I didn't grow up making things. I didn't know anyone in the film industry, and when I first decided I wanted to make props for a living, I genuinely had no idea where to begin. I had to learn everything from scratch.
That journey eventually took me around the world and into some of the most incredible professional workshops, including Wētā Workshop in New Zealand - the place that first inspired me to create fantasy worlds for a living.
And somewhere along the way, I realised something important: professional makers don't know how to make everything either.
In film, we're constantly asked to create things we've never made before. Sometimes things that have never existed before. There isn't always a tutorial to follow or a person who already knows the answer. You learn how to look at the whole problem, ask the right questions, understand the constraints, research your options, test ideas, make decisions - and adapt when things inevitably don't go to plan.
It's this way of thinking that I wanted to put into this app.
Because the best solution isn't the same for everyone. The material I would choose in a professional workshop might make absolutely no sense for someone working from their kitchen table on a small budget.
Your experience, location, tools, workspace, deadline, budget and personal limitations all change the answer.
That's why I don't believe creativity can be taught through one-size-fits-all instructions.
I believe anyone can learn anything. I believe creativity is something we develop by doing, experimenting, failing, problemsolving and following the ideas that make us curious enough to try.
This app isn't here to create for you. It's here to help you ask the questions you might not know to ask yet, understand your options, plan clearly and make your own decisions.
You bring the wild idea. You do the making.
And hopefully, somewhere along the way, you'll stop asking “Can I actually make this?” and start asking:
“Okay… how are we going to make this?”
