Photo by Jess Wright
Principal - John Heida
>Designer<
John has nearly two decades of experience in Architecture, Jewelry, Furniture, & product design. He brings a toolkit packed with material, construction, and fabrication knowledge which helps him to provide cutting edge solutions to the most demanding clients.
>Fabrication Consultant<
Besides being well versed in construction technologies and methodologies, John is fluent in many digital fabrication techniques. 3D Printing with various materials, CNC Milling, Waterjet Cutting, and Laser Cutting are all common outputs in John's work.
>Educator<
John is the former Director of SVA's Visible Futures Lab, a prototyping laboratory that supports Graduate level Designers and Artists. He most recently taught Sophomore Design Studio, Emergent Platforms, and Furniture Design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. He has previously taught architecture studio courses and has been an invited design critic at Columbia University, UPenn School of Design, UC Berkeley, California College of the Arts, University of the Arts, and Parsons The New School for Design. He is currently teaching online Rhino 3D modeling courses through the School of Visual Arts.
>Nomad<
In 2018 - maybe on a beach in Naxos, Greece - John and partner Jess decided that a paradigm shift in their lives was needed. Instead of working 48 weeks a year to do the things they loved for 4 weeks, they wanted a lifestyle that allowed them to do the things they loved all year round. From that conversation, DwnShifters was born and a year later they moved into a 2019 Ford Transit they converted themselves. We’re currently traveling North America and working remotely.