What we believe
Most things are designed to be thrown away and priced as though they weren't. We build the other kind.
An object you can't get inside is an object you don't own.
If this studio closes tomorrow, everything we've made still works. