Awalon
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January jubilations!
🕑 Added 2023-01-11 15:32:21 +0000 UTCPublic post, so hello world! Mostly this kind of progress talk in the monthly Patreon-exclusive writeups. Consider supporting the suiting by joining?
Pictured above: WIP from the new suit rig mold. Main diffs: modular for easy redesigns, easier to disassemble after casts, and most importantly - reinforced so it can handle horizontal casting in the new rig.
PS: "J23BR" for 10% off on suitworks.se during january! Imma' remind everyone everywhere everytime.
In any case, on with the update. Mostly text on this one, been a while since I did a 'State of the Suit' post.
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Now that 'project catchup' is pretty much done, it's time to talk roadmaps again. Long post ahead so I'll try to braindump in distinct categories. This will be an aggregate of things from the backlog and things I've got cooking in my brain. A plan text dump isn't the best format for it, but it's a start. I reckon I'll be doing some backlog refinement and/or system migrations later on to get all of this packaged nicely with actual visuals.
Let's start with the concrete things (hoods and suits), then move on to the slightly more abstract.
### Hood/small piece production ###
Situation as of today:
- Both the elf and human hoods are viable, although some size molds need a bit of maintenance.
- I've got 2 (+1 currently faulty) colors available in the casting vats. The faulty one should be fixable with some controlled evaporation, otherwise I'll just have to bite the sour apple and accept the cost of remaking the mixture.
- I've refreshed the airbrush techniques and resolved some issues, so basic stenciled paintjobs are now fully viable! Still only have the jigs for the elf design though. Will make the rest during the spring.
- Notable remaining issue #1: my current vat filter isn't quite good enough, can leave tiny latex floaties in the vat still. Need to build a better one. Not complicated, just cumbersome to get it done.
- Notable remaining issue #2: I still struggle a bit with certain mold repairs. With 10+ of them, some get damaged occasionally. For some damages I struggle to repair them in a way that doesn't cause defects in the cast later.
Future stuff - easy:
- More colors. There's three factors that complicate this - costs, storage space and swap-times. With the current vat-based casting system I need ~$500 of latex sitting in a big vat, and swapping in the casting machine typically requires a day for the filtering and degassing to hit. Said vat also takes a lot of space and is quite heavy, so I can at the most fit like one or two more in the current workshop.
Could throw money at this and continuously optimize the space consumption etc as one solution. I'm hoping that one of my moonshots will pan out though - negative molds. Would significantly lower the per color costs and storage requirements, and completely eliminate the setup time. Parts and chemicals are on their way, so more about how that's going in a future patreon post.
- More paintjobs. Stencils, designs, etc. Mainly a matter of design time and practice for this. Now that the paint jigs work better I might be able to do the entire tattoo pattern as paint instead of gluing laser-cut sheets - should both look better and be more efficient!
- More thicknesses. Should just be a matter of having multiple priming vats for the casts, so mainly a workshop space question. Whatever the product, there's usually a case for both ~0.4mm and ~0.6mm or thicker.
- Ancillary products. More hood designs, perhaps gloves/socks/underwear, etc. Castable things that leverage my ability to whip up new sizes and handle certain design complexities. Will need a variety of things to make this into a sustainable activity.
- Updated hood versions. I've got a few design improvements lined up for both the elf and human. It's a relatively large task to redo all molds though, so it's on the "a bit later"-pile.
- Optimized post-cast cleaning & handling. I suspect I can shave off a bit of effort with a washing machine and/or some sort of bulk talcum applicator. I've always been a bit miffed over the time spent + uneven talcum layers that I keep getting at the moment, but it hasn't been enough of an issue for it to hit the top of the backlog yet.
Future stuff - complicated:
- "On demand"-casting, rather than pre-produced batches. While delivery times would become much higher, it would let me offer a much larger variety of options. The problematic bit, besides machine setup time to switch between colors etc, is the personal stress factor. Mailing out pre-made stuff is easy, having to plan manufacturing time +/- fault-handling when an order shows up is trickier. I reckon I'll get over it as things continue improving with regards to quality and production reliability.
- Better zipper methodology. Right now I'm amateurish at best. I'm sure I can figure out a way to both do the gluing and cutting more efficiently and beautifully. Ideally even with an interior keep-the-hair-out latex flap like some fancier manufacturers do.
- Eyehole/nostril cutting dies. This would be a massive time saver. Nostrils could probably be cut with a regular hole-puncher, but the eyeholes are a different matter. Big, not circular, and various different sizes needed. I'll 100% need to figure out a way to either make or order custom cutting dies, but it'd be worth it. Major timesink right now.
