August 31, 2025
Some things stop you dead in your track when you suddenly realize it. For me, this was realizing that TroubleMaker is not just one year back in Huaqiangbei, but we are actually NINE freaking years alive! Time to party and celebrate with all of you! Technically, we started renting a tiny room in Huaqiangbei in May
June 9, 2025
Can you manufacture a product in America and compete in today’s market? This 4-year experiment follows Destin from Smarter Every Day as he attempts to build a high-quality grill scrubber entirely in the U.S.—despite global pressures pushing production overseas. From battling counterfeit products on Amazon to reviving dying tool & die skills, this journey reveals the challenges (and triumphs) of
June 3, 2025
What do you do when a handmade electrical component becomes the bottleneck in your product? For this lighting rig designer, the answer was inventing his own mini punch press, using a 3D-printed die and a simple arbor press. From hand-bending 32 finicky contact springs per order (and snapping half of them) to stamping out perfectly identical parts in minutes, this
June 3, 2025
What happens when a garage idea to make recycled plastic disc golf discs turns into a full-blown manufacturing journey? Meet Jesse from Trash Panda Disc Golf, who taught himself to weld, built his own injection machines, and spent 5 years perfecting the process. From failed shredders to $35,000 molds, selling out 1,000 minis in 3 hours, and nearly missing his
April 9, 2025
If you ever worked with a woodworking vice, then you know it can be a pain in the ass to securely clamp your workpiece. Compass Rose Tools solved this problem once and for all. But it wasn’t an easy journey!They faced challenges in finding a cost-effective manufacturing method.Prototypes made with CNC machining proved too wasteful.They explored
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Every day we meet new people at TroubleMaker, at events and at supply chain. The best of these experiences are shared in our newsletter!