Nana’s Manners

The Story Behind the Blue Haired Guardian of Good Table Manners and her Award Winning Ergonomic Children’s Cutlery

From concept

The concept of Nana’s Manners was born when its founder Kathryn Baldrey-Chourio returned to her job as a Primary School teacher following maternity leave after the birth of her son.  She found herself teaching the Reception class for the first time, at the same time the coalition government had just rolled out Nick Clegg’s plan to give free school meals to all key stage one pupils at lunchtime. A massive investment in the provision of school kitchens now meant that many four year old children in the country were sitting down to a hot meal every day.

What really struck Kathryn was that the majority of the children in her class had very little idea of how to hold and use a knife and fork. She noted that perhaps one or two out of a class of thirty were able to use the cutlery properly. “Roast dinner Wednesdays were the worst” she says, “I used to see a lot of meat lollipops, which involved spearing the meat with the fork, holding it up and eating around the meat in a circle.”

Good table manners had always been important in Kathryn’s family. Her Mum, the inspiration for Nana, for many years had commented on the inadequacy of children’s cutlery available to buy. A few years previously, when Kathryn’s daughter was younger she recalled that she had never been able to find any great children’s cutlery to assist with independent eating. Now several years on she researched with renewed interest and discovered that nothing new or inspiring was available to buy.

to solution

Never one to let a problem get the better of her, Kathryn decided that if it didn’t exist she would design it herself.  Coming home from work one day she announced her idea to her husband, Chris and began searching around for some suitable modelling material. She came across some Crayola modelling clay in her cupboard and with this she sculpted her first prototype handles. They were based upon the principle that the handles should be shaped, so that holding them in the correct position becomes completely intuitive and comfortable.  A more ergonomic design would therefore make it much easier for small children, whose dexterity is still developing to use the cutlery effectively and with greater ease and independence.

After much refinement of her clay models Kathryn and Chris decided to pursue her idea and had some 3D visuals and basic 3D CAD models drawn up. She also teamed up with graphic designer and illustrator Kate Larsen from Box of Birds. Together they came up with the concept and images for both Nana and a cheeky orangutan, who needed to learn some table manners. She was also advised to protect her intellectual property with a patent (now granted), to register her design, and to copyright the Nana’s Manner’s logo which was to become an important part of the brand.

The next stage of the process was to refine and develop the clay models and turn them into some working prototypes. The complex 3D organic shapes of each handle were proving difficult to replicate.  At this point Industrial Designer, Jonathan Beadle from Radian Design became involved and worked closely with Kathryn to turn her ideas into fully detailed 3D CAD models using PTC Creo software. Jonathan had previously worked extensively on recreating classic car body shapes for replica Scalextric cars with PTC Creo ISDX. The principle was similar, the interpretation of 3D sculptural forms and their translation into complex 3D CAD data from which prototypes and tooling can be generated. Kathryn and Jonathan worked together, creating many 3D printed models along the way, until both were happy with the handle shapes. Kathryn was able to test these 3D prints with children, taking on feedback to refine the shape as they went along. From the resulting 3D CAD files several working prototypes were made by vacuum casting the handles, a process used for small production runs where a silicone mould is used to create polyurethane parts. The stainless steel parts of the knife and fork were machined from solid material for the prototypes. These working prototypes were used to introduce the idea in schools and to parents and prospective buyers. The design and development of the packaging was also a crucial part of the process. Kathryn had realised early on how critical its visual on-shelf impact would be to generating sales. Jonathan collaborated with Kate Larsen on the design of the structural packaging and the crucial graphics and branding for the box. Several prototype boxes were made before final printed samples were produced.

to market

Encouraged by the enthusiastic reception and feedback she received for her innovative cutlery, the feasibility and cost of manufacturing needed to be considered. Kathryn had already done her homework with respect to competition, pricing strategy and likely market share so she knew what her manufacturing costs should be. A lengthy search began to find a UK or European manufacturing partner. It soon became apparent that the production of the stainless steel flatware components of the knife and fork in the UK or Europe would become the sticking point, with sky high tooling costs, unaffordable for a start-up business.  At this point Mike Callow of MCA Int. Plastics got involved. Mike helps UK businesses source manufacturing in the far east and had previously sourced cutlery for other clients in China. He proved to be the link Kathryn needed to get her cutlery into production.

The Nana’s Manners team worked incredibly hard on developing their brand, marketing and PR strategy prior to the launch of their product on crowdfunder Indiegogo.  The start of 2017 saw the arrival of their first cutlery shipment.

to scooping up the awards

Since it’s launch Kathryn’s cutlery has been scooping up the awards. It won the Best Children’s Tableware category of the Junior Awards 2016 and just recently a Made for Mum’s award. Some great feedback has come too from on-line reviews and bloggers, with a resounding thumbs up from the users!

