1st Assembly Before relocating to Wellington, I came very close to starting a co-working space + maker lab in central Austin. I had my eye on a fantastic property and was putting the finishing touches on the business model. Then just before pulling the proverbial trigger, the opportunity arose to move overseas and guide startups through the first hardware accelerator in New Zealand.

As one can imagine, I was thrilled to see our efforts with Lightning Lab Manufacturing evolve into a new prototyping and community space in Lower Hutt, named 1st Assembly (or “1-A” for short).

It was a pleasure to provide creative direction, branding and initial identity work for the talented teams at Creative HQ and Five and Dime for 1st Assembly.

Why 1st Assembly? The name at once evokes a community gathering, a manufacturing process, and one’s very first build. With the number of churches in the area, we felt it was provocative in just the right way — encompassing a hipster quality along the likes of Church of the SubGenius. A cult of sorts for the hardware community, 1st Assembly invites those unfamiliar to ask questions and get engaged. Type nerds will also recognize Hoefler & Co’s Vitesse as the slab-serif.

A huge thanks to the entire team at Hutt City Council for their continued support of such an impactful community space.

For more on all the happenings at 1st Assembly, visit 1-a.co.nz.