I feel so lucky to have been an integral part of the first rotating exhibit at the children’s museum. The exhibit was named snug and the entire exhibit was developed around that one word. What was settled on among all parties was basically the entire room turned into this giant furniture fort that almost resembled a cave system of plush upholstered furniture. I maintain that this exhibit would’ve been so much easier fabrication and maintenance wise had we built structures throughout the space to resemble furniture. However, I don’t think it would’ve had the same level of charm or love from the children had we done it that way. Sometimes the more difficult method is the clear choice for the better result.

In this exhibit my main projects included restructuring the internals of the furniture components to make them structurally sound, and design/fabricating these structures we called “chimneys”. The chimneys are the large structures sitting atop the furniture forts. While we wanted to encourage climbing and exploration in the space, due to height regulations and etc. we decided it was important to create the sense of exploration and climbing, but for obvious reasons persuade children to avoid climbing in certain portions. The solution to this was the chimneys which all protrude at an angle outward from their base to make climbing difficult. On top 2x4 framing and 3/4” MDF Sheets, batting and fabric was spray adhesive/ stapled into these structures to match the furniture vibe and reduce any grip holds possible. In a short time, I had to build/install 2 chimneys per week for a total of 14 chimneys. This included taking measurements from our restructured furniture “pods” (a section/grouping of furniture that was connected fully as one unit) to 3D modeling the framing and sheeting, to fabrication, and install within that 2 chimney per week deadline. That being said I was so thankful for Caileigh Hudson and Seren Pellets help in developing and fabricating the batting/fabric layer to match the furniture aesthetic while making the fabric impossible to grab and making my chimney’s soft.

My other main project in the space included a mirror cave that was inside one of the chimneys/furniture pods. It was 8 different compounding angles of mirrors matching up to make infinite mirrors in all sorts of direction. It was an absolute blast and really encompassed the exhibits element of infinite furniture cave systems. Besides these items I was a helping hand wherever needed. Whether that was creating infill pieces to close up any gaps between furniture pods, attaching cushions using straps or sewing/making new cushions because the fabric wasn’t going to hold up, cladding the wall, I was more than happy to help. It was such a fun project and although I am sad to see it is gone now, I’m looking forward to the next Gallery Uno exhibit.