About

Toolmade started as a concept; a new way to make softgoods products. The term was coined around 15yrs ago (~2010) by Shnlls, we did a domain name/Instagram search and found the name was not taken, we acquired the .com/username with the intent of starting a company/brand with this name at a later date.

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The concept was to take processes from vacuum/thermoforming and the compression molding industry (products formed from sheet plastics), but then apply those technique to novel materials, e.g. textiles and other softgoods.

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“Toolmade” is generally characterized by the molding of these 2D softgoods materials (fabric, leather, foam, etc) into 3D shapes and then bonding them with heat and pressure to other materials (plastics, elastomers, metals, etc). The 3D shapes are made by tools and the bonding is done with tools, hence the term Toolmade. We've often used the phrase “Toolmade – Not Handmade softgoods”. Using tooling/fixtures yields a level of precision/scale not possible when products are just handmade.

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The first popular products that used these methods were Cohaesive Embedded Hardware, the iPad Smart cover/case and the original leather iPhone cases. We've have gone on to design countless softgoods products (wallets, VR headset straps/foam pads, garments and a variety of cases for consumer electronics) using these techniques for other companies/clients.

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In 2015 we applied for a the Toolmade trademark to be used on a line of stitch-less wallets. The IP was later sold and the trademark application was abandoned.

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In 2020, we started a sole proprietorship consulting company called Toolmade. In 2022, Toolmade was incorporated and now exists as Toolmade Inc.

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