Socket Tools is a collection of 3D-printed spring coverings and wire organizers to tidy up the wires that clutter our living spaces.
If you picture your bedside, maybe you’ll find a small desk lamp, a book or two, your phone charger, and maybe a few small appliances like a floor heater or humidifier. Whatever your bedside looks like, it’s safe to say, electrical wires probably take up most of the picture. While completely getting rid of electrical wires is out of the question, finding ways to keep them tidy is a good start to organizing the rest of our living spaces. Socket Tools, a quirky collection of 3D-printed plug coverings and wire hooks, designed by Kenji Abe presents one way of organizing our electrical appliances.
Designer: Kenji Abe
To help find some organization amidst the mess, Abe’s first 3D-printed product connects an outlet with a ring so users can plug in any appliance and wrap the excess wire around the ring. Abe’s next appliance is a series of 3D-printed sockets of varying heights that plug into 6-outlet power strips. The staggered scheme of this appliance allows differently shaped and sized plug cases to connect to one power strip at once, contributing to the power strip’s overall efficiency and organization.
The rest of Abe’s designs are meant to protect wires and electrical plugs when they’re not in use. A 3D-printed stationery holder doubles as a multi-socketed arrangement of outlets for appliances to plug into when not in use, keeping the floor free from tangles of wires. Finally, Abe used 3D printing to create quirky plug coverings that protect the prongs on electrical wires when they’re not in use.
