, the suppliers of nails and screws. They just need a bit of systemisation (and marketing) to pull them together into a system that can compete with a monolithic supply chain.