Meet David Kampa | Designer, Maker, Thinker

We had the good fortune of connecting with David Kampa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
KampaMade by David Kampa

KampaMade is a personal design project. Idea + Design + Craft + Skill + Groovy. One-of-a-kind, limited edition, small batch, laser cut/handmade objects and products, uniquely designed and finely crafted by a groovy dude.

After a long and successful 40+ year career as a graphic designer I had grown tired of doing work for clients and needed to find a new, more sustainable, fun and personally satisfying design problem to solve. For me design is not a job, it’s a passion, an obsession, a lifelong pursuit. It’s what I do for fun and how I get my kicks. If I am not thinking to solve a problem, exploring an idea or finely crafting a design, I am not a happy Kampa.

I began to use my design skills to explore more hand-crafted product ideas as a maker. Coming from a world of paper and pixels, crafting 3 dimensional objects with my hands was exciting and extremely satisfying. I was an old dog learning new tricks, and excited about it. Sore hands and blisters hurt and felt good all at the same time. I began my design career in the 1980’s, before computers were a thing, so it was great to use those old hand skills again.

My maker abilities were limited so I bought a Glowforge laser cutter to help make the products. With the Glowforge I can make more things faster using a wider range of materials. I can design and prototype quickly, allowing me to explore more ideas and evolve designs more rapidly. I’ve made products using cardboard, wood, acrylic and high density foam.

I love this new design chapter in my life. I am challenging my abilities as a designer in new and different ways, having fun creating a more hand crafted, personally satisfying product.

Even though I’m doing this mostly for fun, selling products and making money are an still important part of the equation. I started out selling on Instagram and the occasional pop up. I’ve sold mostly to friends and people that know or follow me. I have a website now so that makes KampaMade less of a personal project and more of a real deal business. Ready for traffic, eyeballs, customers and transactions. So go to kampamade.com, peruse my uniquely designed and finely crafted selection of products, and buy something groovy for yourself!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Throughout my career I have been known for two main things, smart ideas and finely crafted design. No matter the job, no matter the client, that was always the goal. I use the same approach when creating KampaMade products. Everything begins with an idea that comes to life through creative problem solving and design evolution, all finely crafted with a critical eye and a skillful hand. Every product is different with unique problems to solve. I’ve been enjoying the “going back to school” part of becoming a maker, learning how to use new tools, processes and materials. My goal is to not make things you need, but I hope, make things you want. Because it’s smart, different, uniquely designed or maybe just because it’s groovy.

KampaMade = Idea + Design + Craft + Skill + Groovy
www.kampamade.com

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My suggestion would be to do a small town tour from Houston to Smithville. Small towns are groovy. You might be surprised what you find. Our quiet community here in Smithville does not have much going on most days of the week but weekends you can usually find something fun to do. For a true Smithville experience, come to town on a Sunday morning for the Smithville Market at Railroad Park, an outdoor market of home made and hand made goods, local produce, fresh eggs (chicken and duck), tasty baked things, live music and more. www.smithvillemarket.com After you’re done at the market, walk across the street to the Comfort cafe and have a satisfying, feel good breakfast. (bring some cash because the Comfort Cafe does not do plastic) www.serenitystar.org/comfort-cafe. Then walk it off with a stroll up Main Street to check out some of our historic buildings, antique shops and art venues. Smithville might seem little boring at times, but if you know where to look, simple pleasures abound.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shout out goes to my wife Marcellina. We’ve been together for most of our lives. Lots of ups and lots of downs, side by side all the way. I’ve got her back, she’s got mine. She’s the glue, the special sauce, and the yin to my yang. We met in school and both enjoyed long careers in the Design and Advertising industry. In 2018, we had already gone through the empty nester phase of our lives and had come to the job vs happiness phase. We both had good jobs but they were just not as personally rewarding as they once were. It was time to get out of the fast lane of our careers and find a more enjoyable job alternative. We could both do freelance and work remotely, and had personal projects already in the works (KampaMade), so we quit our jobs, sold our house and moved from Austin to Smithville. It might not be for everyone, but we really dig the slower pace of our new small town life in Smithville. And now, both in our sixties, we are enjoying the next phase of our lives together, the happily ever after phase. And I couldn’t be happier.

Website: http://www.kampamade.com

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/kampamade

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kampamade

Image Credits
Portrait by Lori Gola, LoriGolaPhotography.com
Product photos by David Kampa