It seems like a million years ago, but I once thought that I was going to go into biological research. I got a BA in biology, worked on a prairie restoration project, was a student worker in the biology department, and did other science-y things. Instead of going on to grad school for biology, I freaked out my parents and went into a program that turns scientists into filmmakers. A few weird turns later, and I’m working for Knit Picks!

All of this is just me trying to explain why I wanted a test tube rack for my needle tips – I am a huge, unrepentant nerd.

I used a company out of New Zealand, Ponoko, to make a prototype of what I wanted. It’s a pretty slick service – you draw up your plans, put them into a template, and then they laser cut your design out of the material of your choice. I made up my little plan, sent it off, and got back the pieces in a little over a week. This picture is of my original – it had flat sides (instead of round columns) and needed to be glued together with epoxy, but it worked!

I brought it in to show Tina and Bob, and Tina worked with our manufacturer to alter the design a little so that it could be shipped and assembled more easily. It was really interesting to see the different stages of development, from prototype to finished product, and now I’m all excited that it’s up on the website so I can send the link to my mom (I’m out of pictures for her to hang on the fridge).

I still have a couple of the prototype version of the stand, and they live on my desk by my drum carder and all my other fiber-related gear. It’s nice to be able to see at a glance which of my tips are in use and which ones I have available. It’s also good for when I can’t find my View Sizer anywhere and have a handful of tips that I need to identify – I can just return them to their homes. <