- Nose tubes. Can't have nose hairs sticking out of the awkward mask edge, can we? Probably not that tricky, but I'll need to make some custom molds for them to avoid an unsightly 90-degree angle in the nostril edge.
- Eye lenses. All black, painted stylized eyes, etc. It'd open up some new design avenues. Tricky bit is that I'd want to have very carefully designed shapes for them... No purchasing cheap bulk sunglass lenses with other words. I've got some ideas and seen proof of concepts with resin-printed lenses, but then there's the skin contact angle to consider. Big questionmark on this one for now.
- Mouth inserts. RubbersFinest did one like ten-fifteen years ago, and then the design has remained pretty static among every manufacturer. It's a complicated mold to make, but I suspect I could make something better with modern tech. Very, very complicated though. It'll require multiple iterations and the full tech-stack, so I'm going to try to optimize the mold production a bit before I go all in on it.
- Kinematics. Latex masks are fairly static, but I'm pretty sure I can do some nifty interior mechanics to get some movement going. Needs the above mentioned mouth addon though, so it's a bit further down on the todo-list.
- Glued hair. Blended lace edges and all that - should be possible to make some nifty styling that endures a bit of jostling and movement. Personal pet peeve. I'll have to nerd my way to hair expertise and get tools for wig stuff though, so it goes on the 'complicated' list.
- Silicone masks. Printer tech is getting to the level where it might be feasible, so I might try a proof of concept in the autumn (?). The material itself has its advantages and disadvantages, but I'm a bit interested in the volumetric control it offers. Masks with thicker/thinner parts, with other words. Lots to do on the latex side first though, and making silicone suits with this tech is still way off, so 'later' it is.
### Suits, rig construction etc ###
Current status:
- Right now I'm between casting systems. The old spray-caster got disassembled way back, and I recently shifted strategy on the new one. Makes the existing prototypes I've made a rather limited resource, so a bit nervous with the wearing.
- As of writing this, I'm well on my way towards the new rig. I've printed 21/26 of the parts needed for the new mold design, built the core, etc. Since I've finally caught up (hooray Project Catchup), the suit rig is going to get my focus for a while. The new design is way less complicated but it'll still need a load of effort. Probably doing a more comprehensive update on this in the next Patreon post.
Future stuff - easy'ish:
- Obvious one first, I need to finish the suit rig. The new suit version, whether with this casting method or the chamber, will be a massive quality/effort upgrade from the previous one. Hoping it'll be The One that finally gets the balance right for commercialization.
- One prototype suit model up for sale. Since I currently only have a me-sized mold, it'll be only one size to start with. I suspect I'm going to have to tweak some of the mixtures to get the thickness to Just The Right Level (also known as lagom) so that a small size discrepancy between my mold and the wearer isn't too much of a problem.
- Paintjobs. A bit of basic shading/highlighting across the body would be neat, and I reckon I've moved from "terrible" to "mediocre" with the paintskills by now... :p
Future stuff - complicated:
- More sizes, so there's suits that fit more people. While technically not that complicated, it's the storage requirement that kills me. The molds are HUGE and a bit fragile. At the same time it's 100% going to be needed, so I'll have to figure out a solution. Will most likely be a case of needing to move to a different, bigger workshop.
- More colors. Yet again it's an issue of scale. While I haven't finished the rig yet, I've estimated that I'll need around 200 litres per color. Besides being expensive, that's also ~200kg of liquid that will need to be stored somewhere. We'll have to settle for either brown or another skin-toned variation for now.
- More designs. Curvy, thin, elfy, non-elfy, etc etc. Space issue - although the new mold is a bit more modular so it might be doable. Some design diffs will only require e.g. different legs, which are now designed to be a relatively easy swap.
- Plumbing. Penis sheath, vaginal insert, etc. Both a design challenge and a bit of a production problem. While it would be nice to have them directly cast into the suit for true seamlessness, I do suspect I'll have to have them as modules that I attach after the base suit is cast.
- Mask kinematics. Gets its own section here on suits, even though hoods are above. Previously on the prototypes I've done a fairly complex foam latex mask graft to the suit, which resulted in great movement... But was very, very fragile and time-consuming to make. Completely unviable in an actual product. At the same time I think we can all agree that kinematics are kind of the holy grail of masks, so I need to figure out a solution. Details pending.
