Samantha Alaimo

Resident Designer

Sam is a maker with a curious spirit, an eye for design, and a love of learning. You can usually find her by a laser, printing in multiple dimensions, and covered in saw dust. Designing and producing products became a passion of hers while earning her Bachelor's in Fine Arts Degree in the Designed Objects department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

In her role as Resident Designer, Sam is responsible for building project and machine tutorials, exploring new material capabilities, and developing an empathy for the needs of our customers through careful research.

Chris Balin

User Interface Designer

Chris is a life-long visual creator and problem solver. Interface design, for him, is the perfect balance of creativity and logic, using visual design and technology to solve problems and improve people's lives.

As User Interface Designer at Inventables, he is responsible for designing web-based technology that enables makers to turn their ideas into reality, regardless of experience or technical expertise.

Prior to joining Inventables, he’s worked as a freelance digital designer, support specialist for a startup, house painter, Trader Joe’s crew member, wedding photographer, and artisan bread baker.

Chris holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College.

Alex Berger

Product Curator

Alex believes that small teams with cool ideas can make a huge impact on the world. She is inspired by the work that goes into anything handmade or one-of-a-kind.

At Inventables, Alex is responsible for researching and sourcing new materials and tools to expand our product selection.

Prior to joining Inventables, Alex ran her own jewelry design company, chic33 designs, where she handcrafted pieces and sold them both online and in local Chicago boutiques.

Alex received a B.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Iowa where she also studied metal-smithing and jewelry design.

Bart Dring

Director of Product Development

Bart has always been obsessed with making things using both manual and digital methods. He has been involved in design and development of digital and desktop manufacturing for over a decade. He has designed multiple laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC routers, Plasma cutters and other numerically controlled machines.

At Inventables, Bart manages the team that selects, tests and merchandises the products in the store. He also manages the team that develops the OEM products we sell such as MakerSlide, ShapeOko and the next big things.

Before working at Inventables, Bart worked as a mechanical engineer designing high power satellite communication equipment. He had his own business designing and selling digital fabrication equipment. Bart also runs the CNC Build Club at the local hackerspace.

His motto is “If you did not build it, you will never own it.”

Brandon Fields

Inventory Specialist

Brandon is passionate about writing and playing music. He can often be found in his apartment lost in a guitar riff, or at Guitar Center not buying anything.

Brandon is a veteran of the United States Air Force, where he learned accountability, attention-to-detail, and push-ups.

At Inventables, Brandon is in charge of inventory and the inspection of incoming merchandise to ensure that our customers receive everything they need for a project.

He holds two associate degrees, an AS in Avionics Technology and an AA in Liberal Arts, both of which he has found to be equally worthless.

John Hayes

Customer Success

John is passionate about new technologies and making them work for you. He is fascinated by desktop fabrication and the ability of machines to translate digital files into actual objects. He feels empowered when doing and making things himself and encourages everyone he can to do the same.

At Inventables, John is responsible for providing customers with solutions and advice as a member of the Customer Success team.

Before joining the Inventables team, John provided service and know-how to "do-it-yourselfers" at his local hardware store in Lincoln Square. After graduating, John worked as an apprentice for a cabinet maker and also refinished furniture.

John holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree and minor in Digital Media from Iowa State University.

Paul Kaplan

Product Manager

Paul Kaplan lives to imagine, design, and implement the future. He believes digital fabrication embodies the perfect union of art, science, and technology that he brings to every project. He is passionate about all manners of creativity from painting to programming.

At Inventables, Paul works to design and shape the user experience of the Inventables site and technologies. He creates web based tools to help customers interact with, understand and use digital fabrication machines and materials.

Before Inventables, Paul did astrophysics research at Columbia University and material science research at the University of Chicago which exposed him to (radiation, mostly, but also) the nexus of physics, engineering and architecture. At some point he also learned how to program, although it is unclear when.

Paul holds a B.A. in Physics from the University of Chicago.

Zach Kaplan

Chief Executive Officer

Zach is a serial entrepreneur who is devoted to exploring the limits of what's possible. He is a hobbyist and enjoys learning about interesting materials and building stuff with his MakerBot. He's fascinated with user interfaces and is a student/practitioner of user centered design.

As the CEO of Inventables, Zach oversees customer development and works tirelessly to shape the vision for the company’s future. Prior to starting Inventables, Zach was the CEO of Lever Works, a software consultancy that was acquired by Leo Media.

Zach holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Tait Leswing

Inventory Specialist

Tait is an engineer by training and a maker at heart. You can find him wrenching on things that go fast, using digital fabrication tools to cut and shape wood or cooking something you’ve never heard of for family and friends.

At Inventables, Tait inspects all the materials to ensure their high quality when they show up on your doorstep. He understands the value of good products and wants to provide you with the means to bring your designs to life.

Before working at Inventables, Tait was a math and science tutor.

Tait holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Cal Poly, SLO.

Phil Lomac

Customer Success

Phil is passionate about music and the arts. He loves learning, being creative, and making music. He strongly believes in the do-it-yourself mentality and applies it to most aspects of his life.

At Inventables, Phil is dually responsible for managing Customer Success and filling the role of Business Analyst as a member of the development team.

Previously, he worked as a HomeHealth analyst at CarePartners, a large regional healthcare organization in western North Carolina. While there, he analyzed reimbursements and modeled ways to improve revenue streams for the company.

Phil holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina, Asheville.

John McWhirter

Purchasing Specialist

John is a maker, a tinkerer, a cyclist, a reader, and an analog photographer. Regardless of scale, he likes a project, loves good design, and is inspired every day by people who choose making over buying.

At Inventables, John is in charge of inventory and the inspection of incoming merchandise to ensure that our customers receive everything they need for a project.

Prior to working at Inventables, John was a full-time itinerant man of letters.

John holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Jim Rodovich

Software Engineer

Jim has been inventing things his whole life. He started early, making pop-up books and dioramas out of construction paper. When his family got its first computer, he began teaching himself how to write software. He enjoys building tools that help people communicate and collaborate.

At Inventables, Jim is responsible for developing new features to help people turn their ideas into products. Before joining Inventables, he worked for Motorola Mobility and has started two software businesses.

Jim has a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Purdue University.

Jeff Talbot

Chief Technology Officer

Jeff loves to build things that get noticed and make a difference in people's lives. He believes the web has a unique ability to accelerate exploration and discovery, but still prefers to forge social relationships offline. He thinks life should be less work and more play.

Jeff leads the technology team at Inventables. He is responsible for making technology choices, directing software development processes, and continually delivering great features to customers.

Before coming to Inventables, Jeff built products for the financial services industry as an employee at Business Logic, a small software company in Chicago.

Jeff received a B.S. in computer science from the University of Illinois.

Jules Woodard

Executive Assistant to the CEO

Jules has always been interested in research and development. Intrigued by the psychology behind the R&D process, she enjoys learning about the social impact of new products and services. Jules comes from a long line of artists and is eager to channel her inner maker.

At Inventables, Jules works to make the CEO's demanding schedule a little more manageable. Prior to joining Inventables, she was an EA at Wind Point Partners and assisted moderators at several market research facilities.

Jules holds a B.A. in Industrial Organizational Psychology and Marketing from DePaul University.