tingilinde

national high five day

The trick is to watch the other person's elbow..  given the right circumstances you might bring a smile.

Colleen is tall and can switch comments and stares to smiles by giving someone a high five when eye contacdt is made.  She made a video a few years ago...

 

wood vs plastic and a project continues

About a week ago I contracted some food poisoning - probably from some bad lettuce in a chain sandwich shop.  I'm doing much better now, but life was not terribly pleasant last week.  

It did remind me of an interesting question - what sort of cutting board should be used and how should it be cleaned?  I looked into this a year and a half ago and found the most current work (not much had been done before then) was from UC Davis. 

Here is a quick summary they put out about a decade ago.  I got in contact and found their conclusions are unchanged.  Basically close grain hardwoods are pretty good.

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It is time to consider a mk II version of the Colleenified cutting board as she is working towards a traveling chef business and needs portability.  For those of you who like design there are some ideas and I'd love to hear comments and learn about better ones.  The basic goals are 

a large cutting surface - 18" x 24", potentially 24" x 24"

hardwood cutting surface

very solid

fixed height (about 12" or 13") with small adjustments for uneven countertops 

rubber or plastic non-scratch feet

legs that easily attach and detach and stow.  folding legs are ok too, but probably more difficult

should break down and have a carrying handle

must be made non-toxic materials

as light as possible - the current Colleenified board is overly robust and all hardwood - it weights close to 30 pounds.  A 18 x24" top board should weigh less than 20 pounds. The lighter the better as long as it is sturdy.

I'll show my ideas later, but not now as some of you may have more clever thoughts

save someone's back this holiday season

or perhaps your own...

Some time ago I started looking into a way to give Colleen a better shot at good posture in the kitchen.  She happens to be extremely tall and the constant bending was causing back pains.  The first approach was looking for a general solution that could be used by anyone who happened to be tall (whatever "tall" means), but it turned out that adjustable, sturdy and affordable were hard to combine.  One solution was to throw away adjustable and tailor a working surface for her.

In reading research on optimal work positions, it became clear that anyone over about 5'8 needs a working surface over 36" tall for food prep.  If you're curious, here is a simple way to find your optimal surface height.

I found a company that does great work making custom extended height tables.  This is much cheaper than raising countertops and works for apartment dwellers and homes where there are cooks of mixed heights.  They can be supplied in heights of 4" and up - 4" would work well for someone who is in the 5'10 range.  They offer thick cutting boards for someone with a bit less height. Very high models - beyond the 13.5" rise of Colleen's can be requested and the lengths and widths are custom.  If you want to give something like this for holiday season you can make your own or order from AWP.  I can recommend AWP - the build quality is excellent and they are a pleasure to do business with.

I'm much shorter than Colleen, but my table allows long periods of pain-free kitchen work.  You can see by the photo that Colleen's allows her to have excellent posture in the kitchen.  She had her mother shoot a short video of  her board ...

 

If you are near the optimal height to work at standard countertops (about 5'4 or 5'5 in the US), great - but if not it makes sense to protect your back -- or the back of someone you know.  If you use AWP, mention Colleen's name.

Recently we heard from a very tall chef (a few inches shorter than Colleen) who finds his 45" countertops essential for his health.  He noted that some chefs who happen to be in the 5' range wear shoes that give them a bit more height, but that custom counters are more desirable in that range.

People like Colleen obviously need products that are made for them, but many of us may be experiencing problems from mass produced things that want to force us into dealing with them.  She has a nice post summing up some thoughts on the subject.

the state of mass customization

Some of the current "mass customization" players as noted on the mass customization blog.  It is an interesting list and often involves tweaks in the final product that don't dramatically affect the design.  There is also a skewing towards premium priced products,.

There is enormous potential here, but building cost effective production systems and workable business models is still a major challenge.  A few companies that are doing mass customization and/or co-creation are Zazzle, Theadless and a few other custom tshirt houses.  Apparel is a juicy target as so many people don't get what they want.

I have an interest in the fit of objects, which is a more complex problem than changing some ingredient sin an energy bar or specifying the colors and materials in a hand bag.   There is still a long way to go for clever people.

For now if you really want something custom the best route is to make it yourself (if you can) or find a craftsperson.  

folders

Someone made a comment about folding bikes - a neat way to do multi-mode commuting.  Ride the bike to the train and then from the train to work.  Take a bike on the plane.  Easily throw a bike in the trunk of the car.  

There are a number to choose from.  Some of these are engineering marvels.  I've seen English Bromptons, which seem excellent.  

