Why we keep eight trades under one roof

Welcome to Behind the Tech Labs! We’ll be writing here from time-to-time about what’s going on in our studio and about our approach to making.

TL;DR

Most shops pick a lane. We didn’t, on purpose. The most interesting objects don’t respect the boundaries between trades — a bag might want a machined buckle, a bench might be expressed in wood and steel, a pottery tool needs a potter, a machinist, and maybe even a sewist in the same conversation. Keep those trades far apart and the interesting parts get lost in the hand-off. Things seem harder than they actually are which may keep the useful or the beautiful from ever being realized. Keep these capabilities close and they argue productively.

What to expect here

• Build logs — projects from sketch to finish, including the parts that didn’t work.
• Tool making — the jigs, fixtures, and machines we build so the next thing is possible.
• Monkey Stuff — notes from running our own product line end to end.
• Random Musings - thoughts about creativity and making philosophy.

More soon. If you’re working on something that cuts across disciplines, we’d love to hear about it — say hello.