My overall project inspirations were two things; something I will actually use, and something that is important to me. This lead me down two roads, one which will be more likely and reasonable, and one that I will eventually do regardless of this class but am restricted by resources and time.

The first idea is a unique dart board set up. One of my favorite games to pass time at a bar or when hanging out with friends and sharing a beer is darts. After doing some research I found almost zero creative dart board set ups. The classic dart boards we are used to seeing are the traditional wooden cabinet that opens up to the score board, dart holder, and dart board similar to designs seen below.

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But I thought how could I make this unique and different while still having meaning to my life? This lead me to thinking about an idea off creating a wooden flag that slides apart from the middle and opens up to a dart board. I would create a wooden flag similar to the designs below of either the CA flag to represent my home state, or the first navy jack since I am entering the Navy and attending flight school after graduation.

All I found online were the traditional cabinet door opening styles but I want to make my doors slide open or pop out and down giving the board a hidden feature. I want the item to seem like just a wooden flag picture and no one to suspect a dart board to be hidden behind. I really like houses with sliding doors to bedrooms rather than using hinges. I like the futuristic feel from them and think they give anything a sleek and low profile look.

I am really comfortable working with wood I love the look of wood grain in art work so I figured this would be the perfect project to make something dynamic while also serving as something I will use often and take pride in.

My second idea has been a long dream of mine. I love riding motorcycles and am fascinated by the new wave of converting old bikes into sharp looking pieces of art. This cafe racer/tracker/scrambler craze has exploded over the last decade and people continue to make awesome new bikes from relics of the past. I have always wanted to design a custom car or bike but have always been restricted by money. One of the greatest parts of the cafe racer/tracker/scrambler theme is minimalism and basically stripping down any unnecessary components from the bike, giving it a raw engine and rider look. Some of my favorite bikes are seen below.

I love the aggressive forward leaning look that all the bikes present. The low handle bars and seat almost even with the bars forcing the rider to lean into the machine and be one with the bike. I also am a huge fan of large, thick, and knobby tires. I think it gives the bike a more aggressive and mean look making it look strong and bold rather than having the old school skinny tires. Another feature I love is the floating seat look. Many old bikes utilized a triangular rear suspension frame but artists and mechanics have used modern suspension to update old school looks to give the bikes a modern racing feel.

I will definitely build my own bike one day and look forward to learning the ins and outs of the engine and welding my own frame and creating my dream machine, but due to money, resources, and time constraints I don’t think I will be able to use this idea for this class. If the right bike comes along on craigslist in the next week, I may be able to finish in time but more likely I will be sticking with my wooden flag dart board idea and making it the best and most unique I can.

‘Sidenote’: If you know anyone selling an old bike or working on a bike themselves or has any any further info on building cafe racers or tracker, please feel free to get in touch with me I’d greatly appreciate it.