What We Do
We design and build systems that work and last. Some are digital. Some are physical. All are made carefully, from first principles — starting with context and function, then materials and constraints.
Work
Core internet software development since 1986.
Work includes foundational tools, applications, and systems created during the formative years of the public internet, as well as original frameworks and platforms developed in-house.
Selected work
- VINES Mail for Macintosh — a mail client for Banyan VINES, enabling message exchange with DOS and Windows clients.
- InternetWorks Browser — an early web browser from BookLink Technologies, introducing tabbed browsing.
- AIM — AOL Instant Messenger.
- PantaServ — the first web-native database management system, built on Berkeley DB.
- calculator.com — founded, developed, and operated as a large-scale public web service.
- AWA — a minimal site engine with an admin interface, using templates, blocks, and JSON storage.
Clarity over complexity. Stability over novelty.
Design and production of functional objects grounded in material understanding, durability, and daily use.
Work spans ceramics, textiles, luggage, and industrial design, with an emphasis on building from first principles rather than styling or trend.
Selected work
- a.d ceramics — kitchenware designed for daily use, balancing form, function, and longevity.
- GadaboutGear — original textile design developed into collections of casual wear, towels, and bags.
- Hydrokinitron — a faucet awarded First Place in the 1997 industrial design competition sponsored by Delta Faucet.
Function before appearance. Structure before surface.
Development of recipes and formulations approached as system design: tested, repeatable, and refined through use.
Work focuses on understanding ingredients as materials, processes as structures, and outcomes as something meant to be reliably reproduced.
Selected work
- Sea Salt & Honey — a cookbook of 100 original recipes, published in 2021 by HarperCollins.
- Arepa — “food for your skin,” a line of organic cold-process soaps, creams, balms, and oils.
- Recipe development — iterative testing, documentation, and refinement, treating formulation, curing, and performance as an integrated system.
Process over presentation. Repeatability over guesswork.
How We Think
Start with context and function.
Choose materials and methods deliberately.
Work within constraints.
Design for time, not trends.
Let aesthetics arise from constraints and intention.
Work With Us
Athera Design collaborates selectively. If you’re building something that requires discipline and deep knowledge across systems, materials, or methods, we should talk.