We recently connected with JOHN COURTNEY and have shared our conversation below.

Hi JOHN, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

The name for my company comes from a realization that changed me very profoundly. An urge in doing things differently and better.

In a typical high school algebra course, you learn how to calculate areas of curves through a very tedious method. It is quite annoying and requires a series of calculations that can lead to mistakes that if done early on, will continue down the rest of the process. In my case, I was not an excellent math student and found this method deeply frustrating. I kept thinking it was such a messy process and I wished there was a better way to do it.

Once I got to calculus and I was introduced to Integrals, and my mind was blown. With integrals you can do the same work better, faster, and more precise. It was an elegant way to solve the same problem and it made sense. Yes I was still bad at math and got confused regularly but I could work out things and was not frustrated in the same way.

What I took with me was that there is usually a better way to solve a problem, with the right tools and preparation, you can accomplish so much more and do it better. That feeling and satisfaction, as well as the lesson stayed with me until today.

This usually holds true for the way we solve problems in real life. But if we step back and analyze situations, many times there is a better solution to the way we deal with what can be ongoing annoyances. It has become my mantra to take the same kind of approach to everyday tasks. If there is a better way or more elegant solution, I want to find it. In my work in the same way, I want to provide solutions for my customers.

I believe that there are many ways to make my clients’ lives better by providing them a service that allows them to work more efficiently and for the entire ecosystem that is their business better. I work to convey the emotion of what that experience was for me, while they provide a service to others. In the commercial setting, my customer is not the patron who consumes the product they make, it’s the personnel of the restaurant or coffee shop, who have specific needs to do their job better.

I make sure that their space is as optimized as possible so that their staff can operate efficiently, therefore providing a better service to their clients. I also make a big effort to help make these spaces look good, but my end goal is the feeling the users get from interacting with my work. If it doesn’t work, they are going to hate it, it doesn’t matter how nice the place looks.

With the home goods I offer, I have the same goal and mindset. I make things that help individuals enjoy their time at home and have tools that make their lives more enjoyable. I only make things I need, and use every day.

In both cases, I want my work to be an integral part of people’s lives.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born and raised in Mexico, where I had the chance to learn from a master carpenter on the basics of woodworking. Woodworking wasn’t my first love though, since I was a kid I was always building things and taking other things apart to see how they worked. I have always been fascinated with how things work. There are many lessons to be learned from someone else’s work. Very often I find myself admiring solutions that someone came up with for a problem. Sometimes small, sometimes so complicated that I can’t understand, but I have admired them nonetheless. Building things has always been my passion, I also have been very fortunate to have worked in a couple places where I could get a good look at different areas of product development, as well as production.

I worked in a design studio for about 7 or 8 years making high end custom furniture and home goods. I was in charge of making prototypes, developing processes for production etc. I then moved on to open my own studio with the intention to keep creating things, and focusing on helping others achieve their goals through my work.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

The most important factors that have helped me build my reputation in the market I am in are; quality, attention to details, reliability, and good communication.

I never compromise the quality of the work that comes out of my studio. If it does not look as good as it can, it does not go out the door. Usually this means I have to put more effort into it, or hold vendors to higher standards than they usually operate at, which is costly, but better. I hand pick my materials, and hand finish things in house. I usually deliver more than I promise or than what is expected. I also make sure that I cover all the requirements for a project and that there won’t be backtracking or compromises because I missed something. I ask questions, a lot of questions.

I understand the importance of delivering on time since I could affect opening dates or staff training which is costly and stressful for everyone. For this reason, I make sure that my clients can rely on me.

I maintain good communication with my clients and their teams. I make sure I understand their needs as well as the styles and look they desire. I am always honest with my customers and make sure that I convey any concerns, delays or issues to them as well as telling them if what they are looking for from me is not in their best interest. Yes I have lost some potential sales for that, but in the end, they are happier and will come back for something else that does make sense, every time. I care about their success and they are aware.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I do manufacture my own products,

I come from a manufacturing background, I had been working previously in making furniture and home goods as I had mentioned, using different materials and technology to do so. I rely quite heavily on CnC machining for most of my products. I am a mix between a designer, engineer and fabricator, something not common in large product design companies. Since I am the fabricator, my designs are filtered out quite fast through the criteria of what is the purpose of this and how hard is this thing to make, and reproduce? If there’s a solution, the engineering of it can then take place. The functionality of my products matters more to me than the design. I have no desire to make pretty things that won’t serve a purpose. My designs usually have to satisfy another criteria, which is: How can the robot help out with this? (her name is Camilla by the way). I embrace any available technology that allows me to be more productive.

I manufacture all my products in house with the exception of some parts that are either machined or cut to order, those are locally sourced. The products that I offer on my site are all handmade, some made to order like the tables. I only use the best materials, which I hand select from local suppliers. They are all hand sanded and finished here at my studio with high quality finishes, which are the same as the commercial grade finishes I use. They are safe for home use and very durable, durable enough for commercial use. I inspect each piece’s quality throughout every step of the production, so by the end of the process I usually know each one rather intimately.

I make sure I provide the best quality products I can make. I am very grateful to be able to work for something that will be useful to others.

Contact Info:

• Website: integralstudio.co
• Instagram: @integral_studio

Image Credits
Michael Caibio for some selected photos