Canvas company softens circus blow
KAY BLUNDELL from stuff.co.nzPHIL REID/The Dominion Post
DARING DO: Trapeze artist Freddy Osler-Weppenaar dives on to an inflated 'crash bed' at Canvasland in Levin.
Canvasland Levin is coming to the aid of Cirque du Soleil in Japan by manufacturing a trapeze-landing cushion for emergency landings during earthquake aftershocks.
The show, entitled Zed, has been running in Tokyo but was postponed when the large quake hit. Opening again this month, it ordered a $15,000 high performance trapeze cushion from Canvasland so the act could resume.
Canvasland had one week to manufacture the 12m x 5m nylon "crushed cushion" safety device. Patented by former trapeze artist Freddy Osler-Weppenaar of Paihia, it features an air mattress base with air-inflated tongs or fingers which catch fallen trapeze artists without allowing them to bounce off.
Canvasland marketing manager Jason Young said the concept was developed over several years and was attractive to the entertainment company. "Cirque du Soleil were concerned people on the trapeze might fall during an aftershock – they wanted extra safety," he said.
It was the second safety cushion Canvasland had made for the company.
Unlike traditional catchers in which people have to fall on their front or back, the Canvasland safety device allows people to fall in any position without risking injury.
"We have made some refinements. Given the way business is at the moment it is a harder game to play in manufacturing and you have to think outside the square, at global markets for opportunities. This is one of them," he said.
Mr Osler-Weppenaar said the show had been unable to reinstate its high-wire act because of the risk of falling during a tremor or aftershock. "We are their knight in shining armour. It had to be rushed out to Tokyo for the act to continue."
To test the cushion, he plunged from the top of two-storey building on to the cushioned pad. "It was wonderfully soft. If you land on the outer edge of an ordinary big inflatable stunt bag you can bounce off and kill yourself."
Canvasland Levin is coming to the aid of Cirque du Soleil in Japan by manufacturing a trapeze-landing cushion for emergency landings during earthquake aftershocks.
The show, entitled Zed, has been running in Tokyo but was postponed when the large quake hit. Opening again this month, it ordered a $15,000 high performance trapeze cushion from Canvasland so the act could resume.
Canvasland had one week to manufacture the 12m x 5m nylon "crushed cushion" safety device. Patented by former trapeze artist Freddy Osler-Weppenaar of Paihia, it features an air mattress base with air-inflated tongs or fingers which catch fallen trapeze artists without allowing them to bounce off.
Canvasland marketing manager Jason Young said the concept was developed over several years and was attractive to the entertainment company. "Cirque du Soleil were concerned people on the trapeze might fall during an aftershock – they wanted extra safety," he said.
It was the second safety cushion Canvasland had made for the company.
Unlike traditional catchers in which people have to fall on their front or back, the Canvasland safety device allows people to fall in any position without risking injury.
"We have made some refinements. Given the way business is at the moment it is a harder game to play in manufacturing and you have to think outside the square, at global markets for opportunities. This is one of them," he said.
Mr Osler-Weppenaar said the show had been unable to reinstate its high-wire act because of the risk of falling during a tremor or aftershock. "We are their knight in shining armour. It had to be rushed out to Tokyo for the act to continue."
To test the cushion, he plunged from the top of two-storey building on to the cushioned pad. "It was wonderfully soft. If you land on the outer edge of an ordinary big inflatable stunt bag you can bounce off and kill yourself."
No comments:
Post a Comment