Welcome to eqpd
Using the principles of Industrial Design we create everyday products that respect all people and the environment.
Our products reflect the sense of purpose, simplicity and deliberate construction that Industrial Design was founded on. We believe our mission to share these principles will universally result in better products, being made in better ways, closer to your home. I have been designing products for over 20 years. I have worked with both local and overseas manufacturers in the creation of hundreds of products, each of them made tens of thousands of times. One of my most unexpected discoveries of having successful designs is the amount of people needed to make those products. It takes dozens, if not hundreds of people to build these goods.
When I decided to leave the world of freelance design and create eqpd (“equipped”) I didn’t know what I was going to make, but I knew I had to make it here. To export all that opportunity to an overseas factory would be missing out on one of the biggest benefits of a successful design – jobs. But it’s the right thing to do if you believe in the pride of making things where you live and the profound effect that can have. We currently make all our products in Twisp, WA with plans to open a second manufacturing location on the East Coast to simultaneously reduce our environmental and increase our social impact. Like food, we think that making things (or growing them) as close to your home is good for everyone. That manufacturing should be celebrated and accessible versus its current condition of being hidden thousands of miles away and the working conditions that prevail.
I created eqpd because as both an Industrial Designer and human who cares about our planet, I see an unsustainable trend in the creation and perception of manufactured goods. I am concerned with our rapid consumption of products, how well those products are made, how far they travel and our acceptance of what is disposable. Building goods is an honor; we should treat it that way. Resources are not endless, we should treat them that way. From the very start I set out to make a change. In our country, in the objects we design and the way we incorporate them into our life. Formally trained at the Rhode Island School of Design I approach all projects through the lens of industrial design. This foundation results in solutions that are fundamentally different than the corporate, image-driven, over featured, secretly made, copycat designs that currently exist. I want to remind us of a forgotten art and make a fundamental change in the creation of everyday goods. Step 1 – get back to honest simplicity and durable construction.
