The Variance

Introduction: The Seated User is the Forgotten User In kitchen design and tool innovation, one key group is consistently overlooked: seated users. Whether due to disability, age, fatigue, or injury, millions of people prepare food while sitting. Yet the tools they rely on—especially kitchen knives—are largely optimized for standing use. This disconnect between user need and product design creates unnecessary strain, exclusion, and even danger. The humble kitchen knife is a pe

When I first got into the adaptive space, I figured the hardest part would be design. Adaptive products, after all, carry real responsibility. They have to work for people who don’t have the luxury of trial-and-error, who aren’t looking for novelty or marginal improvement, but for something that meaningfully changes how they move through the world. I was wrong. Design was hard, but it was solvable. What surprised me — and what continues to surprise a lot of founders and organ

We’re a small startup, and we take every bit of feedback seriously — sometimes personally. When you spend years developing something you believe can genuinely help people, criticism hits differently than you’d expect. A recent Amazon review stopped me in my tracks. The reviewer called the NULU “an overpriced pizza cutter,” “irresponsible,” and even predicted it would end up “in evidence bags more than kitchens.” I’ll be honest — that one stung. Not because it was harsh, but b

We all move along the Ability Curve. Designing for each other means designing for ourselves — now and in the future Biology Always Wins: The Reality of the Ability Curve We don’t like to think about it, but here’s the truth: You will be disabled someday. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But eventually, biology catches up to all of us. It could be an injury. A chronic illness. Aging joints. Shaky hands. Slower reflexes. Lost strength. It happens to everyone — not because w

Most people don’t think much about disability — until it touches their life. When you’re healthy and independent, the world feels like it was built for you. Doors open, shelves are in reach, tools work without much thought. It’s easy to assume it will always stay that way. But ability isn’t fixed. Illness, injury, or simply age changes how we move, grip, see, or hear. Millions live with these changes every day. And yet, our products, policies, and investments often fail to re

I was recently honored to be highlighted in Adrienne Barker, MAS's recent book, where she profiles entrepreneurs building businesses that solve real problems in unexpected ways. The chapter tells the story behind the NULU—a kitchen knife born from a moment of frustration in my workshop. "Disability and ability is a continuum. It's not an identity. It's not a different tribe... We all will get there. The reality is people look at disabilities and identity as opposed to a state