Questions about Sweet Onion Creations

What’s the story behind the name?
How About “Ideas You Touch?”
Sustainable Modeling?
What is the history of Sweet Onion Creations?

What’s the story behind the name?

Design is complex and ongoing. To distill the idea to its most basic level we like to think of it as peeling away the layers. Our goal is to help provide a tool to do this or in effect, “peel away the layers of the onion.”

Plus, we thought it would be easier to remember than “Advanced Technical Modeling Solutions with CAD Integration.” Tough to say that and even harder to recall or get excited about.

How About “Ideas You Touch?”

Our tagline came about after a long afternoon of brainstorming and trying to distill exactly what our service provides. At the heart of our company’s identity is the simple act of taking ideas that exist and turning them into something you can touch. There is incredible benefit in making that a reality for the design process.

Even with all the computer power out there, there is still no substitute for holding a building in your hands and envisioning where the grill will go on the back deck or how the parking flow will effect local businesses.

Touching a model makes it easy to get excited about the future.

Sustainable Modeling?

One only has to look at the explosion of LEED certified buildings and realize that sustainability has arrived in the building industry. We are a part of this process, albeit at a small level. Still, we feel that our actions have an impact.

Our raw materials are able to be recycled and minimal waste produced (around 2-3%) every time we build a model.

We also purchase green tags from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to offset our power use. This comes from Montana wind farms. Our process is not perfect but we are working with our vendors to provide us with the most environmentally friendly products. We want our clients to feel comfortable with the company they keep.

What is the history of Sweet Onion Creations?

The idea for the business grew out of a snowboarding trip with a good friend who happened to be an architect.  Winding through the Gallatin Canyon on a snowy morning, our co-founder Jake Cook struck up a casual conversation about how architects design and build their models.

What happened next is fate.  An internship in graduate school had allowed Jake to see how engineers build parts in an afternoon with cutting-edge equipment developed at MIT.  Why not apply this to architecture?  After all, they were getting up to speed using computer aided design (CAD) programs, which was a key prerequisite.  And why not finally put to use a degree in physics and a Masters in marketing? 

Jake convinced his wife, Lee, into being a cofounder and she quickly put to use her extensive background in marketing research.  Lee’s research-based insights into technology trends and consumer behavior became the foundation for the business.  That summer fly fishing trips turned into brainstorming sessions on float trips down the Madison River.  A fly rod in one hand and a head full of ideas yielded Sweet Onion Creations and the tagline “Ideas You Touch”. 

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