The Magnet Wall
For the Client, collecting little magnets started as a pastime. She picked up these souvenirs from the places she has been to, while some were gifted by her family and friends. This passion for magnets bloomed as her collection also grew, from just a few to more than 250 distinct pieces.
Her collection varies in design and is from places like Turkey, Nepal, China, UK, Pakistan, USA, Canada, Thailand, Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, Scotland, Hungary and France. Each magnet has a tale or fact associated with it, and she loves this uniqueness about her collection.
Most of the magnets she possesses are 3D or embossed. While some are nice images others are good-luck charms; there are some which are important monuments and buildings like Burj Khalifa, while there are others that showcase the tribal culture of a place. Some beautiful pieces from ‘Soul Sante’ too; there are some which are made of recycled materials.
She used to stick them on the refrigerator earlier; her husband jokingly warned her that the door would fall off one day. When her passion grew, she decided that she needed to get a dedicated and permanent space for them.
On display “The Tale of Cities” This striking collection threw a challenge to us, as to develop a product that would enhance her rich collection, thus came the Magnet Wall, my favourite place in her home too.
The Approach:
The place for the Magnet wall was located with one thing in particular; the amount of passion for it. So, it had to be located in a place where the client spent most of her time and invariably her favourite place in the house - her study area. The study area was designed keeping in mind the requirements of the client and functionality with minimalistic design approach.
The Challenges on the materials to be used:
Most magnets are heavy as they are 3-Dimensional, varying between 20gms-100gms each. Initially we considered various options like the magnetic laminates, metal strips, perforated sheets and we settled for MS sheet metal which was locally picked from the city market, sheared and folded to size.
The thick laminated wooden ledges above and below marks the boundaries. The upper ledge houses LED lighting, illuminating the magnet wall and bottom termination ledge accommodates mobile charging points.
In Client's Words:
"The magnetic board was created to fulfill my creative and fondness for collecting magnets. Originally it was conceived as a display to showcase a hobby-magnet collection.
But when a thorough examination of the variety of magnets wets was made, it was decided that a magnetic panel would be designed to:
Represent a world map in the background
Display magnets on the panel, country-wise
The display has enhanced my collection and has brought in a lot of accolades from neighbours, relatives, anyone who has had the opportunity to view it.
The display is in a prime area in my study and I take pride in seeing my collection."