My name is Tyler, and I’m a Mechanical Engineer by day. I do a lot of Product Development and CAD work as part of my profession. While I use additive manufacturing technology at work, it was my wife who encouraged me to get a 3D-printer for home use. Shortly after getting my first 3D-printer, I developed the first product that snow-balled into a thriving home business.
The First Concept
I had inherited a German Stalhelm, which was just sitting on a table in my basement. With my new home-based 3D-printer and an interest in Arduino microcontrollers, I had the idea to make a cool illuminated wall lamp for my basement office using Neopixel coding.
The First Product
I designed a clamshell style body that trapped an Arduino Nano board within. Pushing a button on the back would cycle through the color options on the connected 24 LED light ring. On the early version, a light ring sat atop a clear resin-printed ring and the LEDs were aimed upward at a white light diffuser. The mount included a height adjustment knob and a unique “easy-mount” bracket that I developed. The unit is powered by a 5V USB plug.
The First Sale
I was rather proud of my unique office helmet display! I decided to show it off on Reddit, and that is where I started getting inquiries about selling it. I decided to create an Etsy listing and had my first sale!
The Following Years
After creating my first Etsy item, I spent 3.5 years on the platform creating more and more customized helmet display products. Before leaving the platform, I had over 100 different item listings, 8200 sales, and a 5-star rating!