Threat: Objects for Defense and Protection

The exhibit explored the intersection of "fun and fear," challenging designers to envision tools for defense in a modern, sometimes whimsical, context.

Curated by Kiel Mead, the American Design Club’s 2012 Brooklyn exhibition "Threat: Objects for Defense and Protection" invited designers to interpret a home intrusion scenario through creative, functional, and often humorous objects, including embellished baseball bats and resin-cast pizza slices.

A central feature of the show was a series of ten artistically weaponized baseball bats crafted using raw wood XBat templates.

Ten designers were invited to customize an X-Bat which were raffled off to attendees. Designers were: Paul Loebach, Gregory Buntain, Ian Collins, Charles Brin, Alexander Todd Williams, David Weeks, Theo Richardson, Johan Takagi, Matthew Bradshaw, and Harry Allen.

Avoid confrontation and charm your potential intruder into moving on next door.

Reed Wilson

They’ll never see it coming, pizza throwing slices encased in resin.

Steph Mantis

Kiel Mead

Boxing Gloves. Sometimes the first thing you grab to stop an intruder is just a box. For Mead, it came down to context.

Threat: Objects for Defense and Protection

The exhibit explored the intersection of "fun and fear," challenging designers to envision tools for defense in a modern, sometimes whimsical, context.

A central feature of the show was a series of ten artistically weaponized baseball bats crafted using raw wood XBat templates.

In Case Vase: A ceramic vase by Sara Ebert designed to be used as a club or projectile in an emergency.

Other Objects: The show also included items like a Protection Chair by Sebastian Errazuriz, and CorKnuckles by Daniel Michalik (shown here).

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