#1
Alpenglow Industries, est. 2018
“I Can Make Something
Better” By Carrie Sundra
Why am I even doing this?These words go
through my head late at night as I’m staring
at yet another bill of materials, trying to figure
out how to wrangle another dollar or two of
parts cost out of a new kit. I mean, I could be
making bank working for pretty much anyone,
designing circuit boards or getting a new product
ready for manufacturing.I could even do it from
home now, thanks to Covid normalizing remote
work.Instead, I’m trying to figure out how to sell
soldering kits for $10 or $20 and make enough
money to employ a few people and live a modest
life in California. Yep, livin’ the dream.
But I know why I do this.After 20-plus years
of working for others in tech and designing
circuit boards, I’m sick and tired of being the only
technical woman in the room.The outlier in an
overwhelmingly toxic monoculture that tries to
normalize rude and disrespectful behavior by
claiming that’s just how nerds are, tries to prove
worth by one-upping “cleverness” and losing
all sight of practicality. They gatekeep their own
little castles by purposefully speaking in jargon
and then condemning anyone who dares to ask
the meaning of a word, and generally put down
anyone who just might have different priorities or
opinions, or Bob forbid, want to look feminine.
I look at this terribly awful and broken thing
and think, I can make something better. I’m not
the first to think this, and I won’t be the last. This
better thing might not be big, it might not single-
handedly change the world, but maybe if enough
of us start making better places and support
and encourage newcomers, maybe together we
can start making a dent.Maybe we can at least
create a small breath of fresh air, a place where
it’s OK to be a n00b at something, to experiment
without the fear of judgment, to ask the meaning
of words, and to make something pretty.
Figure
A
So I started a small business called Alpenglow
Industries and we try to do all of those
things.Encouraging people to pick up soldering
irons and learn through-hole and SMT soldering
skills is one thing we do through soldering kits
that are a little out of the ordinary. Our weather-
themed badge series is cute and approachable,
while our SMT kits feature artwork that’s creative
and sassy. We’re not afraid to put our values into
our products — Foxy Pride is an SMT kit that
allows you to pick your own LGBTQ pride colors
in LEDs, and we’re working on a Ruth Bader
Ginsburg-themed board (RBG RGB!) and another
called the FUterus.
We livestream and feature a variety of guests
who are technical and creative, many of whom
make great kits themselves.We make videos and
write posts about electronics and programming,
often sharing something we’ve recently dug into
or something new we’ve learned.
It’s all about community and making a
welcoming space, even if it’s just a corner of
the internet.Ah, maybe if I switch out that 0.1"
header and shunt combo for a switch, I can save 50
cents.Perfect!
31
make.co
Alpenglow Industries, KitCo, Learn to Solder Kits
CALIFORNIA
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