Zachary Rotholz
designer, entrepreneur, engineer, and educator
​San Francisco, California
M.S. Engineering and Design
(2015-2017)
Stanford University
​
B. S. Mechanical Engineering
(2007-2011)
Yale University
With a grounding in mechanical engineering and human centered design, I have an entrepreneurial enthusiasm for inventing iterative prototyping methods and innovative modular systems for efficient manufacturing. I am passionate about reinventing work spaces and learning spaces through perpetual space-hacking and I'm committed to making engineering principles and musical expression more accessible for children.
Chairigami LLC
Founder and CEO (2011-2019)
       Chairigami is a cardboard furniture design studio and manufacturer that creates lightweight, flat-packing seating, tables, and storage for pop-up spaces
  • Launched the Chairigami Retail Store, a furniture lab that innovates through empathic customer collaboration and rapid prototyping
  • Wrote and was granted two U.S. patents (2017, 2018) outlining the Chairigami design language
  • Created the Chairigami brand, website, and logo
  • Designed and manufactured the first cardboard standing desk, selling over 1,000 units to date and raising over $50,000 on Kickstarter 
  • Winner of the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute Summer Fellowship and Google Ventures Pitch Competition
  • Received national press from CNN Prime Time, Time.com, and FastCompany.com
  • Designed events for major brands like Google, Spotify, Hermès, Mail Chimp, Whole Foods, and UPS
  • Manufactured and sold more than 8,000 units of cardboard furniture, cardboard toys, and accessories since 2011
  • Invented and produced more than 100 cardboard products including a rocking chair, modular toy sets, and a bunk bed
  • Generated more than $1.0 million in gross sales since 2011
Piper Inc.
Toy and Packaging Design Consultant (2018)
  • Prototyped and Designed the first cardboard computer kit for kids
  • Redesigned the Piper Computer Kit packaging to be intuitive, low-cost, 100% recyclable, and reusable for classrooms
Sound Exploration
​Stanford Design School (2015-2017)
  • Developed a noise tracking wearable, helping adults with autism to anticipate meltdown behavior
  • Built a musical playground with low-frequency foot-pump organs to support collaborative and playful music-making
  • Invented an inexpensive, easy to play mouthpiece with an embedded diaphragm that transforms PVC pipe into modular wind instruments for low-income schools
  • Designed and machined a portable pocket clarinet to allow musicians on the go to share music with diverse communities
Steelcase Inc.
Furniture Design Consultant (2013-2014)
  • Organized workshops with the Steelcase Workspace Futures team to rethink co-working spaces and furniture as a service
  • Designed six new cardboard furniture products to support the evolving spaces of creative project teams at Steelcase’s Workspring, an off-sight, curated team meeting space
Stanford d. school
Learning Space Design Consultant (2018-Present)
  • Designed and produced four full scale sofa prototypes to understand student and faculty needs for classroom and workspace seating
  • Leading and organizing sofa-hacking workshops to empower the d. school community to co-create its learning spaces
skills: 
Design Thinking             Adobe Illustrator          Die-cut Manufacturing
Ethnography                   Autodesk Inventor       Paper Engineering
Leading Workshops        Auto CAD                      Rapid Prototyping
  
zachrotholz at gmail dot com
847 727 0036
chairigami.com || zachrotholz.com
References available upon request
Copyright © 2018