NORTH PARK — Does the world need another drip coffeemaker?
Designer Craighton Berman thinks so.
"It's like asking, 'Why do we need another chair? Why do we need another rock band?'" said Berman, 37, who lives in North Park with his wife and their two young sons.
Four years ago, Berman debuted a glass coffeemaker (made from the same heat-resistant borosilicate as Chemex) that's "half sculpture, half functional object" at a design show in New York.
The coffeemaker received such glowing reviews and press that Berman found himself with the kind of problem any inventor would love to have — he needed to figure out how to mass produce his creation.
A Kickstarter campaign netted $100,000 in start-up funds and with the help of a manufacturing partner who has contacts in China, two years ago Berman started shipping what has since been dubbed Manual Coffeemaker No. 1.
The last of the inaugural run of 2,000 coffeemakers, which retailed for $99, sold out over the holidays, having been featured in CB2's catalogue.
The Manual Coffeemaker mimics an appliance, one that can be left on the countertop as a decorative object. Though largely intended for home use, a handful of coffee shops and restaurants have adopted the coffeemaker, including Oriole in the West Loop, which brings the pot out for tableside service, Berman said. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
Berman is introducing a retooled Manual Coffeemaker No. 2, with thicker glass and a laquered base, along with Manual Tea Maker No. 1 (also funded via Kickstarter) at a pop-up shop Saturday, held at the Bryn Mawr storefront that's been his studio's home for the last year.
His growing line of products also includes: Pinch, a ceramic salt and pepper shaker that gives flaky salt a home, and the Manual Bar Blade bottle opener, made with leather from Chicago-based Horween.
Manual is the name of Berman's brand, which is focused on specific type of food-related home good.
"We design products for rituals ... things that will slow you down," he said. "Our coffee pot, it takes time. It's about putting in the effort, and the effort is worth it."
Manual Tea Maker No. 1 brews small quantities in the tradition of the Chinese tea ceremony gongfu, which translates as "making tea with skill," a definition "that's so perfect for Manual," Berman said.
The Manual Tea Maker allows the beauty of loose leaf teas to take center stage during the brewing process. [Craighton Berman Studio]
While utility is a Manual hallmark — "I like things to have a function," he said — aesthetics are equally important to Berman, who draws design inspiration from Scandinavia and Japan, favoring natural materials and an understated palette.
The Manual Coffeemaker, he likes to point, differs from competitors such as Chemex in that it's more like an appliance that can be left out on the countertop as a decorative object.
What's next for Berman and Manual?
The near-term answer is easy: work on Manual Coffeemaker No. 3 (which will brew larger quantities) while growing sales not just around Chicago but the world.
But longer term?
Berman's still figuring that out. Does he want to get bigger or smaller? Does he want to license the Manual brand? Does he want to become the next Michael Graves, known for whimsical housewares sold at Target.
"As a designer, I can up with an idea a minute," Berman said. "As an entrepreneur, I need to build the brand in a smart way — what's worth the work.... I want to find my own path."
The coffee and tea makers both capitalize on current trends, but they also happen to play into Berman's own interests and curiosity, which is why he got into design in the first place.
After enrolling at Virginia Tech to study mechanical engineering, he switched his major to industrial design after realizing he was as much an artist as a tinkerer.
Product design proved the perfect fit for him, marrying the very logical with the abstract and creative, he said.
"I wanted to make things up, to make a dream reality," said Berman.
Manual's pop-up is set for noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, 3251 ½ W. Bryn Mawr Ave. Spirit Tea will be on hand pouring free samples.
