The Design is Coming Together!

After a great progress meeting on Monday, the dollhouse design is really coming together. We have been mocking it up in the office with paper and cardboard to see what works and what doesn't. The entire design fits on a 4'x8' sheet of wood, so anyone who wants to buy the plans for the house will be able to buy a sheet and cut it out at home.

We have another meeting today to go over the design one last time before we start pitching it to local builders.

Process Drawings

Here are great process sketches from the past couple of weeks. We're trying to figure out not only how to bring the kids' point of view into this dollhouse, but also how to stay true to our design aesthetic. And of course, there is the question of how this thing goes together. We've had some great conversations in the office about this project and it's been a great learning experience.
We are still talking with a few different people about collaborating with us on the construction of the house. More on that later!

Friends of the Children Portland - I Believe

Design Progress

The dollhouse design is coming together! Here's a photo of some process work from over the weekend. We're also starting to think about who to collaborate with to actually build the house, so if you know of a skilled woodworker who would like to volunteer for a great cause, let us know!

As we work toward the final design for the dollhouse, we are reminding ourselves that the kids are the ultimate client. Having the design charette early on with the kids has directly informed what the design should be and its really exciting seeing their ideas expressed through the dollhouse.

Friends of the Children featured on NPR

Money for Mentors: Portland Program Sees Success

A great story on NPR's All Things Considered aired on February 21st talking about the success of this unique program. All of us at SUM are so excited to be a part of the fundraising for such a wonderful organization.

4th Graders Thoughts on Designing a Dollhouse

We had a 4th grade class in participate in our project by asking how they would design a dollhouse. The responses were really great! Here are a few of our favorites.

Design Charette with Kids

We had a great time last night at the office design charette seeing how kids would design a doll house. Three pizzas and a box of crayons later, we had 5 great schemes from the kids. It was so much fun to get their take on the project and see them work together. A common theme throughout all schemes... Disco balls.