Plastics News Europe - June 2019 - 6

DESIGN LANDMARK

Hickies Lacing System

(2012)

the crowdfunding platform Kickbreak in the ordinary life of an ordistarter to make their product a realnary man - snaps one shoelace, and
ity. Looking for $25,000 to develop
then another, in the space of his
the first production run of Hickies,
break: leading him to wonder
the partners ended up raising
whether any university had ever
Design Landmark
$159,167.
studied how shoelaces wear (spoiler
is researched and
Hickies replace the single lace
alert: the research is cited in the
written by James
with
a series of self-fixing laces,
footnotes).
Snodgrass
one for each pair of eyelets. Each
For many - maybe most - of us,
TPE lace is over moulded around a
shoelaces are a micro burden that
polycarbonate rivet. The shoes are
use up approximately 24 seconds
laced by pushing the Hickie
of our time each and every day. If
through a pair of eyelets and
only laced shoes could be as easy
stretching a hole in the TPE lace
to slip on and off as elasticated
over the polycarbonate rivet. This
sneakers? A thought that clearly
creates a strong, and stretchable,
entered into the minds of Argenconnection between each eyelet
tinian couple Gaston Frydlewski
pair. Once connected, the laces
and Mariquel Waingarten. Frynever need to be touched again ...
dlewski first aired the idea of Hickthe lace-up shoes have become
ies on a date with Waingarten,
slip-ons.
who thought it a dumb idea. Six
Had Hickies been around in
years passed and - after WaingarHowie's time, he'd have had nothten broke up with a serious boying to ponder during his lunch
friend - she went on another date
break, Nicholson Baker may never
with Frydlewski. To her surprise he
have become a novelist and history
was still banging on about his elasmight have been very different ...
ticated laces. And this time she was
Baker's later novel Vox was given as
sold on the idea (and him).
Thermoplastic elastomer bands bring a new lease
a gift to then-President Bill Clinton
Waingarten and Frydlewski rentof life to old sneakers
by one
Lewinsky.
an office
in Brooklyn and
usedPlatten
Magazin: Plastics News Europe Sprache: ENed Format:
180x128+3mm
Thema:
AS: Monica
27.05.2019
Photo: James Snodgrass

hoelaces. Perhaps not the most
fascinating of objects. But in
1988 the American novelist Nicholson Baker spent page upon
page musing upon their existence,
their utility and their wear patterns.
Howie, the protagonist of Nicholson's debut novel The Mezzanine -
which essays an ordinary lunch

PLATES

THE RIGHT
PLATE
FOR EVERY PROJECT

Order now from our web shop!
www.meusburger.com

JUNE 2019

http://www.meusburger.com

Plastics News Europe - June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Plastics News Europe - June 2019