Design Stories: Exploring Everyday ThingsMain MenuViking Roamer RM-315 RadioBlackberry Bold 9000CGE KE 860 Electric KettleGeneral Electric’s 1966 Mixer Gift SetTorcan 886P Desk FanBaby Champ 5110 RadioCGE Hair DryerNorthern Telecom DisplayphoneAmin Asgari, Jason Taylor, Jocelyn ZinSamson Dominion Ten-Ten HairsetterPedro Amaral, Markiyan Palisa, Maria PerriShayna Adivib7dacecf2514976340c9fee58413be50a837e99dMatteo De Sanctis2c7f0439bc7dbbce394cd0e83390508c4316e0f9Dylan Fleuelling724bd216cf74182c9eb4bf85f4606a9f90300f43Sanyukta Ghag97f13f26df5104f991a5c78bb41d5501520945a0Ipun Kandola03d267ee57ad9e450b2bdf7607c2a096f9e5b707Minjoo Kim49e4f45a5b4fbe8b16e096b51064bd70ed6cdfc2Jessica Lo7d943c8a531bf17a92d4ce73f45508d35571048bSam Loiselleb0bb424f55ffc54d35c4c41f04a27d6f1914a83aLuciana Loucel Morales3d71928b274e19c31fb29bde4fc89cfab59747ebShriya Mujumdar401f34f51ff8386c5fd4b09a5def6038ca96da55Binh Nguyen77159e04ccf5c117d1aafcf7d72182271cfe4379Madeleine North1716571a300e1e377a3f5a2800d66ac1abe953e4Hannah Palmier Blizzardb85a64743cf09ec2b4e0c037a864f93027666ab3John Emmanuel Sanchez33ea7858c1ccddd4c50514af2ce70aadfb85d654Veronika Straka4da98006d10b69194fdb4d8ffa5ee51bb82dc8e6Jersey Louise Stuart51967f8e0c22fbade42e8a48d7cf0a44ab625751Michelle Tieu6e71ec02b710e08ac76005bc08f9bbf8e71f73c6Shane Toyama9b06201b77bf32b849e009b2cbd92a7602c6bc69Kesha Upadhyay31af8fb220a8946dc1166ecfdd2597f5dd8d003cJillian Warneraab1e08d9b244e0aed9e36e52219fd40328c6753Amavi Weerakoon806c26de54e888d00f80819bd6ef5040b78ac4c6Jan Hadlawusers/jhadlaw1e125e7557d6dc997197c765699eef9bff624103
BC5110 Radio_TabletopRadio_01
12025-03-25T18:34:04-04:00Shanthuru Kalaiselvan9cd9b51bfe58e0190a1a9f14431b3f9d801c63e61352Philco: Model 20 Tabletop radioPhilco: Model 20 Tabletop radioplain2025-03-27T23:14:31-04:001930Coffman, Peter. 2024. “Democratization | Radio at Home in Canada.” Radio at Home in Canada, January 13. https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/radio-chez-nous-canada_radio-at-home/story/democratization/.Shanthuru Kalaiselvan9cd9b51bfe58e0190a1a9f14431b3f9d801c63e6
In the early 1930s, manufacturers saw an opportunity to fill the gap between expensive floor models and insufficient crystal sets which led to the innovation of the tabletop radio (MacLennan, Windover, and Borck 2024d). The tabletop radio better suited the needs of Canadians and was more accessible for the average Canadian, causing a major influx in radio sales.
The affordability of the tabletop radio was propelled by the introduction of new non-flammable synthetic plastics such as bakelite. These plastics replaced the artisan with the assembly line as it enabled radios to be mass produced quicker and cheaper alternative to expending time and skill creating intricately crafted radio cabinets (Sheridan 2021). Synthetic plastics also enabled the implementation of a wider array of colours and exploration of designs. The tabletop radio sat comfortably on the tabletops and countertops and its versatility in colour and style enabled it to be placed in a range of listening spaces (Windover and MacLennan 2017, 74).
Tabletop radios marked the integration of electrical devices into consumer products which lead to the overlap of art and manufacturing. As a result, there was greater emphasis on the affordance of the device's materiality and how its physical form and spatial presence interacted with its environment and users (Sheridan 2021).
