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Forterra uses innovative sustainable material cross laminated timber to construct wood innovation center in Darington, Washington
December 9, 2021 In blog

Sustainable Material Technology – Forterra and CLT

This week we want to spotlight Forterra, a local non-profit that uses innovative, sustainable material technologies and creates jobs in the Seattle area. Susan, Bob’s wife, has been a part of Forterra’s Wood Innovation Group for a few years now. In her role, she has worked on grant application and assisted in the funding of the Wood Innovation Center that is being constructed in Darrington, Washington. She has work closely with a spectrum of local groups and community members in the Pacific Northwest to bring this amazing program to reality. Forterra is working in conjunction with local Washington communities to build

Industrial designer holds production sample of the Homax Tex Pro texture system
December 8, 2021 In blog

Innovative Product Engineering – Homax Tex Pro

We are very excited to announce the launch of the Homax Tex Pro Texture System, an innovative wall texture sprayer that utilizes pre-mixed mud cartridges and an air compressor to tackle interior wall texture jobs. This new system is up to 70% faster and 60% lighter than traditional hopper guns and drastically simplifies set up and clean up for the user. This has been a long, complex product engineering challenge that has been tough and exciting and we can’t wait to see how people react to this innovative product idea. We started working with Homax to develop the Tex Pro texture

Bob Carrasca owner Pillar Design
November 24, 2021 In blog

Owning a Product Design Firm – Bob Carrasca

We interviewed Bob Carrasca, the owner and founder of Pillar, about his motivations in starting his own product design firm and his life outside of the office. Read below to hear what he had to say.   Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Bob: I enjoy snowboarding, hiking and being up in the mountains and being deep in the PNW forests designing, building, maintaining and riding mountain bike trails. In the winter, I can also be found riding powder at the local resorts in our state or sometimes in the back country, exploring deep in the Cascades. I love the synergy that

Woman assembles electronic product during production in overseas factory
November 11, 2021 In blog

5 Factors that Influence Your Production Costs

Cost can be the make or break factor for any product development project, especially once you make it to production. When determining costs, there are two prices to consider. The retail price is the amount that your product will cost for the customer. The material cost of goods (MCOG) is the amount that your product will cost to make. While there are a variety of factors that will determine both costs, we’ll break down five of the most common ones to keep in mind.   Target User – Your retail cost of goods should always be influenced by your target user as