IRIS Drawing Compass
Well, this is a thing of beauty! As it says on Nero's Notes:
Need something beautiful to draw circles with? Don't panic, the Iris is here to help!
Another thing of loveliness from the guys at Makers Cabinet. Taking inspiration from camera apertures and their reliable mechanisms, the Iris is a perfect replacement to the drawing compass. It's easy to use, accurate and looks seamless on the page.
Its rings are machined from solid brass, the leaves are stamped from stainless spring steel that retains its shape. It has 20 designed leaves that enable you to create accurate circles.
Each Iris comes with a wooden base, which not only supports the Iris so you can gaze at it on your desk but locates the centre point of your circle.
The Iris comes packaged in a beautifully made cardboard container, which I love - as a thing of beauty in itself, but also because I hate plastic packaging!
The outer, brass ring has a scale on it. The red dot next to the scale indicates the diameter of the circle - so you can use it to draw circles of specific sizes, or measure the diameter of things - circles that are drawn; pipes; tubes etc.
Rotating the outer ring causes an inner set of stainless steel leaves to move the way a camera shutter does.
"What's the wooden thing that looks like a pair of lips?" I hear you ask...
Well... it has two functions. The first is as a stand, so you can put the Iris on your desk and admire its beauty. The disadvantage of that is that you'll be distracted by it all day and might not get much work done. The second function is as a centring tool. How that works is described in the leaflet inside the box:
"Why can't I just use a pair of compasses, like I did at school?"
Well, you can. But then you'll have a hole in the middle of your circle. And a pair of compasses isn't anywhere near as attractive as this. Try putting your pair of compasses out on display on your desk and see how gorgeous they look. See. Not gorgeous at all.
I admit, this isn't perhaps as cheap as a pack of notebooks, and maybe not even as useful, but it's a delightful object that is incredibly beautifully made, and it will look amazing on your desk.
Nero's has a few in stock... check it out here.
