WHY PIONEER?

  • Good question. Pioneer Design Lab broke ground in 2020 with a mission to create the dopest, most inspiring designs. We just wanna see fire emojis under all our work 🔥🔥🔥. Our name is rooted in our desire to explore and experiment. And no, we’re not talking about traveling on the Oregon Trail with beakers and test tubes. We’re talking about venturing into different areas of design. Pioneer Design Lab is not focused on a single type of design. Our aim is to design it all! Our ever expanding interests include footwear, fashion, architecture, furniture and a bunch of other stuff. Whether it’s making an unfamiliar product or learning a new technique, we pioneer into new territories of design to expand our skillset and our work. We also put in the hours to refine our craftsmanship to ensure that the quality of our work reflects the thoughtfulness of our designs. It is through this multi-disciplinary process that our unique and meticulous designs emerge. We believe that by learning from other disciplines we can approach design with a refreshing perspective.

    Join us on our journey and discover what we make next!

CONNECT WITH THE CREATOR

  • YERRR!

    I'm Tony, a Brooklyn native with Guatemalan roots and a serious passion for design.

    Growing up, I would look forward to opening gifts on Christmas Eve. My mom would always hook me up with a new Lego set. After a few years, I amassed a pretty big collection of foot piercing plastic bricks. I had fun building houses, boats, vehicles, and whatever else I could imagine. I think that’s where my creativity and interest in design began to develop.

    Fast forward a few years and that interest started to focus around buildings. So I decided to pursue a career in architecture at the City College of New York. I commuted an hour and a half from south Brooklyn to Harlem almost everyday. But it was worth it, cuz I fell in love with architecture. I really enjoyed honing my design skills during this time. I was fairly decent at it, got a couple awards too, not to brag or anything. I received my Bachelor of Architecture in 2014 and 4 years later I received my license to practice architecture in New York. Yup, ya boy is a licensed professional. Holla at me!

    Now you’re probably thinking “ok this is a bio for an architect, where dafuq do sneakers come in?”. Well, sneakers were kinda always there. I grew up in Brooklyn, where sneakers are a big part of the culture. Naturally, I became a sneaker head and built a pretty decent collection of neck breaking kicks. So after 5 years of intense work in the architecture field, I decided to take the design skills I developed with architecture and apply them to footwear. It was time to start my quest to learn everything I can about footwear design. I read a bunch of books, followed a ton of designers, and signed up for the Air Jordan 3 class with the Shoe Surgeon. After completing that class in 2019, I realized that my goal of becoming a footwear designer was definitely achievable.

    With this newfound inspiration and motivation, I hit the ground running. I invested in a few tools and materials and started practicing. As I continued working on my craft, I became more interested in leather craft in general and eventually just the idea of making. Now that I was bringing my ideas to life, I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to design and make everything, not just sneakers. I realized the maker in me had been neglected since the last time I picked up a Lego brick. The special thing about Legos is not only do you get to design but you get to materialize your ideas. That was missing in my life. Now that I’m reconnecting with the maker in me and refining my design skills, life has been more fulfilling.

    All of this led to Pioneer Design Lab. Not only is it an outlet for my creativity but a place where I can share the joy of designing and making with all of you.

    Thank you for visiting. I hope our work inspires you!