Comments on: Crowdfunding a 10-year-old's cup design for her grandad, who's got Parkinson's; and her dad, who is a klutz

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 14:39:00 +0000

TIL that we export porcelain.

By: Cory Doctorow

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 09:25:00 +0000

I meant it with fondest affection, one klutz to another.

By: Jonathan W. Hendry

Jonathan W. Hendry — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 07:04:00 +0000

That was my thought too: a gimbal-mounted inner cup, that would stay vertical when the outer portion with the handles tips.

Then again, that would make drinking difficult!

Maybe put a button or trigger on the handles that would lock the inner cup when you want to take a drink.

By: Thomas Shaddack

Thomas Shaddack — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 05:37:00 +0000

Looks like an Erlenmeyer flask to me.

By: Dimmer

Dimmer — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 02:36:00 +0000

Yes, yes indeed you can. Wait, no, no you can’t as “Kangaroo” is simply aribigony for “Fuck you.” Sorry.

By: ocker3

ocker3 — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 23:44:00 +0000

As an Australian I claim copyright on the word Kangaroo! I can do that, right??

By: JimEJim

JimEJim — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 22:22:00 +0000

I wonder if there’s a way to combine the gyro bowl concept into this to make it even more stable and still drinkable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPgvauRzQFI

A direct translation wouldn’t work, sure, since the bowl is meant to be “spill proof” but I could see some applications where it could add a little extra safety.

By: Tynam

Tynam — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 20:17:00 +0000

This is how the internets are supposed to work.

By: dmc10

dmc10 — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 19:46:00 +0000

I respect the fact that she did this first and foremost for a disabled family member — not just to be cool or make a buck. Good for her.

By: hymenopterid

hymenopterid — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 19:24:00 +0000

That’s fine if you want to go back to the days of economic serfdom. Few people alive remember the the hardship of when we had to import all our ice from Iceland, turkey from Turkey, poles from Poland and ukuleles from Ukraine.

By: knappa

knappa — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 19:18:00 +0000

Personally, I don’t have a problem with high quality imports from anywhere. Most of the problems come from importers dumping crap goods; companies producing quality work at least have to treat their employees better than the local average.

By: occupyordie

occupyordie — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 19:13:00 +0000

Actually, most “china” that you find in the US in terms of raw material is actually grolleg porcelain imported from the UK by the container load… Also, the US has its own rich tradition of pottery making, see american salt-glazed stoneware for examples.

By: occupyordie

occupyordie — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 19:11:00 +0000

I apologize–as a working potter this struck a nerve–not that this excuses my snark, i should have composed myself before replying.

By: Joe Born

Joe Born — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:48:00 +0000

occupyordie: I’m all ears about production in the US, a couple others have given me the names of some factories in OH and I’ll contact them on Monday. If you have names or tips for locating others, please let me know: joe@kangaroocups.com

By: AlexG55

AlexG55 — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:26:00 +0000

I normally don’t have an issue with buying foreign-made things that were traditionally imported- like, you know, china from China.

By: EH

EH — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:20:00 +0000

I appreciate your point, but the sarcasm detracts.

By: EH

EH — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:19:00 +0000

Not to mention that it would be dead simple to design a bracket that would allow it to be hangable in a car/boat/etc.

By: occupyordie

occupyordie — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:11:00 +0000

way to work on finding ways to keep that production in the US! Seriously–i would be willing to bet their first production run is less than 1000 pieces, there are plenty of production potteries capable of doing just that. As for the whole spiel about higher temperatures, white as jade, blahblahblah–thats a load of marketing BS. Most sanitary ware is fired to cone 10, here or in china. White clay is simple to come by in our now globalized economy. Neither of those two things are really concerns–the reason you source your production in china is because of the readily available slave labor.

By: Shibi_SF

Shibi_SF — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:54:00 +0000

Go Lily! Really great idea!

By: TheNewsIsBroken

TheNewsIsBroken — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:29:00 +0000

Nice design and great fun project. Get them working on an insulated model with a top. I’d buy a set.

By: bcsizemo

bcsizemo — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:24:00 +0000

For some odd reason it reminds me of the raktajino mug.

(But this would be a billion times easier to clean.)

By: Joe Born

Joe Born — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:23:00 +0000

Hey! I’m no klutz, I’m dexterous and deft! Well, perhaps not :) Thanks for the mention!

By: cellocgw

cellocgw — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:07:00 +0000

I like that. Here’s hoping for an espresso version as well. Yes, i know that’s silly but I enjoy collection oddball espresso cups.