Craft

The Look Of This Espresso Machine Slays Me.

I love a good espresso, and I love good industrial design, and when you put the two together you get the latest creation from Slayer. Almost 10 years after launching, the Slayer Steam is one beautiful piece of coffee making hardware, and I am seriously lusting after this right now. This is seriously a stunning piece of coffee making hardware. I think I might be afraid to use it because I wouldn’t want it to get all smudged and dirty. All that stainless steel, and turned wood… Love.

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Almost 10 years in to the Slayer story, were sharing the biggest news since our launch. We invite you to experience the second machine series in our growing catalog. This is Slayer Steam. SLAYER STEAM Our pursuit of flavor potential began with Slayer Espresso and the technology that we developed in 2007.

Today, we continue to provoke innovation with a completely new machine, a second series that gives you the ability to transform your milk game and focus on a quality-driven, high-volume business. EVOLVING MILK Slayer Steam is our answer to the unasked, yet crucial, questions about steaming milk. With exclusive technology, baristas take control of steam temperature and flow rate, ultimately improving flavor in the milk beverages ordered by the majority of their customers.

UNLOCKED POTENTIAL

The Vaporizer is a compact super-heater that boosts the temperature of steam and creates a dry, invisible vapor. By simultaneously increasing temperature and decreasing dilution, Slayer Steam promotes full flavor development in all milk varieties. Even low-fat dairy and alternative milks display extraordinary gloss, sweetness, and complexity when heated with the Vaporizer.

TAKE COMPLETE CONTROL

Multiple actuation stages add a new level of customization and efficiency. Accu-Flow steam actuators feature two positions per wand, each with programmable presets for temperature and flow rate. Now, every session can be personalized for the preparation of a specific beverage. Reserving one setting for restricted flow makes it even easier to steam small volumes of milk for macchiatos and cortados.

MASTERY WITHIN REACH

Steam is designed to produce excellent milk drinks for high-volume business and is our first machine with automatic-volumetric operation. Shot volumes, brew temperatures, and steam settings are quickly adjusted in the digital Barista Dashboard. New brew actuators offer access to two volumetric doses, in concert with shot timers. An adjustable-height drip tray provides 50% more workspace than most espresso machines. Every interactive element has been optimized for efficiency.

These features, combined with many considerations for workflow, ergonomics, and durability, make Slayer Steam the most efficient espresso machine on the market and the top performer for businesses that rely on milk drinks as a major revenue stream.

Slayer Research and Development is led by CEO and Founder Jason Prefontaine, Industrial Designer Chris Flechtner, and Product Development Engineer Devin Walker, three innovators who have helped to define our roots from the very beginning. Slayer Steam is the result of a creative collaboration between this team and many talented friends in the industry. From everyone involved, we cant wait to see what you do with this machine.

Craft. A Modular Camera System.

In the last 20 years there has been a massive change in photography and cinematography technology. Digital changed the game, then smartphones. One thing that has remained fairly constant though is the form factor. Aside from smartphones, digital cameras look and function very similar to an analog film camera. Your fancy DSLR might have upgraded electronics and a digital image processor, but it still looks and functions the same way your old film camera did. Buy a body, buy a bunch of lenses, get the the battery grip, etc. So here comes a new camera company that might just change all that.

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Craft has designed a camera system where every component is interchangeable allowing you to design a system best suited to your needs. While the video below is just a 3D rendering of the yet to be released final product, the system shows promise. This is a modular system with a number of unique innovations, and a very competitive price point for photographers. The website shows a complete 4K video set up for less than 2 grand which is not bad when you consider what you get.

Some of the innovations that I find really intriguing are the hot swappable lens mounts, the ND filter set up, the connectivity module, and the fact that you can build this to fit your needs. Full tech specifactions are at the bottom of this post.

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Technical Specifications (Full technical specifications will be announced early this summer):
HD Video Element, Super 16mm CMOS Sensor with Global Shutter (1920×1080, 1280×720)
4K Video Element, Super 35mm CMOS Sensor with Global Shutter (4096 x 2160, 1920×1080, 1280 x 720)
Frame rates 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60
Fast and slow frame rate speeds at intervals up to 120fps
Recording Formats Cinema DNG and ProRes (additional formats will announced).
Dimensions (W x H x D)
Video Elements: (97.15mm x 96mm x 39.68mm) (3.7” x 3.6” x 1.5″)
Store, Battery, Audio Elements: (97.15mm x 96mm x 33.4mm) (3.7” x 3.6”x 1.3″)
LCD Elements: (97.15mm x 96mm x 30mm) (3.7” x 3.6” x 1.2″)
Fully assembled cinema camera: (97.15mm x 96mm x 170mm) (3.7” x 3.6” x 6.6″)

Think Ink.

Designers that work with print, hopefully think about ink on a regular basis. Ink is the primary vehicle used to complete your printed vision. No matter what your work looks like on screen, the way it is printed, the paper it’s printed on, and the quality of the ink used will impact the final outcome. The video below isn’t new. It actually came out about 6 years ago, but it’s worth watching.

This short film by The Printing Ink Company in Canada takes you through the process, techniques and craft of ink creation. That’s right, the “Craft”, because making ink is a complex process requiring skills and experience to get the best results. The Printing Ink Company shares their methods used to create every color in the PANTONE spectrum and beyond. The challenges they face getting it right, and the attention to detail they put into making every can of ink.

This is a must watch for art students, designers and everyone else in the business that is designing printed materials.

Just In Time for Halloween. Low Poly Animal Masks.

I was looking for some inspiration this morning for a project I am working on with a Halloween theme this morning and my search results led me the Etsy page of Wintercroft where they have these wonderful DIY low poly count animal masks. Designed and sold by Steve and Marianne Wintercroft in the United Kingdom, these things are a fantastic solution for people like myself that hate to do the whole costume and makeup thing. The litmus for these masks came from a last minute Halloween invite, no costume, and a background in carpentry. Steve Wintercroft used his skills to craft the first mask out of some cardboard boxes, which became a smash hit at the party. Realizing he was on to something, he created a template for the mask to share with others. Seeing how popular it was Steve and his wife branched out creating a whole series and offering them up on Etsy.