Behind the build

We officially signed Aetha Design to be our industrial design partner.

Aetha is a boutique Dorset-based studio founded by Tom Parsons. Tom spent years at Dyson before Aetha, and has successfully launched his own Kickstarter campaigns in the past. Their portfolio spans a wide range of carefully crafted products, from Lofone — a minimalist phone for the digital detox culture — to Alice Camera — a precision-CNC aluminium camera for content creators — among other shipped work.

I spoke with multiple studios. Aetha got Spine immediately. The portfolio sits exactly where Spine wants to live — considered, understated design, precision craft, shipped. Tom's been through Kickstarter himself, so he understands what the months around launch actually look like for a solo founder. And the chemistry on the call was right. Three things I needed in one place.

The hope is that the partnership extends well beyond launch. Tom's Kickstarter experience and manufacturing network are exactly the kind of compounding value that turns a design contract into a long-run relationship. Day one is the design work. Where it goes from there is a longer conversation.

We're excited to get into the details of the industrial design.

Onwards.