### Store/company/workshop/backend stuff ###
The big picture:
First of all, you all know I'd like to focus more on making suits and less on the daytime job. Perhaps even full-time work around suits and masks. Well, now we've got a goal for that: in four years (2027 and onwards). Can of course end up doing it earlier if the stars align, but it sets a realistic and relatively safe timeframe.
Besides needing to invent and create a whole bunch of things, the reason for saying exactly four years is that there's a state grant I started exploiting last year. Essentially a reasonably large tax-deduction from my salary taxes in order to offset losses from a 'startup' side business. Since I need to generate a loss in order to get it in the first place, this translates into subsidized costs that I still need to shell out cash for in the first place. Not a case of 'rolling in state money', more like the state band-aiding my bleeding savings account :p
It's going to be a bit finicky to manage, but the grant will help with e.g. material costs, admin system subscription fees, workshop rental costs, etc. All of which will be very much needed in order to scale up. That said, let's dig into things.
Current situation:
- The new workshop furnishing and storage room is paying off. I've had a slew of heureka moments throughout all of the shuffle, plus the lighter and airier space is just good for overall health. Still some stuff to do before it's completely finished though.
- The store is pre-paid until the end of next year, so I've got a solid base of internet operations I guess? I may or may not migrate elsewhere afterwards, depends on how the other system integrations and costs look when we get there.
- I've got my 'big picture' backlog set up in a Jira project. Suspect I'll migrate to something else soon, cut costs there a bit. The dependency graph is hidden as a premium feature which annoys me and my wallet.
Future stuff - easy:
- I still need to do a lot of ventilation work. Airbrush particle filter, resin printer, laser cutter and curing oven - they all generate their own distinct air quality issues. I suspect this'll be relatively high on my near-term todo list. Gotta' be able to keep working on the suits for a long time ahead, y'know.
- Bookkeeping. While doing this under the 'hobby' category legally speaking, no paperwork was needed. Now that I plan on getting grant money I need to keep a regular company book, so yeah, funfun. I've done it before, but admittedly this situation is stretching the complexity a bit. Multiple currencies, transaction/exchange fees, etc etc.
- System optimizations. Assuming we go the easy route on the above, I currently have to interact with multiple systems per transaction. I plan on spending some time later this year to see if I can perhaps link the store with both postal and bookkeeping systems, save a bit of overhead time.
- Shipping cost reductions. Postnord, our national post service, is quite expensive. I may be able to get some sort of freight deal going, maybe shave off ~30% of shipping costs?
- Trade fair visits. Hopefully I can manage to pop by e.g. one of the german fairs, poke a bit at other latex producers stuff and see how things measure up. Business travel's deductible in this new setup too! Just gotta' align time, energy and actual scheduled events and/or people I know that'll be popping by them.
- A printer array refresh. My workhorse CR10-S5's have around 10k printing hours each, so I'm getting increasingly antsy for expensive issues. I've got enough spare parts to keep them going for another year or two though, so it's not urgent. Some new printers with noticeable advantages have started to hit the market too, e.g. the Bambu X1 that prints 5-10 times faster than my CR10's (!!jesus it's fast). Print size is the usual issue though, as more or less all the stuff I need to print is enormous. We'll see how things go.
- Improved packaging. Should be relatively straightforward to grab some supplies, and I may have an idea for some box printing too.
Future stuff - complicated:
- A bigger workshop. 100% needed in the future. The suit rig/molds are simply huge, and having e.g. multiple suit sizes will be very, very difficult with the current setup. Since I live in the middle of sweden's second largest city there's a bit of a cost-or-distance issue with workshop rentals. Not entirely sure how I'll solve this, but there's still time.
- People scaling. I'm going to need an assistant or two in the long run, both to offload work and cover my weaker areas. Usual tricky combination of finding the right people and actually being able to offer a sustainable pay. Obviously also very location dependant. Lots of complications around how this is handled, so yeah... Both looking forward to and dreading the day it becomes relevant.
- Investments/partnerships? I dunno'. I suspect that sooner or later there's going to come a time when this needs to be talked about. I've done my fair share of entrepreneuring/company/corporate stuff via the day job, but it gets complicated here. If this was a "normal" revenue-focused business it'd be easy to quantify values etc, but it just isn't. I wouldn't mind if parts of the workshop project turned into one, but my main goal with all of this is to develop high-tech suits that the world has never seen before. Whatever setup we end up in, that's got to be part of it. As it's both brand new and the market is entirely opaque with zero public market information available, it's very far from ideal situations to talk serious business. Big 'someday maybe' on this, but if you as a reader happen to be in a position for this and interested despite all the complications - ping me ey?
