Shoe rack
Kristie Huang
Botany Downs Secondary College
Year 12 Multi-Materials Technology, full-year unit
Teacher: Dip Achary
Kristie's client, her mother, wanted a new, more stable shoe rack with increased storage capacity. Aesthetic appeal was one of her top priorities, so Kristie had to balance this with her budget and the storage specifications. The rack had to be the same width and fit the same location as the existing one, and shaped to avoid covering an electrical duct.
Kristie decided to make a higher rack, to fit more shoes, and designed the shelving at differing heights to fit a range of footwear and umbrellas. She looked at making it all in glass, which her mother liked, but was advised by Technology teachers that this would be both time consuming and difficult to work in, so she compromised by designing a wooden rack with glass shelves.
Kristie matched the black-coated wood her client wanted for the frame, with a range of interior woods. She then matched the coated/rimu wood her client chose with a range of fabrics for her to select from. The fabric was used for a 'shoelace' decoration which hung down the sides of the rack.
Before constructing the rack Kristie made a model using a template to ensure that the wood pieces were cut accurately.
Rimu was not available at the construction stage, and her client settled on rimu-stained pine instead. It is harder to achieve a dark effect with stain so Kristie made up a sample to calculate how many coats she would need for the desired effect.
The next drawback was finding that the factory source for the coated wood had moved, which meant she had to find an alternative material. After consulting her client she decided instead to paint this section of the rack black, modelling the paint effect on a small piece of wood to check that it gave the required look.
Kristie says joining the pieces was a learning experience for her, as she realised she should have glued first and painted later. If the glue didn't wipe cleanly she had to re-stain, or sand and repaint, those sections. She also reflects that it would have been easier if she'd inserted the glass at this stage, rather than at the end.
However, Kristie is pleased with her outcome and thinks the colours work well. Her client is obviously very happy with the product – she decided it was too good for the garage and has moved it to the house where it can be appreciated for its appearance as well as function.
Teacher comment
Kristie demonstrated exemplary Technological Practice in her project. Her ability to apply the knowledge she gathered through stakeholder feedback, research, problem-solving, planning and modelling contributed to a meaningful Technological Outcome.
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