When Ty Lindenthaler and Shae Brown first began brainstorming ideas for a business, they looked to combine their own distinctly different passions.
“When she was going to university we had ideas to build arcades and something that sort of brings together software engineering and woodworking,” says Lindenthaler.
What resulted was Linden Tree Designs, a business specializing in 3D wooden topography artwork.
“We didn’t see any maps yet that combined 3D topographic maps along with epoxy for the ocean and the water and we thought that combination would look really cool,” says Brown.
“We realized it was something we could do if we had a CNC (Computer Numerical Control machine),” says Lindenthaler.
“So we purchased the parts and built a small hobbyist CNC and next thing you know we had a prototype.”
From there the orders started coming in, with customers able to choose any location utilizing Google Maps. From there Brown enters mapping data from around the region into a computer software program to make a 3D model.
“We pick and choose the rivers and the oceans and the places where we want to pour epoxy and include that in the 3D model,” says Brown.
“From there we use tool paths to go over the 3D model and basically turn it into code that the CNC can operate on.”
Some maps can take longer than others.
“One map that we did took about 90 hours straight just for CNC time,” says Brown.
“Which doesn’t even include the time that Ty puts in for the labour or actually building the frame and pouring the epoxy.”
So far Lindenthaler and Brown have shipped maps all over the world, with each creation having its own special story.
“They can be the place where they first met their loved one or somewhere that they’ve gone on adventures with their parents,” says Brown.
“It means a lot hearing what these pieces mean to people.”
As for what the future holds, it’s a business that the couple hopes will become their fulltime pursuit.
Cole Sorenson
