We Make Cool Things

How It All Started

We launched Green Shoe Garage in 2012 as an embedded electronics design studio. Our initial focus was rapid prototyping the “digital brains” of the smart devices we now all use every day. We built prototypes, designed circuit boards, and wrote secure and efficient firmware. At the end of the day we handed over the design files, source code, and hardware to our clients, who would take it to industrial designers to incorporate the electronics into finished products.

But then our clients began to ask if we could just build everything. Not just the electronics and firmware, but the mechanical components as well. Could we integrate the electronics, software, and mechanical parts into a finished object? It was a challenge we couldn’t pass on.

Rethinking Design and Fabrication in a Digital World

Shifting our focus from just electronics to overall product development was not a decision made lightly. We had to ask ourselves two questions: what would set us apart from the competition, and what skills and tools would we need to invest in?

We knew from talking with our clients that they most valued our fast turnaround times and our ability to deliver on budget. Most fabrication shops focus only on mechanical and structural work, and electronics design houses rely on offshore manufacturing. So we had to find ways to design and build mechanical and electrical / electronics in-house, in a highly integrated manner, and do both more efficiently than anyone else.

We already had limited in-house mechanical capabilities for items like test jigs. We expanded those project by project. 3D design and 3D printing came early and integrated well into our circuit-board workflows. As we added woodworking, metalworking, leatherworking, vacuum forming, and resins, we developed old-school hands-on skills while investing in modern CNC machines to increase efficiency and repeatability wherever feasible. Today we are experts at blending the traditional with modern tools, and we deliver finished products on time and on budget.

What Kind of Things Have We Made?

We have years of experience across a variety of product categories, including industrial control systems, home automation products, environmental monitoring systems, building automation, escape room technologies, adult toys, unmanned systems, wearable electronics, and even high-tech art installations.