Interviews with Elemex

Years ago, I wanted to correct the flaws of an imperfect spice grinder, flaws so deep they had become the norm, and then build from the ground up a brand new grinder nobody had ever seen. A defense against the cross-contamination of flavors. A quicker, more efficient way of changing spices. Single-handed operation. These features were unheard of within the spice grinding industry. The key to our invention came one day when I was working my power tool, and I knew my answer is: interchangeable pod.

Easy to use and easy to change spices, interchangeable pod has to be refillable.

Our goal is to distribute this product to every market that uses dry spices and herbs.

2008 was the year the idea first conceptualized, it didn't began to take shape until 2017 and in 2018 things were kicked into high gear.

We had several iterations until we reached this concepts, single handed operation was something we insisted early on. I breakthrough design came to us in 2018.

We are currently producing this item, however we need to expand our distribution.

I have been making spice grinders since 2006, naturally this design fall into my line of work.

The target customer for this design is home chefs. We are considering to make a more powerful version for professional chefs.

There is nothing like this.

It came from the word finale - we want to create the ultimate kitchen tools hence the word "finale."

We use CAD, 3D printing and other prototyping technique.

Interchangeable pod.

My own engineering team.

No special technology

Market research and patent search.

Going from a wish list to reality can be challenges, after many trials and errors and finally we reach a

We thought our design was good, however we trust a prestigious panel like A'Design would give us their unbiased opinion. The market trusts A'Design.

We are still learning how to improve our grinding mechanism to outperform our current model.

I did not go to school to study art or design, but I've been in manufacturing for over 20 years. As a teenage during the 80's I got my first IBM PC and began to write code in DOS, although most of the knowledge I acquired was self taught but I learned to think both from macro perspective as well as to divide problems and to conquer them one small piece at a time, which later prove to be very important as we design products. My natural curiosity in knowing how things are made along with an interest in finding better ways to old solutions drove me to be more and more involve with products my company produces.

I actually view myself as a businessman more than a designer. However there is certain lust in creating products, especially when it is something that hasn't been attempted.

No, I get involve with design because it is relaxing for me. Working on product design takes me away from day to day business operations, which sometime can be very boring.

I design mostly consumer products, however there is a part of me wanting to design products that could help those live in the developing world.

First, I am no design legend; second, think out of the box and take chances; third, be ready to fall on your face, but get back up quickly.

Trust your team and don't do it alone; Always connect dollar and cent to a design, the impact is minimal if you are the only one understand and appreciate your design.

What is the impact of the design to the society? the really good design has a much larger impact and the market remembers it.

Timeless, memorable, continuous revenue stream.

Something that would solve the basic needs for people in the developing world.

I have an idea for a new coffee maker unlike anything on the market, but I have enough works for the next 3 years.

I have a great team

FinaMill is my greatest design yet, it has the potential to change how everyone uses spice and how spice companies distribute spices around the world. For better or worse, FinaMill can become a game changer, and that is exciting for me to see how things will unfold.

Expose yourself with history, cutting edge design, and everything in between, but don't reinvent the wheel.

Stay focus with other aspect of my business.

I appreciate those who design for better looks, finding the best color balance and perfect geometry is no easy task. I tend to focus on design for better functionalities. To me, design encompasses user interfaces, delivery system, functionalities and whole lot more into an object that suppose to change people's life for the better.

I have great support team at work, but I reply more on my wife's market instinct.

A'Design is a great platform to show their work.

We plan to announce our next design in 2021, but we are unable to disclose what the design entail at this time.

Market remembers your design.

If a design improve the quality of life without creating new problem, then it helps create a better society

We believe FinaMill will be a game changer in the spice market.

Two to three years.

Respect other designers before me, be original, think out of the box.

This is a basic difference between good and great: great design set the trend.

Admiration.

I did not go to school to study art or design, but I've been in manufacturing for over 20 years. As a teenage during the 80's I got my first IBM PC and began to write code in DOS, although most of the knowledge I acquired was self taught but I learned to think both from macro perspective as well as to divide problems and to conquer them one small piece at a time, which later prove to be very important as we design products. My natural curiosity in knowing how things are made along with an interest in finding better ways to old solutions drove me to be more and more involve with products my company produces. Although, I never looked at myself as a designer but I very much enjoy the journey of making products from ideation to reality.

Elemex was created to merge the western designs with the engineering and manufacturing muscle of the East. It is also function as a gateway for business transactions between manufacturers we use and importers we serve.

