Beth Khalifa quoted saying “RICA can do a number of things: increase awareness of local talent and expertise, increase public understanding of contemporary art, showcase Raleigh as an artistic force on a national scale, increase both the pool of artistic talent and the pool of enthusiasts, and continue to nurture the arts as an element of why Raleigh is a great place to live.”

Read the full article: New art institute hope to stoek Raleigh’s creative fire, Teaching the cutting edge by Rebekah L. Cowell

Near the beginning, there was the Cobbler. This one-stop shop combined customization, ergonomics, just-in-time manufacturing and customer service to create good products that were integral to local cultures. The problem was that it took 3-4 hours to make a shoe.

Utilizing mass production techniques, net assembly time of shoemaking was reduced to about an hour and fifteen minutes. However this division of labor has created a race to the bottom that neglects our economy and disrupts our environment.

There are now a myriad of digital technologies that have allowed us to completely rethink the way we make shoes – combining the best of cobbler and mass production techniques.

We have now created a proprietary technology that can make shoes in less than 15 minutes, opening up better customization, service, and more interesting jobs. Bringing on-demand assembly shops to downtowns across NC allows us to reestablish manufacturing into local culture. With pioneering Design for Disassembly (D4D), we will drive a new supply chain that will help make NC landfill-free.

Having invested years of research and lots of resources into intellectual property development and prototypes, we are currently looking for partners to help us commercialize this project.