Working with friends, clients and the UTS Hatchery (now UTS Startups) as an industry mentor and facilitator I have adapted and delivered design and strategic thinking methodology to run educational workshops for hardware focused start-ups and product development.

University of Technology Sydney, 2016-17
Industry Mentor and Facilitator - I worked closely with the Hatchery staff to provide industry feedback and facilitation of courses in a cross disciplinary faculty within UTS now known as UTS Startups. Here students participated in workshops to explore and unpack problems using design methodology to design and test prototypes to further the solutions they come up with. From there, students seek mentorship and resources to turn their ideas into fully functional products.

Awesome Tech, 2018
Consultant, Designer, Fabricator - Awesome Tech is a start-up robotics company for hobby and DIY enthusiasts offering a range of adaptable and easy to use multi axis CNC controllers. Providing mentorship for campaign strategy, and developing components for their first Kickstarter campaign to launch a DIY particle accelerator. Within 30 days their campaign was successfully funded with over $30,000 in sales.

The Innovators Club, 2017
Fast paced weekly workshops open to the public focused on problem solving and hardware development in just one evening. The Innovators Club was a collaboration between friends to advance lean methodology and apply it specifically for hardware type products and ideas. By leveraging various design methodologies we created an explore, define, create and refine process to develop a solution.

A love of kitchen gadgets combined with emerging information technology to redefine product development.

Crowdfunding for creative projects presented an innovation in the product development process by redefining how products could go from concept to delivery. Now, the option to go to market at almost any stage of the design and development process became a viable option. By communicating a product or concept effectively a designer can gain trust with the end consumers to invest and further the product or idea.

My approach was to create a product that solved a problem, was accessible and relatively simple to tool up and manufacture at scale. After 1000’s of slices of toast, and numerous design iterations, the simple and effective solution also needed a great communication strategy that could reach a wide audience in order to reach a limited but lucrative customer segment referred to as ‘innovators’. A likable and shareable campaign focused on demonstrating the product in a humorous and creative video while communicating what next steps were needed to manufacture ButterUp.

The solution is a butter knife with a built-in grater that turns fridge cold butter into thin ribbons that warm up quickly and are easier to spread. After an exhaustive online search to see if anyone else had gone to market with what seemed like such an obvious idea, work began on prototypes and a campaign strategy and manufacturing partnership. ButterUp soon received the attention of some of the largest online media platforms as well as becoming a feature campaign on Kickstarter, pre-sales from for almost 40,000 units in the space of 29 days.

Designed for exploration and discovery
Expedition vehicles travel some of the most demanding terrain to get to places otherwise impossible to reach in the pursuit of adventure and exploration. Getting there safely and comfortably means every part of a vehicle functions flawlessly in sometimes extreme conditions. When I first began working on vehicle interiors, the space of most expedition vehicles was practical, but not an inviting space. Black carpet on plywood and built for storage. Introducing architectural style finishes to improve aesthetics while remaining rugged, enhanced functionality by creating a practical and comfortable living space with plenty of storage space for any adventure.

Function, fit and a space for everything.
The Toyota Landcruiser 78 series offers a relatively compact 2.9 square meters of internal space. One of the first interiors I built, was subsequently featured in Overland International - a community of adventure travellers, which represent the single-largest repository of online overland resources on the web. More than just a storage system, the interior now becomes an office on the road, a dinette, a bed, a kitchen and more for a weekend away or an overland expedition to some of the most remote places in the world.

The demand for flexibility.
No two vehicles are exactly the same, creating an adaptable and consistent set of design features was essential to ensure any style of layout remained functional and aesthetically pleasing while always within the capabilities of the production process and delivery dates. Combined with CNC routing and by adapting joinery techniques to 3 axis routing, vast improvement to assembly accuracy and a reduction in build time are also realised and enhance the end product.