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Meet Memory Metal

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The warmth of your breath is enough. The silver bud unfurls into a striking red flower, which closes on its own as it cools. No batteries, no motors, no springs. It’s eerie how organic it looks as it’s opening.

This flower is an exquisite demonstration of nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy that remembers shapes. The flower is made from two-way nitinol, which means it’s been “taught” two shapes. Above 85°F (29°C) it transforms into its open position; below this transition temperature, it transforms into its closed position.

Turn the frame around: a secret compartment on the back holds five additional samples of nitinol. This is a complete hands-on collection that will teach you all the ins and outs of what this metal is capable of and how to work with it.

It's fun to show to friends, but for inventors, it's rocket fuel. This is a material that's made it out of the research labs and is available to manufacture at scale, but its use in products has been relatively unexplored. There's a lot of room to dream up new products that nitinol could make possible.

Versatile Display

The frame is perfect for hanging on a wall, lying flat on a desk, or standing upright on a shelf.

What You Get

The flower is just one of six nitinol samples that you receive. This exotic metal has so much potential for inventors, and this kit will help you explore these possibilities.

Tucked behind this frame you’ll find five more samples of nitinol. Scan the QR code and you’ll see a video demonstration of each, the complete data sheet, and manufacturer contact details.

A cast acrylic display, 5½" × 5½" × 1½", holding six nitinol specimens:

1. The hot-water wire. This is the most basic form of nitinol. This wire feels like a regular piece of metal; bend it into an arbitrary shape and it stays—boring. But then heat the wire to 140°F (60°C) by dipping it into hot water or using a hair dryer, and the wire instantly straightens. It exerts considerable force! You can even run electricity through it to heat it.

2. The cold wire. This second nitinol sample has been created with a transition temperature of 65°F (18°C). Pick it up and try to bend it, and because it transitions below room temperature, it always bounces back. But then place it in the freezer or dip it in ice water, and now it behaves like the first one: bend it with pliers and it stays bent. Bring it back to room temperature and it will straighten.

3. The trained spring. A plain nitinol wire that was taught the shape of a spring. Stretch it out and it stays, then warm it up, and it pulls itself back into a tight coil. It’s great for lifting a weight.

4. The trained paper clip. A plain nitinol wire that was taught the shape of a paper clip. Unfold it, then warm it up, and it pops back into a paper clip.

5. One meter of wire you can train to any shape you want! You can cut this and train a few shapes of your own in any shape. You can start simple with a star or heart shape. But then get more creative: how about you train a butterfly, then straighten the wire and wrap it around your finger to form it into a cocoon. Now place the cocoon in hot water and watch it transform into a butterfly!

6. The two-way flower. Every other sample is one-way nitinol: warm it and it returns to its remembered shape, but cooling it doesn’t change anything; it just lets you bend it again. But with special techniques, nitinol can be trained to have a second shape that it transforms into when it’s cooled. This flower is an elegant demonstration.

You also receive step-by-step instructions for how to train your own wire, specs on all the material samples, and contact details for the manufacturer that created our nitinol product when you're ready to bring your own product to market.

Bonus: Memory Metal Garden

For the true collector: the full frame, plus four more two-way flowers and a cast acrylic garden that holds all five. Set it in a window and watch the whole row open as the room warms up.

Designed By
Keith Schacht
Osman Ozcanli

Keith Schacht and Osman Ozcanli are the co-founders of Witchcraft. They have spent the last twenty years as inventors and entrepreneurs, and they both run channels sharing unusual materials and product ideas.

Part of their secret is that they've collected a thousand samples: materials with unusual properties, mechanisms that don't seem like they should work, and manufacturing processes that do things people don't believe. They want to help others build a collection that inspires them.

They've helped nearly a hundred companies, working with their R&D teams to do the same. Some past customers:

Our Journey

A year ago, Keith recorded a video on shape memory materials. After it got 7.8 million views, we started prototyping. Many months of serious iterating later, we had a production-ready design.

A partner in China has been selected and production prototypes of all the various components have been produced. The quality and attention to detail have met our expectations.

Next steps:

• November 2026: Campaign ends. Final production run begins.
• December 2026 – January 2027: Manufacturing, finishing, and quality checks.
• January 2027: Target shipping date. Early orders go out from our studio in Austin; larger volumes ship directly from the factory.

Note From Our Founders

All our lives, we've been inventing. Our formula is simple: notice problems that people have and come up with creative solutions that haven't been explored. Problems are everywhere, but that last step, coming up with a great solution, is the hard part. A big part of our success has been constant inspiration.

The two of us have been friends for twenty years. Any time one of us sees something that surprises us — one of those moments when you stop and say, "Wait, what just happened? Is that actually possible?" — we go to the trouble of understanding it, and tracking down a sample. Every one of these little surprises is a solution to a future problem.

We hope this memory metal is the first of many items from our collection that we can bring to you. We want to help you build a collection of inspiration for yourself!

— Keith & Osman (Oz)

Risks and challenges

We've already solved the hardest part: the design is final and we've built working frames by hand. The remaining risks are in manufacturing and shipping.

Manufacturing: Nitinol flowers need precise heat treatment to hold two shapes. We've worked closely with our manufacturer and have tested real samples. If a production batch doesn't meet our standard, we'll reject it and remake it rather than ship it, which could push delivery back. Whatever the funding level, we have a path to deliver: we've built these by hand before, and we can do it again.

Handcrafted variation: Each frame is finished by hand, so small variations and imperfections are expected and are not defects.

Fragility: The flower is thin metal and can bend or snap if handled roughly. We pack each frame to protect it in transit. If yours arrives damaged, send us a photo and we'll make it right.

Durability: We haven't lab-tested it for thousands of cycles, but with normal use it should delight you for years.

Shipping: Some frames will ship from Austin and some directly from our factory. International shipping can be slowed by customs, and duties vary by country. If anything changes, we'll post updates promptly and tell you honestly what's happening.

Shipping isn't charged now. After the campaign, we'll send a survey through Kickstarter's pledge manager to collect your address and the shipping cost for your location, plus any applicable taxes.