Object 02 · 2019–2026
The Dragon Picks
Four chrome dragons. One very good reason to order a cocktail.
Discover the first edition
The next object
Naturally, I needed a cocktail dragon.
My previous project, the Dragon Opener proved that a sketch sculpted in virtual reality could become a functional object in metal.
The Dragon Opener stood up, fit in my hand, opened a bottle, and eventually became a manufactured edition. Cocktail picks felt like the natural next experiment.
A pick looked simple, but introduced a different problem. The Opener was solid and durable. A cocktail pick needed to be light, elegant, and sharp enough to find an olive at the bottom of a glass—without becoming a safety hazard.
The next dragon would have some class.
Starting with a line
The first rough sketch already looked like a winner.
In 2019, I drew a dragon’s head attached to a long, slightly crooked stem. Open mouth, horns, and tapered shaft. My concern was that the head would be too small and unclear, but the dragon’s open mouth gave the head a strong silhouette. It might work.
It was much simpler than the Dragon Opener, but it still belonged to the same family. It felt like discovering another use for the same creature.
02 · Digital study · 2020
From sketch to VR
A real model had to function.
I built the Pick as a digital sculpture in VR, turning the loose profile into a form that had to make sense from every angle.
The head needed enough volume to hold comfortably without becoming heavy. The eye opening had to remain visible at a very small scale. The horns and collar needed to read as deliberate details rather than manufacturing accidents.
The stem presented a different problem. A perfectly straight shaft looked too ordinary, but an elaborate one would compete with the dragon. I gave it a subtle organic bend and a twisted surface that carried some of the creature’s character down toward the point.
In AR, I could resize it in my hand to be the size I wanted, and measure it. I used RenderMan to visualize several versions in metal. Rendering the Pick made it possible to study the silhouette, reflections, and small surface transitions before anything physical existed.
On a screen, it seemed promising.
The first real Picks
Shapeways sent the pixels back as metal.
In 2021, I produced the first physical Dragon Picks through Shapeways. The prints were small, slightly rough, and wonderfully real. I could finally hold the design, turn it over, and see how the dragon felt at cocktail scale.
Most importantly, the Picks worked. They fit across the rim of a glass. They held olives. The open mouth and eye still read clearly. The twisted stem caught the light. A digital sculpture had become a useful object again.
The metal prints also revealed things the renderings could not. The stem could bend. Some details were too delicate. The relationship between the head and shaft needed refinement. I had some cool prototypes, but it would be far too expensive for a large edition.
The prints proved a dragon could dress up a cocktail. They did not solve how to manufacture it.
A different kind of design problem
The prototype could be almost anything. The manufactured Pick had to leave the mold.
In 2026, I returned to the Dragon Picks with the intention of manufacturing them properly. I sent the model to the same manufacturer who helped make the Dragon Opener edition. We considered stainless steel, cast iron, metal printing, powder forming, lost-wax casting, and zinc die casting.
Then the mold maker found a problem. In the original model, the inside of the dragon’s open mouth created an undercut. In the digital model, that opening gave the head depth and character. In a die-casting tool, it could lock the Pick inside the mold.
The long stem created another challenge. It was thin enough to deform during polishing, and some of its surface detail would be difficult to finish consistently. The model had to be remodeled.
Working within the process
Manufacturing constraints did not diminish the design. They helped clarify it.
I flattened the inside of the mouth so the casting could release cleanly. I simplified the transition between the head and stem. I removed details that would not survive polishing and strengthened the shapes.
At first, these changes felt like compromises. But as I worked through them, the Pick became cleaner. The head gained a stronger profile. The mouth became a more confident negative shape. The collar and twisted stem connected more naturally. Details that had been interesting in the digital sculpture but unnecessary in the finished object fell away.
The manufactured version was simpler than the first model … and more elegant.
This was a different way of sculpting. Instead of working only with shape, I was taking into account tooling, metal flow, polishing access, strength, scale, and repetition. The mold was no longer something that happened after the design. It had become part of the design.
From one Pick to production
VIEW Conference gave the project a reason, a deadline, and an edition.
VIEW Conference invited me to create a speaker gift for its 2026 conference and became the official sponsor of the Dragon Picks project. It’s a fantastic conference, and I was honored to be asked.
The Dragon Opener had begun its manufactured life through a similar opportunity in 2023. Now the Picks could follow the same path.
A single prototype would become a complete manufactured edition. All the details had to be correct. The Pick would be die-cast in solid zinc alloy, polished, and finished in bright trivalent chrome. Two or four Picks would make a set. I needed to decide.
The prototype looked better than expected. The chrome gave the small sculpture a surprising presence. Perfectly at home in a cocktail glass. The dragon had survived the trip into manufacturing. Now it needed somewhere to live.
A box for four dragons
Packaging became a second manufacturing project.
I decided on four Picks in a set. My first idea was an elaborate book-like folio covered in black bookcloth. It would open like a small volume, with four Picks held inside, a burgundy paper wrap around the exterior, and a silver dragon stamped on the cover.
The printers reviewed it and explained that the structure required too many hand operations. It would be beautiful, but unaffordable.
So the packaging went through the same process as the Pick. We kept the important qualities and simplified the construction.
The folio became a slim presentation box wrapped in textured black paper. A silver foil dragon runs across the lid. A dark burgundy wrap holds the box closed. Inside, four Picks sit in a custom-cut black insert beneath a printed card.
The final millimeters
Once the object worked, the empty space around it became important.
The first complete samples arrived in August 2026. The Picks themselves looked right. The chrome was bright, the shapes were clear, and the set finally felt like a finished object.
Then the smallest details became the largest ones. The color of the band, the foam die cut, and of course well-designed typography and copy.
Beyond the conference
You can back the run on Kickstarter.
I originally designed the Dragon Picks as a special gift for speakers at the 2026 VIEW Conference in Turin. Producing them at the quality I wanted meant committing to a complete manufactured edition.
That gave the project an opportunity to grow beyond the conference. Through Kickstarter, I am making part of the first edition available to cocktail lovers, collectors, and anyone who believes an olive deserves better hardware.
The design is finished. Physical samples of the Picks and packaging are in hand and approved.
The Kickstarter campaign has a funding goal of $10,000. That support will help cover the mold, manufacturing, packaging, and air freight behind this first production run … and carry the Dragon Picks from the VIEW Conference into the hands of people who also think cocktails could use more dragons.
Visit the Dragon Picks Kickstarter ↗ Launching September 21, 2026