Softeeee - 2009 - present

Images shown are in progress shots as well as an animation created with the assistance of Clement Valla. Read below to know the full story of this project.

Softeeee derived from an idea to create a project that was iconically American. I first found an Ice Cream Truck in Boston for $500. I had this idea to stretch this truck to 33' long, but still remaining as true to its original ice cream truck as possible. Meaning one serving window at the back of the truck, graphics that don't notice its length, instead, it's the ice cream truck that believes it's a normal ice cream truck. Further, this truck is only to serve one kind of ice cream, the red, white and blue Rocket Pops.

After finding a mechanic, Brett Choiniere, with the skills and the desire to take on a project this abnormal, this project began. Unfortunately the project has not been completed in the sense of having a stretched, functional ice cream truck. Brett and I both got in over our heads in terms of what was possible with what we could offer to the project.

There was a deadline for this project that unfortunately wasn't met, and it was at that time that the project took a turn. It became less about this monstrosity of attempting to make a fully running, fully functional 33 foot long ice cream truck and more about this strange bond that Brett, Tony (His assistant) and myself had made. Many sleepless nights, or nights spent catching a few hours of sleep in the back of cars were spent in North Kingston, Rhode Island attempting to finish this project. And we couldn't get it done. We both took huge financial losses on the project, but at this point, the project was stronger than that. We had a bond, a strange friendship that had been created based on trying to achieve a goal beyond what was at that time possible.

I say all of the previous paragraph, and I fully expected at that time that the truck would eventually get completed. Unfortunately, it still hasn't. This friendship has deteriorated, I had to move back to Portland, Oregon and Brett hasn't returned my calls. My understanding is that there is still a mostly completed truck in North Kingston, Rhode Island, but it has likely rusted greatly from the seasons spent there.

I owe a great deal of thanks to Brett and Tony but also to many people who helped me along the way, including Justin Phillipson, who has far more car knowledge than I ever will and has helped me immensely throughout the project, my wife, Shawna Williams, and my thesis advisors, Daniel Peltz, Christopher Ho, Julia Dault and Rafael Attias.