UM project crafts mad mallets for SHOP at cooper hewitt design museum

each limited-edition hammer is mixture of contemporary form, color, and material that take note of the museum's exhibitions.

UM Project edited by kat barandy December 17, 2014 2 min

UM project crafts mad mallets for SHOP at cooper hewitt design museum
photo © francis dzikowski / OTTO
all images courtesy of UM project

the acronym of UM project stands for users and makers. borrowing cues from industry and craft, the brooklyn-based studio’s work transcends the qualities of both the handmade and the mass-produced. traditional techniques and archetypes are transformed for the contemporary eye and mind, with a special interest in material combination and connections. this ideology has been applied to their collection called ‘mad mallets’.

um project mad mallets shop cooper hewitt smithsonian design museum
the pieces are designed and produced especially for the SHOP at cooper hewitt, smithsonian design museum
photo © francis dzikowski / OTTO

the pieces are designed and produced especially for the SHOP at cooper hewitt, smithsonian design museum, who has invited 25 american designers, to create limited-edition items influenced by exhibitions on view, in this case: tools. they are made of mixture of fine materials – brass, copper, aluminum, delrin, maple, powder coating and lacquer.

um project mad mallets shop cooper hewitt smithsonian design museum
3 of 15 total mallets
photo © francis dzikowski / OTTO

the gallery was designed by diller scofidio + renfro, working in collaboration with the institution. ‘the new SHOP cooper hewitt is a space where visitors can see exciting new products that are covetable, gift-worthy, and affordable,’ said chad philips, director of retail. ‘we feature significant design objects from around the world, with a focus on american designers. I am particularly excited about our many collaborations with designers like lindsey adelman, joe doucet, grain, and UM project.’

um project mad mallets shop cooper hewitt smithsonian design museum
each piece is different, with its own special character
photo © francis dzikowski / OTTO

um project mad mallets shop cooper hewitt smithsonian design museum
the individual pieces are defined by color, material, and form
photo © francis dzikowski / OTTO

um project mad mallets shop cooper hewitt smithsonian design museum
closeup of the mallets
photo © francis dzikowski / OTTO

um project mad mallets shop cooper hewitt smithsonian design museum
the entire collection

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.