BIRMINGHAM, England, January 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
To celebrate the invention of the first All Seasons tyre over thirty years ago, artist and inventor Dominic Wilcox has teamed up with tyre manufacturer, Goodyear, to reinvent one season items and make them fit-for-purpose all year round.
(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/458042/Goodyear_skateboard.jpg )
The Gallery of All Seasons Inventions comes as research showed that Europe has over 2,600 self storage facilities totalling nearly 7.5 million square metres of space* - much of this filled with objects which can only be used in one season.
Talking about the inventions, Dominic commented, "Goodyear challenged me to redesign typically one season objects into all season things."
"I came up with 30 designs including a sledge which can be transformed into a sun lounger in summer months, ice cube trays which can be converted into snow shoes, and a skateboard with blow torch snow melted which can be used in the winter."
Wilcox, who released his book "Variations on Normal" across Europe this year, is no newcomer to reinventing items - recent projects include the design of a pair of shoes with inbuilt GPS to guide the wearer home and a stained glass driverless car of the future.
Describing the snow melter skateboard, Dominic continued, "One of the design flaws of skateboards is that you can't skate on thick snow, so I came up with the idea of attaching a blow torch to melt the snow directly in front of the skateboard. It's all quite logical really."
The All Seasons Inventions were commissioned by Goodyear tires as part of the brand's campaign to celebrate the first all season tire, launched by the tyre maker over thirty years ago.
"As a company which has invented numerous products, we love pushing boundaries and exploring new opportunities. Over thirty years ago, we adapted the standard tyre to make it ready for any weather condition, and our work with Dominic means we're able to bring our innovative thinking through to other objects," explains Martijn de Jonge, Brand Director Consumer PBU EMEA at Goodyear.
"The ever-changing seasons means that many objects, such as barbecues, skis and even false Christmas trees are used briefly for a couple of weeks and are then stored away for the rest of the year. Even the epitome of summer driving - the convertible car - is left in the garage for a big part of the year," continues Martijn.
"Goodyear has been at the forefront of developing tires that overcome the challenges thrown at us during the different seasons. Now Dominic has proven that - with a good doses of creativity and innovative thinking - these 'one-season' items can be adapted to excel in all weather conditions, all year round, just like our All Season tyres."
The inventions built by Dominic Wilcox are now available to view on YouTube. To view the e-book, "All Seasons Inventions", visit http://www.hugtheroads.com/allseasons.
Notes to Editors:
Video: https://youtu.be/0nm2kRsnmZ4
Ebook of inventions: http://issuu.com/goodyearuk/docs/the_gallery_of_inventions_-_ebook?e=0/40221572
References
*FEDESSA European Self Storage Annual Survey, 2015. Available at http://www.jll.eu/emea/en-gb/research/226/european-self-storage-annual-survey-2015
About Goodyear
Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. It employs approximately 66,000 people and manufactures its products in 49 facilities in 22 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear or its products, go to http://www.goodyear.eu.
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