The Shed

RELEASING YOUR INNER GANDALF

My niece Kathy is a Lord of the Rings (LOTR) tragic. She loves the books, films, and everything associated with LOTR. She has been a fan for decades, so much so she has converted a room in her Wellington house into a fan museum, showing off all the costumes, memorabilia, and stuff that she has collected over the years. She advertises it on social media and has a regular stream of visitors, all equally in thrall to the one ring.

Among the stuff in her fan museum is a large collection of costumes, which her visitors love to put on, grasp a sword or a bow, roleplay their favourite story characters, and take selfies. The costumes are quite heavy, and she has gone through three racks that all collapsed under the weight.

“I love a challenge like this. It’s the fun of thinking through the design options”

The challenge

She asked if I could help — either fix the rack she currently has, or make one that wouldn’t collapse. The racks you can buy are cheap but are very cheaply made. It was obvious from photos she sent that

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