Water Drop – The Theme is a circular water drop ripple. Handmade by Jeremy Walton and designed to be made by people at home using 484 milk cartons.

Date: January 2007

Category: Making

Design by Jeremy Walton, 2007. Designed to be made by people at home using 484 milk cartons.

Dimensions: 160 cm x 160 cm.
“A life time of memories in a year’s worth of milk cartons” Designed and made especially for the SE 2007 Autumn Exhibition.

Using 3D computer aided drawing technology, individual Tetra Pak milk cartons (484) are formed within the computer programme. Then each milk carton is extracted and turned into a 2D line. This line is used as a template on real milk cartons in the real world and with the help of some careful notation and numbering.

The Water Drop hangs on the wall and acts as a wall display for keeping small treasures. It is based on the old drawers once used by printers for keeping letter stamps. Known as Type Case drawers, people salvage these drawers and hang them on their walls as small display cabinets.

The Milk Carton Wall was made in response to the SE 2007 exhibition – to design a furniture piece for when I myself am old. I focused on the idea of being active and creating something that would be available for all, irrespective of income. Something that I could make myself at home, probably without any money to spend on materials.

I have many fond memories of my grandmother and her creative uses for empty washing up liquid bottles.

The JW001 designyoumake craft ebook model, that is available as a download (at www.DesignYouMake.com), originates from this Water Drop. In the download version I have taken nine of the milk cartons along the diagonal. Working with nine cartons, it is easier for for people to get to grips with it and can be worked on and added to in small quantities. Where as this water drop model almost needs to be made in one go, or at least in quarters. Which involves a lot of bulk collecting and cleaning of milk cartons. Milk cartons take up much more space than can be imagined . Making them in units of nine with the ability to add more over time is a very good development, trust me.