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Absolut's hanging gadget auto-levels art on your wall

Absolut's hanging gadget auto-levels art on your wall
Stick this to your wall, click your art in place, adjust, then let go to level. That's the promise of the Absolut Hangsmart
Stick this to your wall, click your art in place, adjust, then let go to level. That's the promise of the Absolut Hangsmart
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Stick this to your wall, click your art in place, adjust, then let go to level. That's the promise of the Absolut Hangsmart
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Stick this to your wall, click your art in place, adjust, then let go to level. That's the promise of the Absolut Hangsmart

Hanging art on your wall might sound like one of the easiest home improvement projects around, but in reality, things can get pretty complex – especially if you're hanging multiple pieces. Now, Absolut Art has launched a Kickstarter campaign for a device that will make the project as simple as pouring yourself a vodka tonic (well, almost). But it does come at a price.

The device is called Absolut Hangsmart and it was developed by Absolut Art, the vodka company's venture into fine art that lets common folks get their hands on hot gallery-quality artwork.

Using the Hangsmart really does look simple. You attach the plastic gizmo to your wall using either the 3M adhesive strips on reverse or two screws roughly where you want your art to hang. You then put your artwork atop it and pull down till you hear a click. Once the art is attached to the device, you can move it left and right by six inches (15 cm) and up and down by eight inches (20 cm). When you let go, the Hangsmart swivels to ensure your art is perfectly straight.

The device was developed in conjunction with acclaimed Swedish designer Alexander Lervik and, according to a company representative, New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has expressed interest in buying a batch of Hangsmart's for their use.

In fact, it would certainly help to have a museum-sized budget on hand when buying Hangsmarts for your use at home. Just one of the devices – at the early bird price – costs US$24. After those are gone, the price climbs to US$28, which, the company says, is a 40 percent savings off the eventual retail price, which puts them around $47 each when they go public. Considering that you can get a package of about 15 picture-hanging hooks for under US$10, you'd have to be really bad at hanging pictures (or really good at earning money) to make the investment worthwhile.

Right now the campaign still has about three weeks left and it's already exceeded its fundraising goal of $30,000. There are often the usual hesitations involved with backing any crowd-sourced project, but with the heavy hitters involved in this one, you can feel pretty confident in pledging your cash. If you do, you can expect your Hangsmart in September of this year.

Project page: Kickstarter

1 comment
1 comment
Gizmowiz
I just use a laser mounted on a tripod that goes up to 12' high. Much cheaper to just set them all right in the first place and use a simple nail to hold them.