I appreciate those who design for better looks, finding the best color balance and perfect geometry is no easy task. I tend to focus on design for better functionalities. To me, design encompasses user interfaces, delivery system, functionalities and whole lot more into an object that suppose to change people's life for the better.

Things the people use everyday, mostly items I can relate to.

The FinaMill is my favorite design. On the first glance, FinaMill takes handheld grinders beyond grinding just pepper, opens up possibilities in terms of home cooking experiences. However, one critical design element we engineered into the pod was the ability to pre-filled the pods with spices or blends at the spices companies. We think when the spice companies stop selling pre-ground and package whole spices and blends with our pods, home chefs will be able to elevate their cooking with ease.

My first was round 1996, I came up with an idea for a single serve coffee maker that would allow a user to customize the brew time for a personalize coffee drinking experience. A prototype was made and patents received, but our finance wasn't strong enough to bring that to life, it just sat on the back burner and we never pursued it.

I don't really have a favorite. I am most familiar with plastic, stainless steel and light electronic.

It hits me when I least expect it. I have projects that we've mothballed for years and just couldn't overcome the challenges. Inspiration strikes me often randomly, but wine helps.

On the product I create, functionalities come first, and then the user interface, the touch and feel, and finally the facade.

I focused on my deeper thoughts almost like a meditative state.

Depends on the impact the product will have onto the market, my feeling spread from relieved to joyed.

Validation from the target market.

What was the design suppose to do? did the design accomplish the goal?

A designer must fix problems without creating more problems.

I think AI and VR are going to change how products are designed, speeding up the decisions on forms, material and functionalities.

October 2019 in Hong Kong at the Mega show. I will be showing my product their again in July 2020 in Hong Kong.

Inspirations are all around us, but I wish there was a predictable way to hone into the source of creativity.

Functionality; divide and conquer. Look at the problem from top down and separate them into meaningful sub groups. Piece them back together at the end.

I live in the USA, I don’t think my country effects my designs.

I design items for my own company.

In our world experience is the most important. You can’t find a vacuum cleaner designer to design an oven. They may be able to do it, but people in the same class of trade have certain experience that is difficult to grasp by outsiders. Interview the designers, make sure they have the right credential for the job.

I look for problems to fix. Break them into parts, solve them and reassemble.

I like my frying pan from J.A. Henckels. It’s perfect, never sticks (nonstick is generally a joke) this one really works! It has some age to it, but it still works perfectly.

Water pick dental floss is a great item that I enjoy. I can feel the difference before and after, and it solves the problem of sticking my big hands in my mouth.

I have a coffee grinder that I’ve been using for 14 years and it still produces consistent grinds. It’s a electrical grinder that I use daily.

I like the quality of my bose speakers great immersive sound, fills up the room!

I also find the Roomba works great! I heard the early gens weren’t great but the one we have is. Maintains the hardwood floor great. No dirt sticking on our feet, and it’s like having someone clean our house every day. It was designed to do a task and does it very well.

Work days, I get up early, 5 am. Take my son to school. Get to work and begin the day to day operations. I like to eat lunch with my wife. Work more then go home for dinner and then work with my teams in Asia on various projects and get to bed.

Don’t try too hard. Don’t put meaningless elements into a design. Sometime less is more.

Most anticipate praises but more often what pours in are criticisms. Designers must learn to live with the opposite spectrum of comments.

Don't design any "me too" item, I see that all the time on Amazon and other online stores.

You have to be able to think tangentially or outside of the box, otherwise you might have an evolution at best, and for sure not a revolution.

Nothing in particular.

It is more challenging to manage progress than to manage time. Fortunately, I set my own deadline so I can balance my time between operations and product design.

It could be short or long. It all depends. If you want to create a round object that bounces exactly 3 times, that might take a day. But if you’re making the best stapler in the world, it could take much longer.

Why didn’t I think of that? I get that a lot from customers and my own engineering teams.

I was lucky enough to have work in the entire supply chain: ideation, design, development, engineering, manufacturing, export and import, marketing and distribution. I think it is these combined experiences help shape my consumer centric and business friendly ideas.

I create products for my own company.

Product design.

I would like to design something to make a bigger impact on the future of humanity. I always want to look to future generations and think how I can help to make their life better.

I have a team that help me bring idea to life. They also test and validate my concept so I am more productive.

I have other exciting projects but I cannot share them at this moment.