How we got started designing ceiling fans and our future plans

You could call this “necessity is the mother of invention”.

I was searching for well designed contemporary ceiling fans for my home and there were just one or two available on the market. Having read in the book “Growing a Business” by Paul Hawken that if there is something that you would like to have and cannot find it, it’s a pretty good bet there are others out there like you, I decided to go ahead and design and build it myself. I used half of our savings to make the first 50 San Francisco ceiling fans. They had to be made in a fairly labor intensive way with minimal tooling investment, a major expense. There was no room for “frills” nor did I see any need for frills. Hence the unaffected, honest appearance of the finished product. 

I was looking for a feeling of lightness, “airiness” I thought appropriate for an air moving device, and one that is designed to hang over our heads 🙂 Also I wanted the fan to have sleekness and slenderness, a reaching up to the sky – in a small way a bit like the idea behind the lofty and light Gothic cathedrals. 

The fan has won design awards, and has become a bit of a classic over the years.  Other award winning designs have followed. Those experiences have allowed my designs to be accepted and produced by other manufacturers.

Even though there is an abundance of products on the market, I perceive the need for items that would embody a different spirit: products that are quieter, more modest yet well thought out, and pleasing to the eye in a timeless way. Currently I am planning a completely unique collection of products that embody my philosophy which is: simple solutions to simple problems, and “Small is Beautiful” so that we can all enjoy our lives and our planet without doing any harm.

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