I started Ponderose by accident.
I’m the type of person that never has enough desk space. So a few years ago, I thought I’d free up some real estate by installing two industrial style pendant lamps above my desk. I soon realized that peering into exposed 800 lumen lightbulbs was not a pleasant experience. I decided to diffuse the light with some CAD and 3D printing. My girlfriend thought the shades were pretty cool, and suggested I give them away as Christmas presents that year.
Today I run Ponderose out of the basement under my kitchen while finishing up my graduate degree, selling lampshades and planters D2C and B2B. In a nutshell, Ponderose shifts the paradigm of design through cutting edge 3D printing technologies that allow products to be driven by how they look, not how easy they are to mass produce overseas. Pulling inspiration from plants, mathematics and mycology, Ponderose invites people to love the place they live a little more with lampshades and homewares made right down the street.
Through Ponderose, I’ve learned how to run a business and lead a team of busy co-founders. Tranquil design session are one thing, but juggling operations, marketing and inventory are transcendent skills that I’m excited to hone.
Test. Refine. Test. Refine. Test. Refine.
Ponderose is all about the texture. By leveraging meticulous CAD methodology and continuous gcode optimization, I strive to synthesize striking patterns with excellent manufacturability. This not a “first time the charm” type of process. New designs are never launched without double digit prototyping studies.
The Planters
Diversify. Turns out lampshade patterns also make cool planters.
The Desk Lamp
This product is the intersection of design for manufacturing, design for assembly and design for distribution. I am beyond excited to launch V2 over summer.
