Growing Business
Architecture graduate Jed Darland's latest idea was planted when clients admired his homemade garden stakes.
After taking the concept to the next level, his latest product, Plant Picket, was selected as a 2014 crafts finalist by Martha Stewart American Made.
American Made spotlights the next generation of great American makers and supports local handmade crafts.
Darland credits his Carnegie Mellon University education to prepare him for anything.
"The architecture education I received at CMU was one of the most thorough trainings on the widest variety of aspects that I could have ever received," Darland said. "I learned about everything: engineering, physics, math, design, drawing."
Darland, who is based in Seattle, chose Pittsburgh as the manufacturing and distribution hub for Plant Pickets, which are premium decorative, rot-resistant garden markers. Each stake contains a hand-painted ornament and is unique.
"Pittsburgh is a great place to start a business," he said.
He cited low costs for space and availability of labor as well as being a central location for distribution. The building where Plant Pickets are produced is home to other budding entrepreneurs.
"It's an exciting environment," Darland said. "Pittsburgh is friendly for inspiring entrepreneurs. People here want to see others succeed."
It's not just the product that's handmade. All of the machinery used to manufacture the stakes was created using salvaged materials and repurposed tools.
"For example, our gang saw was made from a 1954 Craftsman 100 and our branding irons from repurposed antique cast iron bottle cappers," Darland said.
The system is so efficient that one operator can manufacture one stake every minute.
Standard & Custom, LLC manufactures Plant Picket in conjunction with Darland's company, Daarlandt Partners Inc. The company is run by Filip Agren (A'11).
"Both Jed and I are good examples of students who finished the architecture program at CMU but chose not to work for architecture firms." Agren said. "Both of us left the traditional path of architecture to start our own businesses and get into manufacturing a variety of products."
Scott Smith is the shop director for the School of Architecture. Smith said that Darland spent many hours in the shop as a student both for class working on projects and as a shop monitor showing others how to use the machines.
"I was very impressed with his ingenuity," Smith said. "He's very inventive."
Darland's strategic branding and marketing consulting firm, Daarlandt Partners Inc., can take any idea from concept to distribution and has the capabilities of a full-scale design firm. Plant Picket is the first product launched commercially for this new joint venture. Along with supplying Plant Picket to more than 150 garden centers, the company designs and manufactures custom plywood retail displays for the product.
Darland's goals are ambitious. In the next five years, he plans to have 50 products on the market. His company is currently prototyping retail displays for a new line of bird feeders.
"As a full-scale design firm we can design and manufacture anything," he said.
Related Links: School of Architecture | Plant Picket | American Made 2014 Crafts Finalist