This is the website I set up for myself; I can sell work from and publish posts to ‘world-wide-web’.

I chose the green to ecological minded and ‘Alicesecowonderland’ after my middle name and a play on words and titles, also creating recognition with my audience.

I have recently changed the name of my ‘business’ to COOANDCODESIGNS, I think it says it all, I design and my last name is Cobb, I need to promote myself and skill in a catchy name that will stick to the mind.

I had an opportunity to get involved in a ‘small business grant’. Wanted to have a try at a pop up shop in a popular quirky area, like Camden Town in London. I started what I planned to do and applied for the money for it. After researching about it, it was too much money to go down live down and do up the pop up shop so I re-thought. I thought about all the things I’ve wanted and needed for my business and wrote it down, I re-applied and got through. I was really pleased with my efforts and have already received the grant, as soon as I got it started getting things sorted, I got Ian Godfrey a work college of mine to design my Logo and business card design.

This is the final logo design and business card design, I’m really pleased with our efforts and how we managed to pull it off in two days. –teamwork!  

First logo design. Loved the antique burnt-out effect. But i
wanted to change the name to Cobbandcodesigns for a more
professional look and sound. 

Second logo design was better but too clinical for my work.
The blue wave against the yellow background reminded
me of a clinical dentist feel. straight no for that design.

Then it was clear that i needed to show what Cobbandcodesigns
mean. I decided i needed some of my work on the card and
around the logo so we came up with this design and added the
colour to match the effect of the metal. Love the design and logo.

Derick.

Derrick has been dismantled, thrown away and discarded. A lonely man who once had a spark such like a spot welder he is looking for an owner to re-light his life.

Derick has been made up from many materials I found from Bills room (the teachinition), Bill was happy to give them me for my project as he is quite a holder, and seems to keep very beautiful melts and strong materials that can be used again, that what I like about working with metals is that they are very strong with age and can be changed or aged easily.

I used the middle part of an old spot welder that had mounds of copper wrapped and knotted in the middle part of the big clump of metal, because copper in a good conductor, it took me a whole day to get that copper out, I swear there was so much, I almost took it to get weighed in at the scrap yard. Then I added the arms with was attached to some mechanism in Bills room, once I found them they were such a perfect happy accident. Then the bow tie that had Bill had a big bag of spares for the easels. At this point I was getting all excited that it was coming together perfectly and then the head. The head was the hardest most terrifying part, because inside that ball of metal was a compressed spring and no matter how much we tugged and sawed and ripped we could get it open to release the pressure, so I decided to drill into it, the outside of the head was soft metal which melted of, but the once I had got down to the spring the whole room trebled because of the harsh steel spring that was rumbling about and would not drill! So I pushed it a little further so that the head wouldn’t tilt from the shallowness and would just sit nicely. Then I felt it as too chunky and not representing a bot, it needed feet, it just looked to box’y without them, I found some old teaspoon with the tea still on in the old mechanics building and stuck them up the gaps in the spot welder part, but the gaps were wide and the spoons wouldn’t sit, so I used a block of wood to wedge the spoon handle into place and sit strong. I then continued to add more of a personality with my bot, adding a bike chain with an old little lightbulb on the end. I thought it added character, some would say a childish, sad characteristic that you want to make happy or feel emotional to.

I love the outcome and that I show off some personality and bring the viewer closer to my work by adding the characters and the emotions to the work. It means the viewer may think they can relate to the emotion or the personality or that they bond with the character. 

Keith.

Keith is an all-round lad; he loves having a laugh and always has a spring in his step. He en’gages’ with everyone all around and is always offering a helping hand’le. He is a no pressure guy and goes with the flow. He has a bouncy and strong personality and is just looking for someone to filter his days with.

I loved making Keith, it was such a happy accident and no mess project, there were a few problems (as always) to look past but he was pretty straight forward once I had all the components and just fell together almost.

The air filter and spring came from Adam, (sis’s boyfriend) and the pressure gag in one from Bill archive of exciting stock him hordes.

I think I found it easily because I had all of the stock on one day and didn’t have to wait of go find stuff to use which made it seem effortless and so smooth. I hate having half a project and no materials.

So I started with the head, I placed the pressure gage on to and tried screwing it on, I used a big bolt and a nut to keep it in place, the head moves around but won’t fall off. I tightened it with a pair of plyers to keep it in place. Then the body was already attached to the head so I placed the spring under as a joke and then it really worked and Bill said it reminded him of ‘Zebedee’ from an old programmed called ‘The Magic Roundabout’, which I watched after and found it the trippy’est thing I have ever seen and just wanted to turn it off but couldn’t… weird. So I kept the spring and then really needed arms because it was just too round without them and didn’t show enough character without them. I pondered…I walked round Bill room twice rummaging and came across these kitchen handles and asked and it turns out they were Bills old ones... told you, -horder. I came to a stump of ideas when it came to the arms because I needed it to look seamless but be story, so I tried drilling into the filter but it just kept getting caught up in the padding. So I tried sanding down the holes to make them bigger, once sanded down the handles look lifeless and just hung. So I then ripped it open with plyers, to allow room for movement and then found hybrid glue to stabilise it and now the arms can’t move, but have a pose to them that into lifeless and create a gesture for the bot to the viewer.

This bot is great for old-middle-aged people because it does remind them of the magic roundabout, creating a bridge of recognition and connection, memory and happy memories. I always seek to connect with the viewer in my work through emotion or recognition and feel I have succeeded in the bots. 

Harrison

Harrison is a bright a bubbly character who has a spring in his step.He is great with numbers and is looking for someone to 'gauge' a no pressure relationship.

I started making robots to broaden my range of sculpting to settle to argument function over design. These robots are purely for design and a non functional sculptures. I still stuck to upcycling because..in my eyes robots are Industrial and kind of 

You may be thinking about the names and the personality and looking at my with a head tilt and guilty look for thinking I'm a little crazy... But they are made as characters, as personalities and as little companants all jumbled into one thing which builds a profile, an age and a story. 

I collected all these parts from a college building that was being knocked down, the old moto machanics building where they just leave things that holo get have a use or has been outdated. I took these pieces because they had qualities to them, I don't feel I need to sketch out my ideas most of the times because I already have an image of how it's going to look in my head or an artists reference I look upon. I see these pieces and familiarise myself to the image I have set to make or the theme I have set myself and know that that could be a head or a waist. I take stud because of the chuckles or the spring because they are astectically pleasing to me, the numbers on the gages or the tightness of the curves on the springs just the sheer metal or the sketches will raise my mood and get me excited for an idea I've had for months or thought or last night. 

I respond to materials not ideas. I'm a realist and know that if I create ideas I could not have the materials for then I will be waiting for a while.  

I chose to place these materials in this way because they are recognisable, such as the pressure gage reminds me of two eyes and a nose or very round mouth, the spring that came from the old machanics building too and made great bounching legs for the character. The black box which is from a car, (i think someone called it a spark box, or battery), made a great body for the characyer to hold onto. 
Ichose to keep the orgional design with no arms because its more humble and the battery wasnt gret for screwing things into, once i had placed the legs on, the springs kept leaning forward because the head was so heavy and the bodys  wight went with the head so it had to be screwed into the wood base to keep the weight at the bottom. 

I love this new section to my portfolio and experiment and continue to make bettre and maybe even bigger bots.