New ideas to possible future products
You decide which ones make it through the factory
Weighing up a ridiculous idea
Triple Beam Bean Balance
I wanted scales to weigh beans. I have digital scales at my disposal, of course, perfectly practical, with a simple digital readout, tare, timing function, 0.1g resolution. The usual.
But I don't always want the "usual". Sometimes I want ritual. A bit of mechanical theatre. Something that invokes and enhances that calming effect of 'slow coffee'.
It's an audacious idea, I know.
But it's such an evocative one. The kind that takes hold and won't let go. I have to build one. Maybe it will only ever be one... for me. Well, two, because Oliver will undoubtedly want one too.
But putting this into production? That's the question. This is for a very particular kind of person. Someone who understands that not everything needs to be optimized. Who appreciates mechanical beauty and the weight of a well-balanced beam. It means ultra-small batches. Handcrafted rather than manufactured. A collector's piece, not a commodity.
And I'm considering it anyway.
On dangerous grounds
It's Just too tempting
This is one, like the Mikros One, that's becoming something of a beautiful problem.
Over decades of product development consulting, I always advised clients: "Find the market, then build the product people actually want!" And yet, as with the Mikros One, I find myself once again on the cusp of committing to building this thing. Once again, breaking my own 'golden rule'.
The Mikros One taught me hard lessons about passion projects and cash flow. But it also taught me something else: sometimes the right people find the right product, even when conventional wisdom says they won't.
Still, I'm proceeding carefully. I've built it in 3D CAD, couldn't help myself.
Note to self
What happens next?
This is a reminder of high school physics & chemistry experiments. It has the evocation of a mechanical wristwatch, my dad's lathe, those Morse code keys I built at 15 that taught me the realities of small-batch manufacturing.
I know the risks. I've been here before.
But here's what I've learned: some products aren't for everyone. They're for the few who see a triple beam balance and immediately understand why it belongs in a coffee ritual. Who feel it.
If you're one of those people, let me know.
If enough of you feel this pull—if this resonates—then maybe it's not madness after all. Maybe it's just the right amount of craft meeting the right amount of obsession.
But what if 'they' want me to? Look, just stop trying to justify it to yourself.