Chimera7s History
Why was Chimera7 created and where are we aiming to go?
While creating things has been and will always be a life long passion, doing this became a requirement during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. Not able to travel far and with limited supplies in the shops, it was time to get creative to keep a house with three kids entertained and occupied. Typically fabricating and making things from steel, travel restrictions saw us looking to use timber from local suppliers and thus, the timber toys began to form. With plenty of time available while stuck at home, we bought a 'build it yourself 3 axis CNC and we started building, modifying and prototyping. This was the start of the timber roads as well as version one of a few buildings such as a petrol station, mechanics workshop, an airport, a train station, a monster truck arena and a coastal area with a boat ramp, trailer parking and a light house.. We also started designing and making some WWII planes like the P-38 Lightning and the P-51 Mustang. It has been fun designing and making, and everyone to date has loved seeing what we have been making, so maybe it is time to look at selling some of this stuff....
Build it yourself CNC.
Should probably see if this thing powers up.
Quick PCB repair.
Prototyping in scrap wood.
Time to make the CNC a bit more permanent.
Now to enclose and add a touch screen.
Working on consistency.
Testing out a speed hump.
Trying some 2D/3D puzzles.
Testing some layouts.
Designing the train station.
And so Chimera7aus was created!
So do you remember years ago what toys you played with? and I don't mean for a week or two, I mean really played with. The ones that made you creative and imaginative. Hands on fun that you could have either on your own, or with a sibling or friend...
Chimera7Aus. - Creating - Hands on - Interactive - Memories with - Educational and - Renewable - Activities. 100% owned, Designed, Machined and hand finished in Australia, and the 7 references the 7 pointed star on the Australian flag.
And this brings us to now......
The aim, or goal of our Chimera7 products is to keep everything natural, bringing uniqueness to every single item we make. We use a mixture of machines and hand tools in every step, but every piece is individually made! No mass production methods are used, nor do we plan too. Keeping the human element is important to us, so you will see when you put what should be the same parts side by side, even they have little differences. This is a mixture of using a natural material, being dressed timber, and putting it through various stages of machining and hand finishing. It is important however not to confuse this with effecting quality levels.
Perfect through imperfections.
While differences and imperfections will happen in all items, what we are looking for in each item before it is released and sold is to be within a set tolerance. To ensure that any one part will work with another. Each piece is a pleasure to use or play with while still being unique. Think of Chimera7's products as something that was made out in Grandpa's Shed, Unique, made with love, just for you and with the hope that everyone will love it just as much.
What's the goal for the future?
To continue making various items that bring enjoyment, with a focus on sensory stimulation, imaginative play and creativity. Even allowing those who are vision impaired enjoyment to play or use items that have that little bit extra something. Texture of the materials, the details found in 3D machining, feel the bumps in the roads, the physical pictures in our puzzles...
To constantly grow the range of our products and to keep everything available for everyone to enjoy.
As we grow, to keep everything hand made and finished, to create jobs for those in the community that gives flexibility around families. Either for teenagers looking for their first job to give flexibility around study, Parents wanting a little something during school hours or retirees looking to keep busy. To support local businesses and be apart of the community.
So lets meet the staff...
- Mum (Production, Accounts, QC, Feedback)
- Dad (Design, development and production)
- Daughter 1 (Art work, Animations and testing)
- Daughter 2 (Testing & product feedback)
- Daughter 3 (Durability testing, Item usability)
- Budgie (Monitoring all materials are natural and chemical free...even when found to be chewing on the edges of toys!)
Thank you for reading our story and we sincerely hope you enjoy what we have made as much as we have enjoyed making it.
