Designed to be to a potter’s wheel what a Ukulele is to a guitar, the Uniek is an adorably tiny portable wheel and pottery set that lets you explore the art of pottery anywhere. With its small format, battery-powered design, and built-in clay toolkit, the Uniek is perhaps the first and only ‘portable pottery practice product’ there is!
Designer: Matthew Wong
Click Here to Buy Now: $69 $139 (51% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left! Raised over $240,000.
Styled with a colorful design that immediately piques your fancy, the Uniek is an unapologetically fun product. It takes one of the oldest art forms and transforms it into something that everyone, even kids, will enjoy. The tiny device measures 5.1 inches x 3.5 inches in its footprint and stands at 4.3 inches tall or about the size of a medium-sized Bluetooth speaker. It sports a bright colorful body, with a retro-style flip switch on the side to power the potter’s wheel, which sits on the top, right beside a water pool. A knob lets you control the speed of your wheel, and the lower half of the Uniek houses an entire toolkit for working with your clay.
The Uniek comes with two wheel sizes that you can alternate between, and works with all types of clays, although the makers recommend air-dry clay and terracotta clay for the best results. Using the tiny potter’s wheel is quite like using a regular potter’s wheel – you begin with ‘throwing’ the clay, a step that’s crucial for beginning the pottery process. Once your clay’s been thrown, you begin shaping and molding it with your hands, occasionally dipping into the water pool to keep the clay wet and pliable. The knob on the side lets you hit speeds up to 3000RPM, and when you’re done working with your hands, the 15-piece clay toolkit and sponge lets you nail the final details.
The entire apparatus comes with an ABS body, while the wheels are made from machined aluminum. The Uniek’s internal battery allows it to run for 4-6 hours on a full charge (depending on what speed you’re at), while a USB-A port on the gizmo lets you charge it and a battery indicator bar right above the power switch lets you know how much juice your Uniek still has. The entire device (along with the toolkit) weighs 823 grams or 1.8 lbs, and can be cleaned/maintained simply by wiping down stains with a damp cloth. The toolkit, on the other hand, can be rinsed under running water.
The Uniek’s two wheel sizes measure 45mm and 65mm respectively. While that definitely isn’t big enough to make yourself a functioning vase, plate, or mug, the Uniek isn’t really a ‘professional’ pottery kit. It’s a nifty little practice set, sort of like an all-age-friendly equivalent of the Easy-Bake Oven.
However, it does let you model out miniature pieces and gives you a fair grasp of how to actually work with terracotta or clay. The skills you gain on the Uniek can easily carry forward to a larger pottery wheel, and it also provides the ideal sandbox or testing ground for new ideas! The Uniek comes in 3 vibrant colors, begins shipping in July, and costs $69 for super early-bird backers.
Click Here to Buy Now: $69 $139 (51% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left! Raised over $240,000.