December 2, 2015
The Hi-Fi Case
Maker Spotlight
Can’t wait to see these again at our Chicago Holiday Fair! Garrett Galayda is the genius behind these good looking speakers and we can’t wait to get our hands on a HiFi Case this weekend!
Have you always been passionate about design?
I grew up around music and design. My dad played bass in a garage band playing covers of everything from the Beatles to Grand Funk Railroad and Alice Cooper. He also taught me the basics of electronics. He actually built a portable boombox when I was a kid that he took to his construction job so I guess I could point back to that moment at which this all started. I also started to get an eye for design around that time when my first band needed a logo and flyers. I’m now a creative director at a digital agency by day and working on HiFi Case at night. In one way or another I’ve basically been a designer and musician for the last 15 years.
When/Why did you start working in this particular craft/field?
I played bass in a handful of bands for 15 years in and around Chicago. After my last band split up i found I had alot of time on my hands. Music is a big part of my life and so I started collecting vinyl records and rediscovering all the cool old HiFi gear that was floating out there. At some point I saw the suitcase boombox concept and thought I could build this for myself for fun. I had no intentions of taking my project and turning it into a business but my friends started asking me to build for them and the rest just sorta snowballed from there.
What do you think sets your designs apart from others?
I take the dieter rams approach to usability in product design. I feel my cases are more deliberately organized and geared towards how they will be used in real life settings. Amp controls on the right, inputs grouped together, power plug hidden out of the way and so on.
What has been your proudest/favorite moment since creating your business?
Getting to meet other creative folks has really been the best part about this business. My favorite moment was when I met Delicate Steve at his show in wicker park over the summer. Such a great energy at his shows, he was stoked to have his own HiFi Case.
How does the city you live in influence your work?
I couldn’t run this business if I didn’t live in Chicago. The city has been great to me and the suburbs have been a great stomping ground for digging up vintage suitcases. The midwest is full of great stuff to pick.
What valuable experience/knowledge did you have before starting your business?
Knowing your limits.
What are some inspirations for your work?
Personally I really enjoyed the aesthetics of Boardwalk Empire and that time period in US industrial/product design. I try to find cases that are well built and overly engineered with big heavy hardware. I feel like products from that time period had an extra industrial feel to them that slowly gave way to cheaper materials.
