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<\/a><\/p>\nHere at UncommonGoods, we’re always on the lookout for newcomers to our assortment of artists whose creations make us smile, think, or say “wow” when we glance at our homepage (a daily activity here). The latest in this parade of intriguing creators? One Jonathan Bobrow, a self-described “artist, designer, programmer, math lover, and constantly curious individual.” A former student at the MIT Media Lab, Jonathan is best known \u2019round these parts for his Troxes: Origami Building Blocks<\/a>\u2014toys that fold together to create intricate shapes without the aid of glue, tape, or any other sticky substance… excepting a little elbow grease.<\/p>\n For someone (wink, nudge) whose favorite part of their job often involves interviewing new artists, Jonathan was an ideal study. Talkative, open, and excited to share the story behind his Origami Building Blocks<\/a>, Jonathan provided us with more fascinating material than we could possibly pack into a single quick-and-dirty blog post. That didn’t stop us from trying, though. Read on for a full account of our attempt, including an explanation of what\u00a0A League of Their Own\u00a0<\/em>has to do with designing laser-cut toys.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The labels I identify with are highly influenced by the things I\u2019ve been surrounded by from a young age. My father was a math educator, and my mom was a painter, so I had art and math always on both sides. Similarly, my brother is an entertainer, and my sister\u2019s a social worker, so these aspects of activism and entertainment also were big influences on my life.<\/p>\n I was a mathematics major at UCLA, and I was horrible in the major. I loved math, but I was doing wonderful in design classes, and I was spending all my time doing design work for fundraising events. I eventually switched out of the mathematics major, completed a design media arts degree, and for years built things that relied on both skills\u2014interactive museum installations. I have a constantly unsatiated creativity\u2014or curiosity, better yet\u2014and usually the outlet for that is making. I happened to be lucky enough to grow up painting and drawing and editing and doing special effects for videos, so I accrued a set of skills that were creatively expressive, but an interest in more technical ideas.<\/p>\n Three years ago, I left my job to pursue a masters at the MIT Media Lab. The very first week, I entered a class called \u201cHow to Make Almost Anything.\u201d The first assignment was to make a press fit kit\u2014something that doesn\u2019t rely on adhesives to hold together\u2014using only cardboard and a laser cutter. I thought it would be neat to make something that first press fits together, so the tolerances have to be just right, and then press fits together with more of the same, based off of a design from the 1970s by a guy named Jef Raskin<\/a>. I had a blast making them, couldn\u2019t stop making them, and for the next two years, on nights and weekends, I was prototyping these and making thousands of them.<\/p>\n The product went into the MIT Museum two years ago. A handful of them were on display behind glass, and another set of them were hands-on. And, as things do in museums, they walked, right? They started disappearing. Kids and adults were both like, \u201cThis is really interesting. How do we get them?\u201d I knew I wanted to release them at some point, and they felt like a good fit for Move38, the company I started to promote systems thinking in non-traditional spaces.<\/p>\n The actual running of a business involves so many moving parts. Scheduling and laying out timelines that make sense, that\u2019s challenging. The exciting part is, whenever I tell somebody about Move38, the response is so uplifting. It\u2019s actually the most motivating part of it. I tell somebody what I do, and it\u2019s like a reminder that\u2014right! The thing I do is so cool. It\u2019s so much fun. And it\u2019s not what anybody else is doing. I think the world needs the things we\u2019re creating, and we\u2019re the only ones who know how to make them. I obsess over the details, too, and it feels great to have found an audience that\u2019s really receptive to that process. Moreover, it feels great to be building relationships with the people that help make our products a reality.<\/p>\n Most days are far from typical, but I can describe what I\u2019m surrounded by. On my desk is a 3D printer that\u2019s printing pegs for stools that I\u2019m building for the space; often I keep it busy printing a prototype. The office has become our HQ, which means there are plenty of materials to build with, but I also like to keep things tidy at the end of the day. Sometimes, if I\u2019m lucky, my day will involve going into the machine shop. I love working with my hands and having CNC tools complement my craft. Later today I\u2019ll be teaching up-and-coming NYC makers how to laser cut. It\u2019s always a balance of, \u201cOkay, these are the things I know I want to get done,\u201d \u201cThese are the things I need to get done,\u201d and triage.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/47374_1_1200px.jpg\")
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<\/p>\nYou identify with many labels of sorts, from \u201cdesigner\u201d to \u201cactivist\u201d to \u201clover of mathematics.\u201d Could you talk a bit about your background?<\/h5>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nHow did you come up with the idea for your Origami Building Blocks<\/a>?<\/h5>\n
How did you decide to sell them?<\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/ezgif-4-3f5e8e3c8e.gif\")
<\/p>\nWhat was the most exciting aspect of launching your business? What about the most challenging piece?<\/h5>\n
Is there such thing as a \u201ctypical day at work\u201d for you?<\/h5>\n
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