- Outsourcing. This is kind of a crossover with people scaling, but with a more remote flavor. There will probably be design tasks or other similar things that can be done elsewhere. While not risky in the same way as having assistants on-site and dealing with high costs and local laws, it's complex from a strategic point of view. I obviously don't want to end up in a scenario where some critical piece of work is beyond my ability to do it myself if needed.
- VAT-handling. There is a revenue limit, and once I hit that I'll be legally forced to handle VAT. Besides the complexities of internationally differing trade rules around it (e.g. Britain wanting endpoint-collect-and-paying) it's a significant added cost to the end purchaser. Sweden's VAT is at 25%, so the current fancyhoods would go from 1200 to 1500sek with it. While there are ways to optimize my way around it by e.g. having international subsidiaries/distribution centers, that's waaay beyond what's possible with the current "one Awa in a basement workshop" setup. For now, enjoy the VAT-free hoods and stuff. I'll try to give everyone a heads-up on when the limit is approaching, whether it be this year or next. Alternatively, if it's close to the end of the year, I might just pause all sales until the new year hits and the limit resets. Will have to wait and see wtf I figure out for this.
Thoughts on sustainable working conditions and revenue streams:
This is a tricky area. Right now I'm dropping around 20h/week on this, besides my regular 40h day job. World being what it is, I reckon I'll have to keep that up for a while (plus, the tax thing). That means I'll need to figure out a balance that lets me continue to develop the more advanced things (suits, mask kinematics, etc) while also funding the projects.
If we consider the ambition to full-time around this, there's also the need to have multiple revenue streams when we get there. Can't have a situation where a lull in e.g. latex sales causes a pay-the-bills panic. I've got some ideas, with varying level of definition, so we'll see when they get put into practice...
- idea 1: have a wide enough variety of products so that there's always something that sells. Hopefully we'll get here sooner or later just naturally. I talked a bit about it in the hood/small piece production chapter up top.
- idea 2: an obvious one, offer full custom designs of masks/suits. This makes much more sense for full suits, where the current 'off the rack' commercial ones from e.g. Roanyer are pretty varying in how well they actually fit people. It would be quite expensive and low volume, but the real tricky bit is the storage space requirement for the molds. Would 100% need to move to a bigger workshop before I can do something like this as a regular thing.
- idea 3: suit media. There's two obvious angles here - planned fetishy videos and less-planned variety streaming within the suit/workshop context. I've gotten plenty of requests for the former, and the latter 'unscripted' streaming would let me generate regular content. I'm currently leaning towards some sort of "Awa works"-stream once I've got the new suit rig ready. Once a week, suited up, working on new models and hanging out. It's stuff I'd do anyway, and hopefully it could grow into something that perhaps adds on a bit of revenue and/or enhances the brand enough to drive other business. Fetishy stuff, maybe, we'll see how things come along. That obviously requires a lot more prepping and planning, and I'd like to up the suit quality a bit more before showing up in 4k-videos :p
- idea 4: artsy side-stuff. Not really something I'm counting on bringing in much, but it might be worth it if I can figure out the logistics so that it doesn't eat my time. Apparel, posters, brand stuff, etc. I do have some suit-/mask-related design ideas that I'll probably do a trial run of soon. Of course it's a tricky balance - some people might be all-in on "i heart rubber elves" hoodies, others might prefer something that's a bit more okay for the office... We'll see :p
- idea 5: expand the Patreon. Right now it's essentially a "support the R&D / tip jar" thing (and I am ever so grateful!) where I do monthly behind-the-scenes-updates and occasional hood drops. I suspect it (or OF/equivalent) could be expanded with exclusives, media, ancillary products and/or formal incentives. Tricky bit is of course to do it in a way that doesn't cause too much stress on my part, and doesn't feel cheesy either. Once I've gotten basic media rolling and/or tried out the artsy sidestuff I reckon I'll have a look at things here.
### Closing words ###
If you top-to-bottom'ed the above text - how's that for a braindump? "Structured stream of thought" is a bit contradictory, but I try... :)
Consider supporting me on the Patreon for regular updates and this kind of behind-the-scenes talk. Every piece of support helps on the grand quest of high tech rubber suits.
Those of you already on the Patreon - you've heard me say it before, and I'll keep saying it - thank you. Warms my heart to know that there's more people out there who want to see the suits realized. Comment/ping me if I glossed over something interesting, ey? Back next month with a more detailed update on the rig!
PS: I just figured out that it's possible to do basic text formatting here, omg. No more ascii art!
