Eric Bottelsen| Designer and Maker
I’ve been making things for as long as I can remember—ever since I could pick up a hammer and nail. At five years old, I was already turning discarded wood into imaginative creations. This creativity and desire to make has followed me throughout my life. I’m fortunate to have found a true passion for design, and even luckier to pursue it every day.
I thrive when I am solving problems. Design isn’t just about creating a beautiful product, but it is about creating beautiful solutions to complex problems. Whether User or production focused, I am always striving to find the best solution to each problem
At Boombah Inc., I’ve had the rare opportunity to own every step of the design and development process, creating innovative footwear that balances function, performance, and aesthetics. From concept to production,
Work Experience
Boombah Inc. | Senior Industrial Designer | 01/20/2024 - Present
Refocused as Lead Designer for Boombah Footwear, overseeing the end-to-end product development process. Responsible for project scoping, initial concept design, and technical development, while collaborating directly with manufacturing partners to ensure efficient production. Also led the final product presentation across digital platforms, including the company website.
Boombah Inc. | Industrial Designer | 9/16/2019 - 01/20/2024
Designed sporting equipment from concept to production across a wide range of sports. Primarily focused on revitalizing the Boombah footwear line, leading the redesign of all categories during a major transition to in-house manufacturing. Additional responsibilities included the end-to-end design of bags and the development of new storytelling guidelines for product launches on the company website.
Blackjack Lighting | Industrial Design Intern | 05/28/2019 - 09/13/2019
Summer internship collaborating closely with the design team on a variety of projects. Created 3D models, renders, and visual assets for the company website and catalog. Assisted in preparing production files for manufacturing and supported custom fixture projects for clients. Contributed to concept development for new lighting fixtures and system designs.
Interactive Neurorehabilitation at Virginia Tech| Designer | 12/13/17 - 5/18/19
In 2017, I joined a multidisciplinary research team at Virginia Tech focused on designing and producing a low-cost, high-impact at-home rehabilitation system for stroke patients. The project integrates insights from interaction design, medical rehabilitation, computer vision, and machine learning. As a member of the physical design team, I concentrated on shaping the user’s physical experience and journey with the system, developing therapeutic objects tailored to various phases of the recovery process.
Spaces by Apifni | Designer | 06/21/18 - 09/20/18
Collaborated with two other designers to develop a building block toy from concept to prototype. Led efforts in product design and co-created a Kickstarter campaign to secure funding and bring the project to market.
Kollmorgen | Graphic Designer | 08/01/18 - 10/25/18
https://www.kollmorgen.com/en-us/products/drives/servo/akd2g/akd2g-servo-drive/
Collaborated with another designer to develop the interactive interface for the AKD2G servo drive—the first full-color display introduced by Kollmorgen. Working directly with the inhouse engineering team we focused on user experience, functionality, and visual clarity to support industrial usability and system feedback.
Training
Basics of Knitting Technique-Manual Knitting - Hosted by Stoll North America
Studied fundamental knitting terms and techniques while creating a comprehensive sample reference book. Gained hands-on experience working with manual knitting machines to explore traditional methods and mechanical textile production.
CMS - Handling & Knitting Techniques - Hosted by Stoll North America
Completed training focused on machine maintenance, troubleshooting, and understanding the mechanical attributes of knitting machines. Gained practical skills in machine handling and knitting techniques to optimize production efficiency.
M1 Plus - Handling and Pattern Design - Hosted by Stoll North America
Completed knit programming training using M1 Plus software, with foundational instruction on pattern design techniques.
Accomplishments
Cooper Hewitt Access + Accessibility Exhibitor | 2018 - 2020
Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge Winner | 2018
Xingshi Cup Finalist | 2018
Eagle Scout | March 9, 2015
Publications
Aisling Kelliher, Andrew Gibson, Eric Bottelsen, and Edward Coe. 2019. Designing Modular Rehabilitation Objects for Interactive Therapy in the Home. In Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction (TEI ’19). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 251-257
Setor Zilevu, Thanassis Rikakis, Aisling Kelliher, Jinwoo Choi, Andrew Gibson, Eric Bottlesen, Jia-Bin Huang, Sarah Garrison, Steve Wolf, Aimee Reiss, Lois Wolf, Komal Sahu. 2018. A Machine Learning Approach for the Quantitative Assessment of the Upper Extremity Movement in Stroke Survivors, Conference on Progress in Clinical Motor Control: Neurorehabilitation, Penn State, July 23 – 25, 2018