Core77

Gravity Goes Minimal: Revel in the "Oblique" Cantilever Wine Bottle Holder

By Ray Hu - November 30, 2011

in Object Culture

Considering that Brett Swope's "Oblique" was Kickstarted in less than 24 hours, there's no need to sell the product here... but let's just consider it an addendum to our Ultimate Gift Guide (a companion to Cristalino, perhaps) in the interest of sharing a ~~brilliant~~ modern update on a classic design object.Oblique is a wine bottle holder that is precision machined from 6061 Aluminum that holds the bottle horizontally such that the center of mass is roughly above the middle of the footprint of the holder. Thus, the bottle and holder are co-dependent on one another. The design is a result of the 'balance' between the CNC milling machine process considerations, efficient material use, shipping constraints, aesthetics, and cost. Oblique is designed in California and manufactured in Minnesota.

It's more practical than, say, William Lee & et al collective's "Lean", perhaps even more so than Beverly Moon's ultraminimal contact case, yet the form remains remarkably pure, a monolith in miniature, perfectly calibrated for its purpose... all without electromagnets.

True to his background in engineering, San Francisco-based Swope offers a ton of manufacturing details and specs, courtesy of his friend and business partner Greg Suski, on this Kickstarter page. Fun fact: the "Oblique" is made from the same type of aircraft-grade aluminum that Aaron Panone uses for his 144#47 track chainring.

There's no video, so you'll just have to believe the ~~hype~~ pictures until the "Oblique" ships (just in time for Christmas)... you've got 12 days to pull the trigger.

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Joe

11 years ago

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Completely agree with Brigette. How did this even get on Core? A pointless product in the first place, let alone in this precision engineered version - wine bottles can stand up on their own!
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Bridget

11 years ago

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This is ridiculous. Street vendors in Europe have been selling this thing for decades. Can't believe this guy has the balls to take money from unknowing people on Kickstarter. Sad to see this is what's "design" these days.
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Scott

11 years ago

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Not to pile on, but calling 6061 "aircraft grade" is ascribing it a level of exoticism it doesn't deserve. 6061 is pretty much the default aluminum alloy used in virtually all machining applications. It's cheap, strong, machines well, and anodizes easily. Structural applications on aircraft are far more likely to use 7075, because it's almost twice as strong as 6061.
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David

11 years ago

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Ray, I don't think you necessarily need to be less "bombastic", but when you use "brilliant" in describing a design, you're putting the design high up and it attracts criticisms. That said, this IS an old idea executed in a more modern (read: like Apple) way. Perhaps it's just nice?
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Dave

11 years ago

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It's a very old idea. If by "brilliant", you meant having it CNC'ed out of aluminum, then maybe. But not because it's "perfectly balanced" or because of his "background in engineering." Anyone can make it (see eHow article below). If you want monolithic, here are a few examples:

http://leechesson.com/Bottleholders/Wine_Bottle_Holder.htm

http://tgaspard.blogspot.com/2008/10/suspended-wine-holder.html

http://www.seomagic-usa.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21/products_id/689

http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/105274346/Wooden_Wine_Bottle_Holders.html

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/443802852/acrylic_balancing_bottle_holder.html

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/473420115/clear_acrylic_wine_bottle_holder.html

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/335247155/customized_balancer_acrylic_wine_display_holder.html

http://www.amazon.com/Counter-Balance-Wine-Bottle-Holder/dp/B004D503V4

http://www.ehow.com/how_5439404_make-balancing-wine-holder.html

http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Vino-Balancing-Wine-Holder/dp/B003GE8F1I

I think you get the point...
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Ray

11 years ago

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Thanks for the feedback, anyone have any actual links to these purportedly archaeological finds? Google image search (for "Cantilever Wine Holder") yields several results, but only one wooden one with the elegance of Swope's design... though I did chuckle at the image of a middle finger directed at a wine holder.

Product Tank: I like to think of criticism as constructive, so I'll do my best to defend myself at risk of further aspersions:
1.) The "Revel" in the title is a vestige of an initial attempt at wordplay on "CantiLEVER"-- i.e. "Can't I Revel..." Fail acknowledged. (Ken K's pun is better anyway.)
2.) While the leaning chair is a stretch, the contact case is simply another minimal DIY product design on KS and I figured that they might appeal to the same audience. I guess not.
3.) 100+ backers believe it; non-believers are more than welcome to continue sounding off in the comments.

(Maybe I'm better off just posting the pictures sans bombastic copy, like certain other design blogs...)
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product tank

11 years ago

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Firstly the title tells us to 'Revel' in this design - there is no 'wow', no 'ohh how new', this idea has been around longer than me and it hasn't changed or been improved upon and producing it identically to previous designs, but in a different material is not sufficiently new to justify a 'Revel'.
Secondly you then go on to try and claim that it is more functional than a leaning shape and a contact lens case. They are completely unrelated. Is it as functional as a wine rack, or just laying your bottle of wine on the floor?
Thirdly - there's no video! so we'll just have to believe the hype!
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PTRdesign

11 years ago

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I just bought 3 of these on WootWine on Monday for 6.99 each. Good holiday gift.
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Steve

11 years ago

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Old as the hills. Available at every craft fair for decades. Good for him for making a buck. But "brilliant"? No more innovative than the wooden wishing wells and miniature windmills these are normally sold next to.
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Forrest

11 years ago

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I purchased one of these jobs as a gift more than three years ago from a street vendor in Darwin. It was made of ironwood (or similiar species) and had a rough/rustic finish. Others had a face carved at the top so that the opening of the mouth accepted the neck of the bottle. I don't remember the facial expression precisely but I can imagine a few of my own. Adding flailing arms or stretched out feet would have been interesting as well.

However, I do enjoy the precise and cold simplicity of the "Oblique".
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M4RK

11 years ago

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RipOff! We made these in primary school about 20 years ago.
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Ken K

11 years ago

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Like Eric sez, nothing new. Wood versions of this have been around for years, and are wonderfully easy to make if you are DIY inclined. (Geddit - "inclined"?)
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Eric

11 years ago

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Nothing new here, the design is a complete rip off, been around for years!

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