Friedland – Mini Wired Chimes

The Friedland Wired Mini Chimes are a range of compact, wall mounted chimes designed to complement any interior.

The design brief specified the use of existing internal mechanical components along with the option to power by batteries or external transformer.

We provided the industrial design solutions for this range of chimes to provide a clean, fresh and contemporary look and also to create a good sound.

Once the design solutions were created, functional prototypes verified the performance and sound quality through testing.

We supplied 3D CAD models for the external surfaces in PTC Pro-Engineer to allow further detail development for manufacturing.

MK Electric – Clearshave Plus

The MK Electric Clearshave Plus shaverlight is a luminaire with shaver and toothbrush outlets designed for bathroom and washroom areas.

MK Electric were looking for an updated clean and modern industrial design for their Clearshave product range which was contemporary, integrates into modern bathroom interiors, is easy to clean and could be installed vertically or horizontally.

The product was designed around the fluorescent tube and shaver outlet which naturally creates a linear product allowing the product to be mounted in either orientation.

A range of industrial design sketch concepts were created and the chosen solution was then developed as a 3D CAD block model for the exterior surfaces in PTC Pro-Engineer prior to further detailing for manufacturing.

The MK Clearshave Plus has been in the marketplace for 10 years.

GlobalGuard Wireless Alarm System

GlobalGuard have developed a technology which allows remote monitoring and control of their alarm system via a smartphone app.

The industrial design brief was to produce a control panel and siren that was based around existing components but with a new modern aesthetic which would differentiate the design from their other product offerings, whilst still moulded in white plastic.

The design of the alarm panel creates the illusion of the panel floating off the wall, this was achieved by aesthetically separating the rear moulding into two elements and applying different surface finishes. Its overall aesthetic was designed to fit any modern interior and look slim and compact.

The design of the wall mounted external siren consists of a pure geometrical arc for the front moulding. This positions the charging panel facing upwards and the led lens downwards so it is seen from the ground. The rear moulding has a contrasting colour to enable it to blend into the background thereby allowing the front moulding to visually float.

A range of concepts were presented as sketches and then developed into 3D CAD and visualised in Keyshot.

The 3D CAD files were supplied in PTC Creo for the team to complete the detailed engineering.

Since launch sales of the dummy siren have trebled.

Dispensing Flip Top Caps

Designed for Courtaulds Packaging, Betts Plastics

Betts Plastics required an update of their existing caps designed to fit 35mm, 40mm and 50mm diameter plastic tubes.

A more contemporary style was sought, with a softer feel and styling and matt finish designed and detailed for multi-cavity injection moulding and high volume manufacture.

A uniform look was translated across the three sizes. The design included an active butterfly hinge, moulded in polypropylene, for easy opening and closing and a softer thumb shaped detail for opening the caps, fitting on to the tubes with a snap feature.

MK Electric – Elements Contemporary Wiring Devices Range

The MK Elements range of wiring devices were designed to provide a new contemporary aesthetic in materials, finishes and form for this premium range of British standard wiring devices aimed at the luxury hotel and hospitality industry.

By devising an aesthetic which allowed flat materials to be used, the design could be engineered to work with a wide range of materials encompassing glass, metal, leather and wood.

The industrial design combines a simple, clean uncluttered aesthetic with premium materials across electronic/mechanical switches, dimmers and sockets which allows the interior designer to specify devices which act in harmony with the room interior. The success of the MK Elements range lies in its simplicity.

We developed and evaluated concepts using a mix of sketches, Keyshot computer renderings, 3D prints and presentation block models.

Working with PTC Creo allowed us to seamlessly transfer the industrial design to the MK team for detailed development and engineering.

The MK Elements range is now selling in British Standard markets worldwide.

Scalextric Slot Cars

Working for the Scalextric brand we meticulously re-created at 1/32 scale a range of fifteen slot cars, both classic and modern including the Mercedes 300 SLR, Maserati 250F, Vanwall, Ferrari 156 Sharknose and Maclaren M23.

Each project started with extensive design research into the car’s history and racing heritage. Often the cars of the 1950’s would evolve throughout the season and subtlety change shape, with no drawings ever produced of their sculptural forms.

In the absence of any detailed design information for the vintage cars, we had to rely on seeking out remaining examples to record their shapes coupled with the interpretation of historical photographs.

Using PTC Creo and its ISDX capabilities we faithfully re-created the cars in every exterior surface shape and detail down to the last rivet whilst also ensuring that all parts were ready for injection moulding.

After SLA prototyping and test driving approval full 3D data files in PTC Creo were released for manufacturing.

The slot car community gave the cars great reviews when they were launched.