3/6-11-2023
SHRUNKEN WEDGES & CARBON STATUES
FIELD TRIP UK 2023
SHRUNKEN WEDGES & CARBON STATUES | FIELD TRIP NOVEMBER 3/6 2023
Since our last road trip, we stayed in contact with all kinds of amazing people we had the pleasure of meeting there. The most memorable one by far being Alastair Gibson of Carbon Art 45 in Brackley.
He told us about his Carbon David project, and promised to invite us to the launch party once finished.
Although truly honored by this gesture, we didn't at all expect him to remember it nearly a year later.
We were wrong. He amazed us once again by actually sending us an invitation.
So we immediately started making travel plans. This also gave us the opportunity to bring him a gift to congratulate him on the magnificent achievement with his Carbon David project, but also as a more personal token of gratitude for him being so inspiring and generous to us.
We prepared a 3d-printed scale model of our Wedged Wonders desk, and had it finished in a custom paint job mimicking the colour scheme of the iconic Lancia Strato's HF Zero concept from 1970 by Marcello Gandini. We placed it in a custom gift box and headed off to the UK.
The launch was held at the impressive Digital Manufacturing Centre (DMC) on Silverstone Park, next to the famous circuit. Alastair presented the prestigious Carbon David, an immense statue made out of solid carbon fibre by layering and precision machining countless layers of carbon fibre. As a contemporary twist the statue can even switch gender, change accessories and replace its carbon heart!
The DMC building offered a perfect venue for exhibiting other works of Alastair as well, alongside the mind-bending technical components that DMC produces. Their Additive Manufacturing capabilities result in seriously high-grade metal and polymer components, beautiful enough to be called 'art' themselves! Kieron Salter (CEO of DMC) was kind enough to give us a tour around the company and its facilities. Surely it showed us the vast possibilities of manufacturing precision components nowadays, no longer requiring large volume series. A thing to keep in mind for our endeavors with the Triple C desk.!
After a good night's sleep in the beautiful Cotswold town of Burford, we started our journey back south. We made sure to stop by at Podium Place to contemplate our encounters so far and plan our route. Being amongst fellow petrolheads makes this the ideal pit-stop, always meeting like-minded people while fueling up on coffee, food and conversations.
After a quick stop at the quaint town of Mapledurham, we spent the beautiful autumn afternoon in Henley-On-Thames for a bite. We ended our day at the legendary Ace Cafe London, another mandatory stop on a petrolhead's bucket-list. What an awesome place and atmosphere!
On our last day we had some time to kill before boarding LeShuttle for the Eurotunnel. We enjoyed the scenic white cliffs of Dover and hiked toward the picturesque town of St. Margarets Bay to have a seaside lunch. We finished with a visit to the Battle of Britain Memorial before we tunneled our way back home.
Enough food for thought to take home, so now it's back to work.
Thank you Alastair Gibson for inviting us and Kieron Salter for enlightening us, much obliged indeed!
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