RazorCut
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Could you not find a group of local people to help at each stage?
An upholsterer would easily be capable of putting together the straps and rubber lining. You could even go more upmarket and see a saddlemaker.
Your local plumber, engineering firm or fabrication shop would have no problem sourcing and building the metal frame.
You can easily find the webbing and nylon materials online or re-purpose a cheap new or secondhand tent. You could probably get the prototype made for a 10th of your budget.
In the UK we have a major issue with festival tents. People buy them new, use them for a weekend then leave thousands of them behind and they would end up in landfill. Now we have small companies setting up to re-purpose them into bags, hammocks and all sorts of useful products.
I don't know if you have the same issues in the US but using recycled products in your design could give you a possible marketing angle.
This is part of the aftermath of the Glastonbury festival. A sea of abandoned tents:
An upholsterer would easily be capable of putting together the straps and rubber lining. You could even go more upmarket and see a saddlemaker.
Your local plumber, engineering firm or fabrication shop would have no problem sourcing and building the metal frame.
You can easily find the webbing and nylon materials online or re-purpose a cheap new or secondhand tent. You could probably get the prototype made for a 10th of your budget.
In the UK we have a major issue with festival tents. People buy them new, use them for a weekend then leave thousands of them behind and they would end up in landfill. Now we have small companies setting up to re-purpose them into bags, hammocks and all sorts of useful products.
I don't know if you have the same issues in the US but using recycled products in your design could give you a possible marketing angle.
This is part of the aftermath of the Glastonbury festival. A sea of abandoned tents: