Spacemaker

A popular item in the 1980’s and something which took hold, perhaps even before then, was the idea of the Space Maker. Originally a construct of the Black and Decker company, and subsequently ripped off even to this day, the space maker was a clever little device with all sorts of potentially inherent problems.

You’ve got to remember, the 1980’s were a period of huge growth. The stock market was growing and people’s bank balances were growing; technology was growing and people’s fascination (obsession) with such technology was growing; as people’s families grew, there suddenly became this moment where something like counter space became of the utmost importance. Enter Black and Decker; their long relationship in the retail consumer markets and the fact that the people who worked for them were the same people to whom these space constraints were happening, made them an ideal candidate to come up with this thing that was so astonishingly simple yet so immediately embraced, that when it first caught on, it did so like wildfire.

The Black and Decker Space Maker Coffee Maker was literally that. Up until this moment, all other coffee makers were these big contraptions with silly looking glass coffee pots that, once the coffee was brewed immediately lost their temperature. The Black and Decker Space Maker was a model you screwed in underneath a cabinet, leaving the counter space below, free for other things. The space maker model was condensed, utilized a hard plastic coffee pouring mechanism, and the machine sat not only in amore condensed position but it also sat on a warmer so that temperature was not lost nearly in the same amount of time. Later on, Black & Decker would even go on to introduce a thermal carafe so that the coffee would stay warm even longer.

However, the Black and Decker space maker had other issues. Because of the fact that it was a self install, if it was improperly installed, it was mere countdown to disaster. Coupled with the fact that the Black and Decker, if not properly maintained, had the great likelihood of hurting someone, either during brewing or afterward. For example, if you picked up the space maker but were careless and caught onto to the grind area, you could release the grinds and make a big mess. Similarly, if there was a catch on the grinds or if the coffee pot was filled too full and you wobbled it, there is the even greater likelihood that you could spill the contents of the coffee pot all over the place.

I’m not sure if the Black and Decker space maker will ever be discontinued though and I’m sure many still use this model despite all its inherent problems.