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Valet Toilet Brush Ensemble by Tom Doull and Michael Bowen

Valet Toilet Brush Ensemble by Tom Doull and Michael Bowen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award in Bathroom Furniture and Sanitary Ware Design Competition Category.


IronSanitary Ware· 2023

Valet Toilet Brush Ensemble

by Tom Doull and Michael Bowen

Client: Valet

A' Design Award Winner in Sanitary Ware Category

21,043

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #147430

Colors

The Design

About Valet Toilet Brush Ensemble

Valet works as hard as it looks good. Hygienically able to be cleaned regularly and easily, Valet is an all-in-one toilet brush and additional roll storage in the one slim and uncomplicated unit. A first of its kind on the market, Valet has the practicality and range of finishes to adapt to any bathroom. The brush is made from anti-microbial silicone and has short bristles, allowing it to clean effectively and tap dry. The brush is stored neatly in a sleeve. The sleeve drains into a removable bottom cup which can be detached for easy and effective cleaning by rinsing in a hand basin.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award

Valet Toilet Brush Ensemble is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Valet Toilet Brush Ensemble is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Valet Toilet Brush Ensemble is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
Valet is an all-in-one wall mounted toilet brush and additional roll holder. Designed specifically to fill a gap in the market, Valet is eminently functional yet elegantly uncomplicated, and visually harmonises with existing bathroom decor. The brush is stored in a sleeve which drains into a bottom cup. The bottom cup can be easily removed and rinsed in a hand basin, encouraging regular and effective cleaning. Additional rolls to be stored over the sleeve, closer to the toilet pan.
Dimensions & Packaging
Width 50mm x Depth 117mm x Height 435mm
Tags
toilet brush, valet, hygienic, toilet paper roll, sanitary ware, bathroom
Production Technology
The brush bristles and stem are made from silicone, selected for its anti-microbial properties, cleaning chemical resistance, and durability. The bottom cup shown here is translucent ABS plastic. The storage sleeve is hygienic stainless steel. The wall bracket and handle are brass. The whole brush can be customised with a range of typical sanitaryware finishes such as various powder coated colours, brushed brass, nickel, or chrome.
Design Challenge
The main challenges were: 1) Housing a brush within a sleeve that was altogether slim enough to store additional toilet rolls. Remaining operational as a brush without displacement of the stored rolls. 2) Making the device easy to clean while retaining its elegance. The result is a slim and uncomplicated combination of detachable parts made from carefully chosen materials such as silicone and stainless steel.
Research
Valet is a response to a gap in the market for a toilet brush that is easy to clean and hygienic coupled with the functionality of additional roll storage, recognised by architect Tom Doull through domestic design practice. Product design began as drawings and digital models and progressed through a process of 3D printed prototyping and domestic situational testing. Data was collected from these and the product further refined to reflect prevailing feedback to produce the final result.
Inspiration
The idea came over 10 years ago when designing residential bathrooms and exploring the vast world of sanitaryware only to find that when it came to toilet brushes the offerings were either uncomplimentary to the rest of the bathroom fixtures or at best expensive and difficult to clean.
Project Duration
Valet is a new product designed and developed in Australia. Originally conceived more than 10 years ago it was not until Architect Tom meet with Engineer Michael in 2021 that the Valet started to take shape. Development and testing progressed over the following year to arrive at the current resolution.
Operation Flow
The brush is made from anti-microbial silicone and has short bristles, allowing it to clean effectively and tap dry. The brush is stored neatly in a sleeve. The sleeve drains into a removable bottom cup which can be detached for easy and effective cleaning by rinsing in a hand basin. Additional rolls can be stored over the sleeve. The unique slimline design allows the brush to be withdrawn from the sleeve and used without disrupting the rolls.
Patents
Patent Pending
Team Members
Tom Doull
Michael Bowen
Image Credits
Copyright all images: Tom Doull, Michael Bowen

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