After some success in a previous business, David Hamlin, our founder, established Submaterial in 2006 while in Seattle. In 2010, global firm Gensler contacted David for a large custom wall covering project. He created the piece where he could, which was, at the time, his small home in Denver.
The success of this project created more opportunities for the company. After moving to New Mexico, Submaterial operated out of David’s garage before moving to a small studio in Rio Rancho, a bit bigger than the cottage but still compact.
As time passed, he wasn’t able to keep up with the demand alone, and the studio team began to grow. With a handful of fabricators, they upgraded to a few neighboring spaces in ABQ, adding more nearby studios until operating in so many separate spaces became untenable.
In 2019, the studio moved into a newly renovated 35,000 sq. ft. space. Today, we’re a team of 29 people who made over 121,000 square feet of product last year (2024).
We're proud of this building; it shows how far we've come as a company. What our founder started in 2006 has grown into a large studio that employs 29 people and produces an average of 2,300 sq. ft. of product weekly.
It's not just about the building, though, although we truly appreciate having every aspect of our process in one location. This building symbolizes our capacity for success, enabling us to expand to this scale. It’s being able to employ such talented and hard-working artists, provide a living wage, and offer them health insurance at no charge. In return, our team comes in every day working to innovate our fabrication, streamline our processes, flag and resolve pain points, and put such care into every piece they make.
There is such a focus in the corporate world on exponential growth as the primary marker of success. Submaterial has purposely tried to grow in a steady but sustainable way. We're grateful for all the successes and continue to learn from everything else.
Visibility is a big goal for us this year. We recently joined Material Bank and are thrilled by the interest in our products, especially our Wood Wall Covering. In May, we will return to ICFF for a second time and are excited to chat with designers and people in our industry.
Another focus is optimization, turning what we have into the best versions it can be. You might have noticed our snazzy new website (shoutout to Good & Gold for all their work on this 🎉), which makes navigating our page smoother and purchasing and custom inquiries a breeze. We’re also working on expanding our ready-to-ship products, so it’s easier to have a Submaterial piece in your home, without an 8-week lead time.
Additionally we are starting a new chapter of management of Submaterial, as David Hamlin, our founder, has stepped down from the Creative Director role.
All in all, we are at a very exciting time as a company and we are looking forward to what comes next!.
