Despite neither being for sale at Christmas 2009 for £160 nor actually existing in the physical world, the Babycotpod's pod-shaped baby cot, the Cascara was awarded three stars for durability by Baby Hampshire Magazine.
Working backwards from their editors' lead time, we find a July 2009 post at the Australian babygear site babyology, which notes that Shaun Milburn, the industrial designer/dad of two behind Babycotpod envisioned two models: the higher-end Cascara, which has a canopy and retractable handle, and was [sic] available in beige, white, or black; and the entry-level Cuba, which is just a big, cutout-handled egg.
The Cuba is not mentioned in the Fall, and it does not currently appear on Babycotpod's current site [and it has been edited out of their press clipping of babyology. I sometimes wonder if I should be working it a bit more, encouraging manufacturers to tout their products' appearance on Daddy Types, but I have a feeling my candor would make it a wasted effort.]
That is too bad. The Cuba is a beautiful, simple, and inherently obvious product. But it's probably too spare to capture a large enough market on its own. And the unibody construction, interior padding, and presumed manufacturing cost for the Cuba and the Cascara are probably too close to each other for them to succeed as separate products. So the Cuba was exiled so that its more fully featured cousin could continue on toward production.
And so we come to this week, when a veritable Easter basketful of Cascaras appears on the pitiably named design/trend site, If It's Hip, It's Here. [Have some confidence, people, and declare the trend, not follow it. Try saying, "If It's Here, It's Hip!" in the mirror every morning, gosh darn it, and some day it'll be true.] Anyway, a new delivery date: September 2010. Which assumes, or at least implies, that Mr. Milburn has, in fact, worked out the business details. Narrowed down the product range--one shell color, a rainbow of interchangeable bedding elements. Squared away the safety issues.
Wow, because hello. A bassinet that is lined on every surface with soft bedding? Babycot bumpers? But I don't worry. Babycotpod knows "that the safety and security of your newborn baby is paramount and therefore [their products have] been designed to include all the functionality and safety features that all new parents have come to rightfully demand," which includes, I'm sure, certification to the basic safety standards associated with his chosen product category.
What has survived through this adulation-filled, criticism-free, and rather public product design and launch process, you ask? The 'Tang' stand, for one thing:
It also has built-in grab handles for lifting on and off the 'Tang' stand, which is available either in wood or molded plastic.I have no idea, either. There's also a new and entirely different not-yet-extant cradle, the Metro, which features slats interspersed with translucent Chiclets. I wish Mr. Milburn much luck and good fortune with his many and varied projects.
Babycotpod [via dt reader rolf]
I think that's T'ang, as in Dynasty.