Page 26 - DWV PROMO BOOK

Early Experiments

I was restless and wanted to start my design career. I had a lot of ideas and some crazy dreams... and then I discovered Canal
Street. This was the early 80’s and Canal Street in lower Manhattan was like a shopping mall for tinkerers, artists, engineers
and mad inventors. In other words, it was Heaven! I discovered all sorts of funky little hole-in-the-wall stores that specialized in
different materials, tools and more. There was the rubber supply that sold flexible hose, tubing of all sizes and a variety of oddball
parts and fittings. There was the plastic store that had endless Plexiglas in crazy colors, shapes and sizes, and there were power
tools–dreamy cool power tools that would streamline my experiments in ways I could only imagine. I was hooked. Canal Street
became my material supply house for years. In fact, it was on Canal Street that the SoundTube audio speaker concept was born.
I would take that idea and fiddle with it for years before turning it into a 50-person company, selling my SoundTube commercial
speakers around the world. My early experiments with lighting and furniture served two purposes: one was developing products to
take to market; the other was to furnish my barren house I was renting at the time. “Necessity is the mother of invention” rang
true on a weekly basis! – DW

1982-1985 • Flexible lighting, modern furniture and home furnishings and exercise machine experiments and prototypes