The Wood Innovation Group - TWIG (est. 2012 as Outside the Box Meetup Group - OTB) is a network and community supported by the Wood First Program through Forestry Innovation Investment (FII). Additionally TWIG is made possible through contributions from companies and individuals working to advance the use of wood in the Pacific Northwest.
We hosted over 50 meetups with 35 special guests presenting on a range of wood-based topics. Our events took place over 10 venues across the city. This led to the formation, ideation and realization of numerous products, partnerships, services and businesses that are in operation today - Including TWIG, which re-branded in December 2020.
TWIG is developing pathways, programs, events and a network for people to bring new innovations into the world, and contribute to adding value to BC's forest resources, while strengthening collaboration within the industry,
Organizing Members
Patrick Christie
Daly Co / Space
Patrick is an independent contractor, entrepreneur and artist doing work primarily under Daly Co. Design with a foundation of Industrial Design from Emily Carr University. He has been with TWIG since the beginning, seeking connections after school stepped into the organizer role in 2017. Wood is his creative medium, and specifically wood from BC as he sees the impact it can have on a social, environmental and cultural level.
He practices process that create new connections within material, organizations, industry and people to create projects that are circular in their economy. His work can be found across the city of Vancouver and he works out of Space - an ecosystem of shared spaces he is the founder of in East Vancouver offering creators and innovators space to work.
Chris Chan
Rangate / Alpine / CutterShare / Soukup
Chris is a co-operator of a a cluster of solid-wood processing and offsite construction equipment businesses. Rangate, Alpine Workshops, CutterShare, and Soukup America are all businesses servicing the U.S. and across Canada with daily operation from East Vancouver.
Chris and team have enjoyed and benefited from the local communities, knowledge, conversations, arts, and the love of wood. Outside the Box, now TWIG, provides vital human connections where we live and work. It is similar to the tree roots in a forest, where a community can strive and grow healthier through sharing experiences and taking actions together. Let us spark a new conversation!
Neil Godin
Neil Godin International
Neil is a business consultant, trainer and coach based in Vancouver. In a career that spans more than 35 years, he has worked with companies and organizations of all sizes and kinds, and in recent years has focused on the value added wood products industry. He loves wood and enjoys working with people “who make (beautiful) things out of wood, before they sell it.”
He was an early member and co-organizer with Outside The Box, and is excited about its metamorphosis into TWIG. While he (apparently) lacked talent in woodworking (his Grade Seven carpentry teacher said he would pass him only if he promised not to return the following year), he went on to design and construct many pieces of furniture for his homes.
Jason Chiu
CAWP
Jason is the Managing Director at the UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing. He is one of the founders and organizers of the TWIG (Outside the Box) groups. The meetup groups was formed to inspire and educate industrial designers to incorporate wood as natural and sustainable building material, and to connect the designers to manufacturers with capabilities to assist with production.
He has worked in the wood products industry for over 20 years primarily focused on process improvement initiatives in larger scale manufacturing. He brings his knowledge and expertise of the industry to assist designers and start-ups with product development and manufacturing solutions.
Credits
TWIG is possible through funding from the Forestry Innovation Investment's Wood First Programs & the UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP)—a training, education and technical services organization that promotes the growth and development of value-added manufacturing with wood.
In Memory of Art Paul & Judson Beaumont