digifabshop A Letter From John For the first installment of the Digifabshop newsletter, I thought I'd go back to the beginning. Dustin and I were fresh in our first week of architecture school in the fall of 1999, we were introduced after being teamed up in a structures class truss design project, and with some card stock, balsa wood and white glue we made a truss that just wouldn't seem to fail. It held up almost every textbook in the classroom, which now seems like it must have been hundreds of pounds. Who knows how much weight it actually did hold, but in our small success we'd unknowingly set the foundation for much more to come. In 2002, both wanting to learn how to build, I'd taken a summer job working alongside five artists on the renovation of a large Hudson Valley estate, and Dustin worked with a contractor and was involved with every aspect of ground-up residential construction. As summer came to an end, I decided to take a semester off from school in order to continue on as the project manager, and Dustin, while still in school, started
lending a hand with the finer details. We worked on this project for the next couple years, while we finished up our degrees, and as we pursued our interests in design, technology and CAD at school, we learned about craft, about materials, and about how to run projects at the estate.
Employee of The Month
DISPATCH JANUARY
Jason has been described by a co-worker as "quietly competent". He shows up on time every day to work hard in his careful and skillful manner. He listens carefully to instructions so he can do a job right the first time. He does whatever he is assigned without complaint and is a true team player who is enjoyable to work alongside.
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He recently showed his dedication and teamwork by helping the Chipotle team through their busy season. He brought his keen eye and his skill set to keep the team on top of orders so the shipments could be delivered on time. He also did a great job on the Organic Avenue chandelier and the Chipotle End Grain Panels.
In The Works 01 — DIGIFABSHOP x FAIRENDS
Jason is a consistent and dependable worker who shows how much he cares about the quality of our products every day. He is a great guy to have around and we look forward to having him continue to grow personally in his profession while Digifabshop also continues to grow.
It wasn't until 2004, after we both graduated with our architecture degrees, that what would eventually become Digifabshop really took root. We wanted to continue learning about all the things that interested us, but we really wanted to explore how they all intersected, and using computer numerically controlled machines allowed us to do just that. We somehow got a bank to give us a loan for a barebones CNC machine, we set it up in a barn on the property, and with a dog and a pellet stove that couldn't keep up, our experimenting with digital fabrication began.
Thanks for your hard work Verd!
New Additions
More of a look back next time...
On the heels of our new Digifabshop “Perf.DWG” longsleeve T’s from our friends at Pete’s Print Shop, comes an exciting collaboration with Montana/NYC cap-making duo Fairends. The Digifabshop x Fairends hats will be a genuine collaborative effort that makes use of our own vegetable tanned leather cushion scraps for adjustable straps and branded logo tags. We’ll manufacture them here in upholstery, and ship them out to Montana where Fairends will sew them onto their custom black waxed canvas camp caps for us. Look for these to arrive late winter!
01 — The new Weeke Vantage 200 is a huge asset to the business, more than doubling our panel production capabilities, and increasing eficiency with its powerful motor and automatic outfeed table.
02 — The Rojek KPFN 300A combines a sliding panel saw with a shaper allowing a variety of cutting and profiling work to take place on the same machine. A tilting blade and table allow for some complicated compound angled cuts.
03 — A look inside the Kentwood M509S Moulder which we plan to use for custom profiling of wall slats, door handles, moulding, as well as dimensioning hardwood stock.
04 — After some frustration with Paychex, we've adopted Paylocity as our HR solution of choice. With it's streamlined interface, biometric time clock, and seamless integration of payroll processing and time-off tracking it should make life more convenient for all of us once we're up to speed.
02 — NEW BREAKROOM We’ve heard the cries for a bigger break room, and are pleased to announce that plans are afoot to build a new, expanded break room in the next month or so. It’ll feature the most important thing every company needs in 2015—a ping pong table—amongst a host of other improvements like running water, more seating, an expanded library, and more food storage space. 03 — UPHOLSTERY FIT-OUT
A.P.C. is a French ready-to-wear clothing and accessories brand founded in the late 1980’s in Paris. Known for their clean, minimal aesthetic and simple, well-tailored basics, they take inspiration from the utilitarian nature of European military garb and French workwear. Their popularity has soared globally in recent years amongst the more fashion concious consumer, while collaborations with brands such as Nike, Carharrtt, and the musician Kanye West have helped expand their audience and added crossover appeal. We worked with Apogee Construction Management and Andrea Mason Architects on the first stage of the renovation of the brand’s NYC flagship store over the summer, and part two has just wrapped production. We have been using an engineered wood panel product called Novorex to fabricate cabinetry, display cases, standing shelves, and select seating, and a circular dressing room with triangular compartments.
DISPATCH 001: JANUARY 2015
With Upholstery’s move to the main floor nearly complete, Shawn will be working with Dave to outfit the department with a curtained enclosure and storage solutions to minimize clutter and protect inventory. 04 — CONFERENCE ROOM The Project Office's relocation is making way for a new conference room, the centerpiece of which will be a house-made Redwood slab table with Douglas Fir and Pine inlays. It's exciting for us to have the chance to work on a beautiful piece like this for ourselves for a change!
DISPATCH 001: JANUARY 2015