The fact the wheels are small has led some companies to make bikes that can fit a very wide range of rider sizes.   Bike Friday offers a range of regular models, but one of their specialities is making bikes for people with special needs.  (video here)

a great mother's day present for a cook

Or Father's Day, or for yourself, your spouse, or anyone else who cooks who is about 5'7 or taller or shorter than 5'2.. 

Make cooking fit like a glove.

About three months ago I received a raised cutting board from AWP and had another made for a much taller friend.  The story is that most countertops are a standard height - thirty six inches.  This turns out to be just dandy ergonomically if you are in the 5'4 to 5'6 range, but outside of that there can be problems. The stresses from the necessary poor posture for someone who is over 5'9 are enough that back pain is possible.

The driver for the project was Colleen who, at over 6'6,  is tall enough that food prep caused back pain.  (she doesn't fit well in much of the man-made world) ...  sad as she loves to cook.

The normal recommendation for tall cooks is a raised countertop.  Some custom kitchen builders offer thirty nine and forty two inch countertops, but these aren't customized for the cook and some families have cooks of multiple heights.  In Colleen's case forty two inches is far too short.  In mine it turns out to be about right, but would be far too high for Sukie.  And then there is the cost of putting in custom counters and a new countertop if you own your home and the non-starter for renters.

The solution is a simple raised surface.  Depending on its length and width you might think of it as a cutting board or a countertop.  With a bit of measuring you can have a working surface that fits perfectly for the task.  It is strange that we worry about size for items ranging from clothing to golf clubs, but many of us spend a lot of time doing tasks in an environment that is mis-sized.

Colleen's elevates her work surface by thirteen inchesand allows her to have great posture.  Mine is about six and a half inches tall.  I was surprised at how much easier chopping things is.  An added benefit for both of ours, which are essentially small tables, is that stuff can be stored under them so there is no real loss of workspace in the kitchen.

Both of us are very satisfied customers.  The construction is great, but more important is what should be obvious - good posture during standing tasks just works.  The first ten or fifteen minutes with one of these may feel a bit strange and mine seemed a bit on the tall side, but then I realized  I was much more comfortable.  Colleen was more comfortable immediately.  

Mine has a eighteen inch square working surface which is somewhat larger than most chopping boards.  Her's is eighteen by twenty-four  and she thinks of it more as a small countertop that she can cut on.  One 5'10 cook is investigating something about four inches tall, but much larger ..  eighteen by forty eight inches giving her even more of a raised countertop.

These are solid hard maple and can be made to any height and length and width.  A six inch tall by seventeen by fifteen inch board is $116.  One as large as Colleen's is a bit more.   If you have priced hard wood recently AWP's prices are not out of line.

Colleen has more information on a blog she made to showcase products and ideas for folks who are differently sized.  In this case "different" can be a sizable segment of the population.  Even if you don't know anyone who might need one, check out the videos she did for a better idea of what these are and a bit of humor.

If the cook is in the 5'6 to 5'9 range AWP offers solid cutting boards from one  to three inches thick in a variety of lengths and widths.  Sukie finds one that is about an inch think makes a difference she can feel and the owner of AWP, who is about the same height, finds the same thing.  

Colleen's picture might be dramatic, but many of us who aren't as vertically gifted will benefit from a height optimized surface.  It just isn't worth the trouble to spend so many hours in the kitchen working with a surface that doesn't fit when simple solutions are available.  

The measurement guide, based on several studies of the proper height for standing kitchen work is here.  If you want to build one yourself, this is a good place to start.

So what if the cook's height is less than 5'2"?  Now the trick is to have a kitchen cart that can be made in any height  with the top doubling as a work surface.  The measurements should be good for cooks to about 4'9.  If you are less than that, it probably makes sense to do your own testing with stacked boxes and see what feels right.  The other alternative that is commonly used are stools.

AWP does quality work - these are really wonderful gifts that are reasonably priced considering the quality and materials..  If you get in contact for a quote be sure and mention Colleen's name for special treatment!

colleen's new ride

Colleen's new bike has finally arrived.

This has been planned for some time and is a custom design so its frame will fit her frame.  Custom paint and everything is recyclable, although hopefully that won't happen for many decades.  This is a work of art.  Go to her blog and look at the closeups!

Trek is very committed to supporting her and her program to convince kids and their adults that biking is a good form of basic transportation.  

If you are looking for a new bike, Trek is a brand to consider.

yikes - the martha stewart show

It turns out the AWP raised cutting board was featured on a Martha Stewart Show that focused on tall people.  I don't know how effective broadcast tv is at reaching an interested niche population.  When you do the numbers it doesn't look good. The ever trustworthy wikipedia:-)  suggests show has a share of about 0.7 which translates into something like 800k viewers.  Most of the viewers are women and the female population 5''10 or taller is about 1.5% ..  so we're down to 12k potential customers.  The response rate for a pitch on such a product is unclear, but it is probably very low for a single pitch ...

but...

