Revolutionary Materials Platform Launches to the Design Community
A few years ago, Nicole Schmidt dropped a box of stone on her head. She was 7 months pregnant in a dusty supply closet that doubled as a materials library in an architecture firm. She decided, then and there, that something needed to change. Material selection should be more intuitive, collaborative, creative, and transparent–and safer, too! So she founded Source, which launched on Feb. 20, with a singular mission:
Get all the people in commercial architecture + design out of their silos and collaborating better. Source is a company committed to leveling the playing field for small and large manufacturers, empowering reps, reducing administrative redundancies, and allowing architects to filter by what they care about, from Women-Owned Businesses, to Made in USA and Red-List Free. But that’s not all.
Read more in the full press release below:
Keeping Design Human: Source Is Breathing New Life Into The Material Selection Process
The Portland-based company is bringing transparency, efficiency, and connection to the industry
Source has launched, and is focused on one ambition: Get all the people in commercial architecture + design out of their silos and collaborating better. Formerly krowdsourced, the company’s rebrand captures the scope and nuance of their ambitions: Source exists to facilitate communication and collaboration between all the many stakeholders in a commercial construction project. Over the last 6 months, Source has completely rebuilt all the technology powering the company. The new platform, launching right now, is faster, cleaner, and easier to navigate. Most importantly, it now offers services for specifiers and manufacturers all in one place.
With Source, verified architects and designers can browse products from over 450 brands and find rep information for over 2,000 brands. They can save material selections into projects, order samples directly from their reps, export product information into spreadsheets, and more. Members can also connect with Source product experts to consult on material selections and find niche products. In short, Source has made it easier to find and keep track of product specifications without cutting out all the humans that matter in the process.
Source delivers through three parts.
First, Source Product Experts connect designers to both new and familiar products with human-centered, objective, and customized consulting services. Designers can place research requests with the Source team –real, creative humans!– and can quickly receive ideas and palettes for their next project. Samples can come from both familiar manufacturers or undiscovered local artisans. At Source, everyone gets a seat at the table, leveling the playing field for manufacturers and empowering designers to find novel design solutions. Source also enables architects and designers to filter by product impact attributes that matter to them like Women-Owned Businesses , Made in USA , or Red-List Free .
Second, Source offers designers a digital tool for sample ordering and product information tracking. Allowing for an unlimited number of projects, designers can save products to each one to keep ideas in the right place. The best part? Robust product information for each project can easily be exported to a spreadsheet to aid in data transfer between tools and building finish schedules. When designers are ready to order samples, they can do so from multiple manufacturers, directly from their local reps, all in one place, all in one order. But if they need a little more information first, Source makes it easy to connect with a local rep directly. The system is designed to empower the relationship between reps and designers, keeping reps at the center of sample ordering. Source believes in using technology to aid human creativity–which means the platform is easy to use, unpretentious, and above all: transparent.
Finally, Source understands the importance of physical resources to the design community. They offer centralized physical libraries for those days when designers need a sample just in time for a client meeting, or want to browse to spark a creative breakthrough. Their flagship library is presently doubling its square footage in Portland, OR, with Seattle and an East Coast location slated to launch in 2020. The libraries are staffed by product experts who can help find niche projects, and Source spaces are available to library members to hold client meetings and attend community events. The libraries also offer services like sample reclamation and material board production, and Source offers library members free, unlimited Lyft codes to travel between their offices and the library.
Source is a team of seasoned industry veterans –architects, designers, reps, and technologists– who understand the way the design process works. It’s the product of a bold idea to make the process work better for everyone involved. That’s why Source is both a noun and a verb; a point of origin for choosing commercial design products. The primary place that members of our community come to connect . “The industry is overdue for a shift in the way all the humans who participate in commercial design find, access, and share product information,” says Nicole Schmidt, founder and CEO of Source. “Source is focused on making the lives of designers easier, by making material selection less time-consuming, and more streamlined and tailored.”
With fewer administrative redundancies, more industry-wide transparency, equal access for small and large manufacturers, the ability to filter products by the concerns the project asks for, and with an emphasis on human creative connection, Source is breathing new life into the material selection process.
On February 14th, 2020, Source closed their Seed II funding round, led by Founders’ Co-op with support from Rogue Venture Partners, Rogue Women’s Fund, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, MetaProp and various Family Offices & Angels. Source is currently open for US-based manufacturers to participate, and for designers and reps alike to join. Visit tothesource.com to get started.
Source was honored to work with incredible partners to complete this work. Each London is their brand partner, the creative motor behind the new name, logo, and visual identity. Kickstand is their technology partner, working tirelessly to accomplish a stunning amount of work in a very short amount of time. Nossa Norman is the studio (and Source member!) responsible for designing their library expansion. And, of course, the team worked around the clock to bring Source to life.
About Source , formerly krowdsourced
Source offers human intelligence, digital ease, and physical libraries to give architects, designers, reps, and manufacturers in commercial design a better way to discover products and collaborate. Current Source library located in Portland, OR, with locations in Seattle and the East Coast opening this year.
This article originally appeared in Office Insight.