Before there was MacCase, there was Studiopack. I was teaching transportation design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York when I went to buy a backpack to transport my art supplies back and forth to class. A friend of mine from Detroit, ex-Ford designer Paul Snyder, was also in need of the same product. Together we sat down and drafted out the design for what became the original Studiopack. I wrote the patent which we received. I moved to Southern California and launched DesignStar. Within 2 years, the new line grew from a single backpack portfolio that held an 18 x 24 pad and all your art supplies to a line that was 10 products strong. I had made the transition from designer to entrepreneur.

Studiopack Lt.(Lt. as in lightweight),  Studiopack Jr, a smaller version for 14 x 17 pads and supplies and an ultra-compact go anywhere Mini version rounded out the assortment. The next breakthrough product was the Studiopack F/E (for french easel). Another patent was received for the design which allowed artists to take their french easel paint box to heretofore unreachable locations to make their art. I learned so much from creating and running this young company. These were products customers loved but the creative materials industry wasn’t really interested in innovation. This lead to a lot of personal frustration which created the environment to launch MacCase.