Aiden Cunningham submitted his first idea with a CAD drawing. CAD (computer-aided design) software allows engineers and architects to render 3-D pictures of complex objects. Aiden was a 13 year old in 9th grade.
The CAD design was accurate down to fractions of a millimeter and rotated on our computer screens. Our jaws were on the ground as we scrolled through it and his list of 20 other ideas. He had *clearly* given his product ideas a lot of thought.
Aiden had heard about Original Nations at school and wanted to make products. He talked about it with his Minecraft community - for whom he of course ran the server - and they were supportive.
Aiden’s energy and creativity were contagious. Original Nations’ brand, creative, manufacturing, and design teams LOVED his enthusiasm. We discussed Aiden’s ideas with him, and we all decided not go with that first idea. Or the next one. Or any of the first 20 ideas.
Eventually, though, we landed on a brand and product that he loved and that supported his passion around environmental sensitivity.
During the pandemic, Aiden’s small Montessori school stopped using reusable utensils for lunch, and went to disposable plasticware. Everyone WANTED to not use plasticware, but they didn’t have an option.
And that is how the Portable Planet brand was born. Its first product was a modern-looking, portable, reusable utensil set (including chopsticks!) - easy to wipe down, can be taken anywhere, and won’t end up in landfills.
For his next product launch, Aiden already has his brand, and we’re pretty sure he’ll have plenty of ideas.