These really work - good posture while you're preparing food is a good thing.  I'm very happy with mine.  It is solid and just works.  The hard maple surface turns out to be ideal.  It cleans up well and is well matched to knives - better than the plastic boards.  When it finally wears, I can just re-sand and oil it with a bit of mineral oil, so it should last forever.

Colleen's has a larger surface 18x24 rather than my 18x18.  For a cutting board my size is fine, but she uses hers as a countertop replacement putting items for work on it so she isn't going back and forth to the countertop as much. You can get wider units - 18x30 and 18x36 are possible and AWP will make something to cover a very large countertop to a custom height if you like.  A good solution for renters, mixed height couples and those worried about remodeling expenses and/or resale value.

Here is the welcome page, with a link to the manufacturer as well as other useful information.

It is remarkable how people, as tool users, often don't - or can't, use tools that fit well.   If you are about 5'10 or more, cook, and don't have a raised countertop, you should probably do something about that.  The AWP/colleenified approach is one solution, installing a higher countertop is another.  If you want to DIY, Colleen has sizing instructions on her blog so go at it.  I decided that I wanted something with nice hardwood, so it was probably less expensive to buy rather than build.  Your mileage may vary...

trek day in southern california

Today is Trek day for Colleen - she will take delivery of the bike they have created for her.  She tries to convince people that bikes and walking are often excellent alternatives for short trips - those under five miles or so.   It isn't a popular message, but there are many positive benefits.

Colleen's issue with bikes is her height - here she is on the tallest bike from a very large bike shop that was adjusted for maximum height.  The frame is still too short for her legs.  Trek had her measured and did the engineering to make a larger frame that will still ride well.  This may ultimately become a product line for tall people.   But even if you are in the normal height range there is enough variability in leg, torso and arm length for a given height that it makes a lot of sense to visit a good bike shop and have something fitted and then adjusted to your proportions.  Think of it as getting a suit and having the final tailoring done.  

So get your old bike tuned up and perhaps properly adjusted.   Perhaps it is time for something new.  In either case it makes sense to visit a real bike shop.  

Riding a bike is, well,  like riding a bike. It should come back to you even if you haven't done it for years.  And you can became one of the most efficient ways to move a person and a bit of cargo around.

a product launch for cooks who range from somewhat to *extremely* tall

I spent about twenty years of my life working for a large telecommunication company where people were reluctant to consider any new business that wouldn't bring in more than $100 million a year.  This lead to a hyper-conservative mindset that just missed many new trends and put the business in jeopardy.  

Reglar readers know I've been involved in a simple product that moves the working surface for many kitchen tasks to taller than average cooks rather than expecting them to bend to reach the standard three foot high countertop. 

There are several ways to solve the problem and this is not the best for everyone.  But it is not terribly expensive, portable, strong and physically beautiful.  If it is impractical to remodel a kitchen or if there is a mixed height couple, this may be an excellent choice. 

It began a year ago with conversations with a very tall friend who loves to cook.  A few weeks ago I blogged a brief history of the project and linked to notes on mass customization, co-design and co-ownership.   The raised countertop is simple enough and built of materials that dictate custom manufacture, but the other questions are fascinating and multi-billion dollar industries will die and rise in the next decade as they emerge.  Studying people who don't fit standard design is a good way to think about these changes and Colleen is something of a target rich environment when it comes to triggering thought.

I have no financial involvement in the project, but I was involved in the design and have a "colleenified" countertop of my own.  While I don't have the distance to bend that she does, I do have enough that this brings serious back relief.  The price is not high when you consider the hardwood construction, but I didn't even think about the price after using it for awhile. Back pain is seriously wrong and eliminating it is much more effective than treating it.

Sometimes a before and after photo says it all...

Colleen is thrilled with hers and has started a blog that focuses on issues of people who don't fit the world of stuff.  She is an enthusiastic  promoter of the AWP colleenified countertop.  If you are interested you can find measuring instructions and a link to AWP's page here.

These are extremely well-made from hard maple and you could probably jump on one without damaging it.  Soft inserts in the feet ensure that this won't mar your real countertop.  Very high quality down to the packaging.  AWP is a quality operation and makes everything by hand in Kentucky.

So if you are over about five nine and spend time in the kitchen with a normal height countertop, you need something like this.

It is very gratifying seeing something useful come out in a relatively short amount of time - particularly something that serves a need.

Colleen is full of ideas and other colleenified products will follow.  

There are times when simple can be very useful.