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.

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.

Joanne Bilder

Fulfillment Operations Manager

Joanne is an artist who loves to explore every kind of art that she can. Some of her favorite artistic pastimes are painting, silverpoint, jewelry-making and drawing. She loves being on a creative team that works together to take its ideas from design to finished product. She is also excited by Inventables’ mission to bring hard-to-find design materials within reach of designers of all kinds.

At Inventables, Joanne is responsible for ensuring the quality of all our merchandise and the fast and efficient shipment of the products to our customers.

Prior to working at Inventables, Joanne worked as a graphic designer for a company that created some nation-wide ad campaigns. She also had some work published in the book "A Foot Soldier for Patton."

Joanne holds a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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.”

Edward Ford

Director of Digital Manufacturing

Edward is a Maker. He was the kid that took his parents' TV apart to see how it worked. He is also a staunch advocate for open hardware, open source software, and making the world a better place by empowering people to create their own high-quality products. Edward wants everyone to be a manufacturer.

At Inventables, Edward is responsible for making Digital Manufacturing accessible to the masses, along with overseeing merchandising. Prior to working at Inventables, Edward designed and released Shapeoko, the fastest-selling open hardware desktop CNC machine in the history of the world.

Edward holds a B.A. in History from Rockford College.

Matt Gornick

Software Engineer

Matt is a passionate entrepreneur who loves to create amazing software. He was born a tinkerer, trained as an engineer, and relishes the idea of getting students interested in engineering at an early age.

At Inventables, Matt is responsible for developing/coding new features inspired by user feedback.

Before working at Inventables, Matt started his own technology consultancy company, as well as a digital quality control company. He is an up-and-coming Ruby on Rails developer and is excited to apply his burgeoning skill set to the technical challenges he encounters at Inventables.

Matt holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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

Inventory 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.

Noël Morical

Office Manager

Noël is an artist who is constantly experimenting with new materials and techniques in her practice. Whether Noël is working on room-sized installations or smaller sculptures, she strides to constantly push the boundaries of a material's potential. Sometimes you can find her exploring the shelves in the Inventables warehouse looking for inspiration. She enjoys being part of a creative team and working with creative co-workers and customers alike.

At Inventables, Noël Is responsible for keeping the office humming.

Before working at Inventables, Noël did installation work for Anthropologie and continues to teach art classes at The Marwen Foundation and The Art Institute of Chicago.

Noël holds a B.F.A. in fine art from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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.

Lucy Silverman

Inventory Specialist

Lucy has a background in fashion and an appreciation for design and innovation. Her personal practice revolves around transforming the body, which has led to the constant pursuit of new materials and making techniques. Whether it is creating tufted legs or a vacuum-molded dress, Lucy strides toward uncommon goals and admires others who do the same.

At Inventables, Lucy uses her keen eye to ensure all merchandice meets the highest standards.

Before coming to Inventables, Lucy worked under many notable fashion houses including Bless, Walter Van Beirendonck, and Creatures of the Wind. She continually works on her own fashion/design work as well as knitwear for Robin Richman Handknits.

Lucy received a B.F.A in Fashion Design from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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.