What you're going to read below is a new, updated version of what the Foundry is and why it exists.

The concept of the the Foundry has changed (quite significantly) in the one week since I first presented it. My initial approach with the Foundry was to offer current Customers the chance to loan funds to Magnus ...instead of me just taking out loans from the bank like I usually do. The idea was that Customers who wanted to support us in a deeper way could do so (while also getting an annual percentage return on their funds ...and some other "perks").

But two things happened:

#1 - I had a bigger response than I expected

and

#2 - I discovered most Customers were not in it for the "return on funds" or the "perks" (they wanted something else)

The first part is easy to manage - I just make sure I filter and accept Customers who are most aligned with what the Foundry is.

The second part has had me re-think the Foundry from the ground up. I have spent a solid week doing this and now have the Foundry re-defined. It is now much more in alignment with what I believe it should be ...AND what potential members of theFoundry want out of it.

The tension between scale and curiosity ...between stability and experimentation ...is what led to the creation of theFoundry.

From the outside, what we do can looked polished, deliberate and controlled. From the inside, it has always been much messier than that.

This business was built by trying things constantly. By experimenting, failed projects, scrap parts and generally following ideas further than made sense at the time. New mechanisms, new materials, new processes, often pursued not because they were guaranteed to work, but because of the gut-feeling there was some unrealized potential there.

For a long time, that experimentation was powered almost entirely by personal time. Nights. Weekends. Long stretches in the workshop where the goal was not efficiency or output, but learning and discovering. In thirteen years, I barely took a weekend off. That was not heroic or strategic. It was simply how the innovation and work got done.

That approach shaped everything we make today. But it does not scale indefinitely.

As the business has grown, my time has shifted. I now spend far more time running the business than standing in front of machines. That is not a complaint. It is the natural result of building something larger than one person. But it does introduce a real risk: that curiosity slowly gets squeezed out, not by intention, but by logistics.

The Foundry exists as a response to that risk.

Early on, curiosity was fueled by brute force. If an idea needed time, I gave it time. If it needed another weekend, it got another weekend.

That model works until it does not. At a certain point, preserving experimentation requires structure, not sacrifice. It requires deliberately allocating machines, people, time and freedom to work that does not have an immediate commercial justification.

The Foundry is about making that transition consciously. It is not about going back to how things were. It is about making sure the underlying impulse to experiment aggressively survives beyond individual bandwidth.

Most businesses respond to uncertainty by becoming conservative. They simplify, standardize, and optimize for what sells most reliably. That is not wrong, but it does narrow the decision space over time.

The Foundry exists so we do not have to make that trade. It gives the workshop more runway and more tolerance for pressure, so decisions do not become defensive by default.

The Foundry is not about accelerating growth. It is about protection choice.

At its core, the Foundry is very simple. It is a small, private circle of people who choose to support the long term independence of the workshop and the way it operates.

Participation takes the form of Foundry Notes. A Foundry Note is a private support note issued by the business. It is not equity. It does not represent ownership, governance rights, or influence over decisions.

Holding a Foundry Note does not entitle anyone to products, access, or outcomes. The business remains fully independent at all times.

Foundry Notes exist to keep the relationship clean. They create a clear, bounded framework for support that avoids implied promises or unspoken expectations.

The Foundry is quiet and personal, but it is not vague.

The Foundry does not have tiers or levels. Scale does not unlock power, priority or access.

As I write this, the Foundry is currently opening to the first cohort of members. From the initial email conversations I have been having with Customers expressing interest, participation has roughly clustered around ten thousand, fifty thousand and one-hundred thousand dollars. There are a few people who have expressed interest in larger commitments - and those are discussed privately.

These figure are context only. They are not targets or recommendations.

Foundry Notes include a fixed return. The return exists to keep the relationship balanced and dignified. It is not designed to be exciting or competitive.

If yield is the primary motivation, the Foundry is likely not a good fit.

Foundry capital is used at the discretion of the business. This includes equipment, tooling, experimentation, research and development, absorbing failed work, and general working capital.

No specific projects are promised. Flexibility is the point.

This way of working has already produced outcomes that would not exist otherwise.

-- Clickshift

-- SlideClick

-- The One Clip

-- Robot Finishing

-- Current Slider demand (outpacing supply)

-- Pipeline of yet-to-be-produced designs ("future-proofing" the business)

There are directions deliberately not pursued because they demand time, tooling, and tolerance for inefficiency. The Foundry preserves the option to pursue these directions.

Here are a few examples of things I would like to start experimenting with:

-- Building an automated "pick and pack" shipping system. This would essentially be a motorized/robotic system to pick our packaged products off the storage racks and package them ready to ship. I actually already bought the 500mm, 1500mm and 2500mm "linear rails" to build this system a year ago - but have struggled to find the time/resources to continue with this. There really is no economic "need" for such a system - but I cannot get it out of my head. I just love the concept of, when someone places an order, it is fulfilled 100% automatically (even during the the night when no one is around and the lights are off). Not only that, but I would ideally add a camera so each customer can watch *LIVE* as their product is packed and shipped to them.

-- An Exotic-metal Rubik's cube. I have already designed the concept of this (I'm doing the mechanism in a different way to the original, plastic version ...so that it has an nice haptic and clean "click" to the movements). The components would be Titanium or Zirconium ...but the six different faces would be made from different Exotic metal inlays. Again, just need to free up some CNC time to get this one made. I'm not sure if it would end up as an actual product for sale - but I don't see why not.

-- I have started researching this - but no further than that. I would like to bring the making of some Exotic metals in-house. Specifically, I am thinking of Timascus initially (this is made from layered Grade 2 and Grade 5 Titanium) - but other combinations would come later as we gained experience. I'm not aware of any other maker doing this ...but I just love the idea of being able to machine Exotic metal products with Exotic metals we made entirely in-house ourselves. We essentially have to have a blacksmithing area of the workshop (welding, large power-hammer, furnace and so on) - but I feel Customers would love to to know the Exotic material was made by us and not just bought in. One of the biggest potential wins would be that would could create patterns in the Exotic material that no one has done before.

These are just three ideas - but I have so many more just ready and waiting to by tried.

Foundry participation does not provide priority, pricing advantage, or influence over design or discretion. The business does not depend on the Foundry to exist. It exists to extend freedom, not ensure survival.

The Foundry is not a product. Foundry Notes are not a shortcut. Nothing here is designed to create urgency. The Foundry exists to protect a way of working quietly over the long term.

If you're interested in joining the Foundry, then CLICK HERE to apply - or click the button below: