cairie

Using reclaimed wood to create a jewelery holder.

about

Senior year, students in Environmental Design took part in the EPOP shop, a holiday market where teams design, manufacture, and sell their product units at the end of the semester.

goal

Create a minimum of 12 units targeting the market’s user group.

result

By the time of the market, we made 13 units and completely sold out.

context | student project

year | fall 2025

work type | team

category | industrial design

intro

bringing a product to market…

Our beginning prompt for the project was to create and manufacture a product that would be sold at a holiday market. This meant not only creating a great product, but a “giftable” product.

12 units minimum…

In order to make enough for the market, we were required to make 12 units of our final product. This meant setting up systems to reliable replicate each step of the process efficiently.

a product that resonates with colorado…

Each market team was given a different theme. Ours was Colorado. At the outset, we explored what truly defines Colorado, from its outdoor activities to its iconic landscapes and destinations, which became the foundation for our design direction.

what was our thought process?

what defines colorado?

locations

14ers, National Parks, monuments

symbols

Columbine, bighorn sheep, state flag

activities

Skiing, hiking, mountain biking

initial ideas…

columbine candle holder

alpine wine holder

ski pole flower display

mountain jewelry stand

abstracting a jewelry holder…

activities > hiking > cairns

using rocks to guide hikers…

3 key aspects:

Cairns serve as natural markers that guide hikers along mountain trails. We were drawn to their three defining qualities: guidance, balance, and peace. They suggest a path without enforcing it, offering a sense of freedom. Their balanced forms evoke calm, while their connection to the landscape invites reflection on past outdoor experiences.

guidance, balance, nature

subconscious shopping…

17% of all vendors were selling jewelry, higher than any other category.

Jewelry is naturally “giftable,” With so many people buying rings and necklaces, our product became a natural companion, shoppers were already thinking about how to store their new pieces, making them more inclined to pick up our holder.

sketching “rock” formations…

creating early prototypes…

getting feedback…

We constructed several study models out of clay to experiment with shape, usage, and visual hierarchy. After asking a control group, we found that the form on the bottom right was the most favored due to its utility although it was later tweaked to improve the hierarchy.

using furniture offcuts…

In order to use diverted materials, we reached out to local furniture studios around Boulder and used their offcuts for our smaller blocks. The offcuts were glued together and then later cut into shape. The larger pieces were made from recycled scrap wood at the shop.