Dec 15, 2014 | By Simon
When it comes to unwinding, few things go together better than a glass of wine in the bathtub or a beer in the shower. Surprisingly, even in a saturated market of suction cup soap and toothbrush holders, very little has been done in bringing the convenience of a cup holder into the shower or bath.
Two brothers, who themselves enjoy a beer in the shower, want to change that and have brought to market one of the better solutions we've seen in the form of the SipCaddy.
The SipCaddy features a versatile design that is capable of holding bottles, coffee mugs, regular cups and perhaps most impressively, wine glasses and champagne flutes.
"I always joked around about drinking beer in the shower," said Carson, who along with brother Keefe share degrees in economics and architecture.
"When I researched it, there wasn't even a quality portable cup holder out there. I saw that a few companies had a wine holder, but that idea has been done many times in the last 10 years and they are all far from innovative: all of them being just a flat piece of plastic with a slit in it. I like baths too and it suddenly occurred to me that I could have a cup holder with a gap in the front that could hold stemware. This doesn't affect the functionality of the cup holder at all, it actually improves it because it allows it to expand."
Thanks to Keefe's background in architecture, the two were able to utilize his experience in digital fabrication to develop multiple 3D printed prototypes in the process of creating their final SipCaddy design.
Starting with around 10 different design directions from 3D models, the prototypes were extensively prototyped using 3D printing, which allowed the brothers to test and find the most efficient design for holding the widest range of drinking vessel sizes possible while also maintaining an aesthetically-pleasing look. The final design is made from dishwasher-safe Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS).
Since launching in late August of 2014, the brothers have already been met with high demand via their online store, and have recently set up their supply chain to offer the SipCaddy to international customers as well.
While holding a cocktail party in the bathtub sounds like a great time, be forewarned: the brothers suggest testing the suction cup strength of your bath or shower wall material beforehand. Needless to say, you don't want to lose your gin martini into the bubble bath.
Available for $13.95 (or £8.91), the SipCaddy is American made, available in six different colors and is rated at 7 lbs strength when applied correctly to most glossy, nonporous surfaces, including plastic, ceramic, metal, glass and mirror.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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How about everyone else stops the shower booth nonsense and adopts the superior open showers of nothern Europe? Such ease and surfaces everywhere. However this article made me realise that beer in the shower is a great idea!