A startup builds custom, on-demand 3D printed shoes and gives a glimpse of what innovation might look like in the future.
Recently, I took a little road trip to meet some manufacturers. And this week we’re visiting Wiivv, a startup shoe factory just north of San Diego that’s bringing modern digital manufacturing to the consumer. Imagine taking pictures of your feet with your smartphone, and getting custom-molded sandals delivered to your door within 10 days.
While I visited Wiivv’s factory in San Diego, I sat down with their co-founder and CEO Shamil Hargovan and their senior engineer Chris Bellamy. I wanted to hear what it’s like to start a company delivering custom, on-demand products. I was curious about their production process, which combines digital manufacturing (like 3D printing) with more traditional approaches. We start off the conversation with a story from Chris about how he ended up running the marathon in a pair of their flip-flops! And we get some really interesting insights into how the trend towards digital manufacturing might change the way we live, work, and play.
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Links
https://wiivv.com/
www.facebook.com/wiivvit/
Instagram: @wiivvit
Twitter: @wiivvit
https://www.linkedin.com/company/wiivv/
About Shamil Hargovan
Co-Founder and CEO, Wiivv
Vancouver, British Columbia
Shamill Hargovan is a tech entrepreneur, who has contributed thought leadership and invention to the emerging fields of adaptive manufacturing, augmented reality, and IoT. In 2016, Shamil was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 for Manufacturing and Industry in 2016 and Forbes 30 Under 30 Alumni All-Star List in 2017.
Shamil quit his job at Hewlett-Packard (HP) to co-found Wiivv, with the vision of transforming footwear and apparel for every human body so that we can move and live our best. Now a proud resident of Cascadia, Shamil has lived in and worked for organizations ranging from 3 to 300,000 people in Australia, Africa, and North America.
Twitter: @shamilhargovan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shamilhargovan/
About Chris Bellamy
Senior Engineer, Wiivv
Vancouver, British Columbia
Chris is a creative and entrepreneurial chartered engineer. Having studied Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Cambridge, and developed luxury cars at Jaguar Land Rover – Wiivv was the perfect opportunity to bring Chris’ two passions together: designing and manufacturing disruptive customer focused products. He is happiest when connecting dots from his wide range of experiences in the automotive, footwear, and outdoor equipment industries.
Twitter: @CWBellamy
Instagram: @c.w.bellamy
https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherbellamy/
The views expressed on The Art of Manufacturing podcast are those of the guests, and not our sponsors or partners.