The Scoop Planter

The Scoop planter 

The design for this planter wasn't planned, it didn't start as a sketch and then evolve into the final shape that it is. It came out of opportunity and panic.  I was asked to showcase my work at an event hosted by Now In a Minute Media. I wanted to have a range of my work on the table from my lamps to chess sets. I thought having plant pots on the table would tie it all together, it would showcase the homeware aspect of my business. I've made plant pot prototypes before but they haven't gone very far, the main reason being that they didn't have a story, they were just shapes. I didn't feel comfortable sharing something I felt had no reason to exist other than to sell. 

I looked through the designs I had already made 3D models of and found the base model for the scoop planter. It was one of the first designs I made being so simple I never saw it as a viable design to move forward with. At the point I made the 3D model I still had a lot of imposter syndrome about the idea of selling products I had designed, they needed to be something unique that would be difficult for others to replicate. I was essentially in the mindset that everyone knew how to use CAD and had access to a 3D printer because at the time everyone I knew did, I was in a bubble of fellow designers. 

It took over a year of being outside of that bubble and showing my designs to “regular” people for me to realise that what I was doing was already unique. 

I took the base design and adapted it for the plant pots that I had bought for the event, after a few more prototypes they fit perfectly. The texture is something I added on a whim as I wanted to test out how it would affect some surface imperfections that I was having trouble masking. It ended up looking much better than expected, especially in the two new colours I had recently acquired (which were for chess piece prototypes) The texture along with the natural earthy tones just blended perfectly. I love the way both the colour and texture play so well with the vivid green of the plants without overpowering it. 

These plant pots are quite special to me in what they represent, an acceptance of my ability to design something simple but still desirable. This was also the first project i've worked on that had an actual deadline since being in university. That brought me back into a mindset that I had missed, the challenge of it but also the creativity it unlocks. 

I'm not sure if I will design another plant pot, if I do it needs to have a reason to exist. It has to be part of a collaboration or to express something specific. As I've stated in the About Me section on my website, I want everything I sell on this store to have a story. 

Where did the name come from? Well after looking at it for maybe a little too long it started to remind me of the texture left behind in ice-cream once you have taken out a scoop… that's it. 

People of Cardiff - If you would like a plant pot then please save yourself on delivery costs and head down to Mec Coffee on Crwys Rd, they not only have these plant pots available for sale but also the plants seen in the product photos (make sure you get a coffee while you are there too)

Material: Bio-plastic PLA, derived from corn

Size: Small - 8cm wide 7.5cm tall (suitable for 6cm pots) Large - 13cm wide 9.5cm tall (suitable for 9cm pots)

Plants in photos: Peace lily and scarlet star (plants not included in online orders)

Application: Indoor use only, these pots do not have drainage holes

This pot is made to order here in Wales, please allow me up to 14 days to make, pack and dispatch your order :) it will be packed securely with eco-friendly packaging