Solstice is a clock that turns passing hours into moving art. Designed by London-based studio Animaro, it gradually changes shape throughout the day to inspire a more relaxed view of time.

"For many, time and a need for absolute accuracy has become a source of stress," says Matt Gilbert, Founder and Designer at Animaro. "When designing the Solstice clock, I wanted to make its movement represent the passing of time in a way that was beautiful and peaceful, taking inspiration from flowers opening in response to light."

Unlike traditional clocks, Solstice displays time through shape and pattern, much like a sundial. Gradually opening and closing over a 12 hour period, the clock's movement follows that of the sun. At midday, when the sun is higher in the sky the clock is at its largest. At 6pm, when the sun is lower the clock is at its smallest.

Solstice has two modes of operation, Clock mode and demo mode. In clock mode Solstice completes one rotation every 12 hours while in demo mode a rotation takes 60 seconds. To switch between this and the clock mode there is an easy to use capacitive touch sensor on the bottom rail of the clock. One tap to switch Solstice into demonstration mode and another to return to showing the time.

Designed by Animaro

Animaro is a design studio founded by Matt Gilbert in early 2016, just before he exhibited for the first time at Salone Satellite in Milan. With Animaro, Matt seeks to combine art and engineering to create objects for the home of meditative beauty. He is inspired by mechanisms, kinetic structures and anything that changes shape in a beautiful way.

Trained as an Architect in the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, Matt became fascinated with kinetic structures during his Masters program, and since then has refined his skills in developing kinetic structures on a smaller scale, for furniture and objects for the home. A key principle behind the designs of Animaro is that they are playful and have personality. They are not static but can move and flex and breathe like we do.

Matt has used kickstarter to successfully launch two products, the Crane Lamp and now Solstice.

Market

The sale of wall clocks has plateaued in recent years, but the sale of unusual and innovative clocks have not. Typically most people use their phone to see the time rather than a wall clock, so the idea with Solstice was to offer something more than simply a way of telling the time. It is a moving artwork that creates mood and feeling in a space. The slow expansion and contraction of the wooden mechanism connects the viewer more closely with the movement of the sun.

Process

Solstice was developed during an intensive 6 month accelerator program at Central Research Laboratory in London. This gave access to a plethora of digital manufacturing equipment and expert knowledge. The biggest challenge while developing Solstice was to create an incredibly low friction mechanism that also looked sleek. There are a great number of bearing mechanisms and sliding carriages on the market developed for 3D printers, but always designed purely for functionality and not looks. All the moving parts of Solstice are on show so they needed to be designed to be in-keeping with the rest of the design.

Product

Solstice is a clock that turns passing hours into moving art , it gradually changes shape throughout the day to inspire a more relaxed view of time.

Unlike traditional clocks, Solstice displays time through shape and pattern, much like a sundial. Gradually opening and closing over a 12 hour period, the clock's movement follows that of the sun. At midday, when the sun is higher in the sky the clock is at its largest. At 6pm, when the sun is lower the clock is at its smallest.

Solstice has two modes of operation, Clock mode and demo mode. In clock mode Solstice completes one rotation every 12 hours while in demo mode a rotation takes 60 seconds. To switch between this and the clock mode there is an easy to use capacative touch sensor on the bottom rail of the clock. One tap to switch Solstice into demonstration mode and another to return to showing the time.

Materials

Solstice is not only an engineering feat in terms of its motion, but also in terms of the quality of its construction. The materials have been chosen based on their longevity and strength. The central body of the clock is machined from a single piece of aluminium, making it both durable and beautiful. The wood is engineered walnut and the curved rails are made from stainless steel. Every clock is hand assembled to ensure the highest quality. The clocks are being produced in a UK-based clock factory who specialize in architectural and high end consumer clocks.

The Launch

"I funded and delivered my first project, the Crane lamp, using Kickstarter. There was such a positive response to it that I'm excited to do it again and see how people react to the Solstice clock," said designer Matt Gilbert.

Successfully funded on kickstarter in December 2018, Solstice is now available to pre-order on Indiegogo before the first batch ship out in June 2019. The clock is priced at £450 on Indiegogo and the end retail price will be £600.