A few prototypes later...

...eTUI is born. Since the first change for the closing mechanism, i changed the system again. Without a larger faceplate at the top it just did not look right. A few of the prototypes also had some stability issues when opened/closed too often. The now final design looks like a traditional sheath and should be sturdy enough to be used quite a while.

This picture shows a template prototype i created for a friend. You can see the closing mechanism which is a flap you insert into the sheath. The whole top cover has additional flaps for stability inside. The opening at the top body part doubles as part of the closing mechanism and is used to be able to remove business cards with ease from the sheath with your thumb. There are a few other tiny things that are adding to the usability, I'll explain when i release the template.

The use for the sheath is to customize it as a gift for people, to pose as a sheath if you have to handle more then one type of card (eg. personal & company) and in addition i see a great use for them if you hand out stacks of your cards to people in your network. I don't know about you, but i keep small stacks of business cards from people i trust because of their good work and/or work together with often. So if someone asks me about someone to do a certain task, i can hand out cards from others to advertise their work. In my opinion this adds more value to the reference then just naming a website. Shouldn't it be great if you can hand out your cards in a nice sheath? Will make it even easier for others to advertise you.

Cookie Caskets!

Alright, probably I'm the only one who thinks this is funny... but who cares? =)
While writing an answer to a discussion over at Nice Paper Toys i came up with the spontaneous idea to create paper cookies. While the first version was a more complicated model (sides in a more complex shape) i thought about my recent discussion concerning papertoys and function. So i came up with the idea to create paper cookies that serve as a casket for one larger cookie to be given as a gift. The bottom is blank, so you can also write a small message on it. The casket looks like a cookie itself and you could also just use them as paper cookies. There're large flaps that serve as a "open/close mechanism" for easy access to the cookie content.

"Sometimes me think what is love, and then me think love is what last cookie is for. Me give up the last cookie for you."
                         - Cookie Monster

I changed the shape to a simple one as this will make it very easy to customize your own cookie in about 15 minutes. Just take a picture of your favorite cookie and customize one (download the blank template) - if you do, please post it here. Wouldn't it be great to be able to use a bowl of several different paper cookies instead of those ugly wax apples?!? ;) I created two cookies for the start... looking forward to see more.

Download here:
 cookie casket "chocolate"
 cookie casket "colors"
 cookie casket "blank"
(just choose the FREE option)

blank BC Butler

I cleaned up the template and added a blank BC Butler one to the post. Feel free to use/modify it - would be nice if you drop me a line if you created your own card holder. I can also post it in my blog if you wish. If you see different designs for card holders, I'm interested in a pictue/design as well.
Looking at the model again gave me a great idea for a more 3D look of the hands holding the tray. As the arms & tray are connected with a seperate piece, it should be easy to glue additional hands inside the arms as well, then you can glue them to the tray and have it look like hes really holding it. On the pic you can see the idea (which i just glued together in like 20 seconds), you get the picture. Maybe someone wants to include that in a custom design? Feel free to use that idea to your liking.

Working on the BC Butler really gave me some creative ideas on using designs with some sort of more sophisticated features or just playful ones. My next idea is rather quickly sketched out, so i expect to post it in a few days. While having a look at Alen's papertoys.ru website (no, i don't speak Russian, but he got lots of pics to understand the content *g*) i saw a review about lens hoods made of paper and a cigarette packet flash diffuser - great ideas!

BC Butler

My first own paper model was supposed to be a kind of kung-fu bunny (an hommage to Usagi Yojimbo), but after recently thinking about functional papertoys i got inspired by the C3 Biz Card Holder and the toxic-myk model and put the bunny on hold. Therefore i decided to create another model first, my own business card display: The BC Butler.

I tried to create the model sturdy enough to be of real use offering business cards and not to collapse after a withdrawal. An additional challenge was to split up the model as it won't fit on one page, being designed for a certain size of business cards. The model will hold approx. 50 cards in his tray. I'm not satisfied with the look of the hands holding the tray - tried to use white gloves - but I'm not much of a illustrator. I'll upload an empty model for customization tomorrow, maybe someone will create a better texture - or an alien for a scifi-shop.. hehe. Of course feedback on the model is welcome.

Download here:
BC Butler original
BC Butler blank
(just choose the FREE option)