The things I am working on
Now
2024
A new year and a return to side projects...
In February of 2023, the Austin Coding Academy and its sister schools were sold to a new owner. I was asked to continue leading the program. In Feb 2024, I offered and opted to return to a part-time role, stepping away from administrative duties and focusing on student facing priorities, including teaching, mentoring and internship management.
I have not had much time to work on side projects in the last few years, and it's time...
I have not had much time to work on side projects in the last few years, and it's time...
Ongoing Side Projects
2016-2017, 2024
www.householdhunt.com |
In 2016, I left a developer job at Dell to start another business. This time developing small consumer products where I could manage all aspects of production. With the goal being to prototype and produce a small run of a product, take it to market, validate the idea and build a plan to scale.
I released three products, Household Hints, a kitchen labeling system for shared spaces, Inc'd Tees, a line of children clothing, and Cookie Connections, a line of tessellating cookie cutters. I also had two more products within 60 days of release and 5 others in the prototype stage. I had to put the project on hold when I lost access to my manufacturing facility. Recently, I have access to production equipment and I am reviving this product... with a twist. |
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Cookie ConnectionsIn 2015, I ran a successfully funded kickstarter campaign to create a series of tessellating cookie cutters.
The project had to be put on the back burner because I lost access to the injection mold machine. I currently have 3 of my 22 designs completed, but I am looking to change my production process to make molds out of a combination of aluminum shell and 3D resin printed insert. I have acquired an injection mold machine and picked up a 3D resin printer. I would like to get back in the tessellating cookie cutter making business. The traditional method of cutting the mold completely out of aluminum can take weeks or months and you are limited to tooling tolerances. The new process will take a lot of refining, but when I have the bugs worked out, the expectation is that I will be able to produce a new mold in a day. |
Millustrations
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Then
My Creative History
2019
Napkinz
In March of 2019, I was a finalist in the [Re]Verse Pitch Competition.
The competition is to encourage businesses to develop products from manufacturing waste by-products that are destined for landfills.
The product I chose was polyester restaurant napkins and table cloths.
Restaurants use polyester products because they are cheap, durable and stain resistant. Unfortunately, they are not easily recyclable and get sent to the landfill.
My idea is to re-purpose the product into sleeping pillows for kids. The polyester will be cut out by lasers for the patterns, shredded for stuffing, and assembled using a non-sewing, heat bonding process. The end result will be a product made from 90%+ recycled materials.
I am currently limited by time, space, and equipment on this project, but the goal would be to run a crowd source funding project to get it on track. Still very excited by the project.
In March of 2019, I was a finalist in the [Re]Verse Pitch Competition.
The competition is to encourage businesses to develop products from manufacturing waste by-products that are destined for landfills.
The product I chose was polyester restaurant napkins and table cloths.
Restaurants use polyester products because they are cheap, durable and stain resistant. Unfortunately, they are not easily recyclable and get sent to the landfill.
My idea is to re-purpose the product into sleeping pillows for kids. The polyester will be cut out by lasers for the patterns, shredded for stuffing, and assembled using a non-sewing, heat bonding process. The end result will be a product made from 90%+ recycled materials.
I am currently limited by time, space, and equipment on this project, but the goal would be to run a crowd source funding project to get it on track. Still very excited by the project.
NOW page inspired by Derek Sivers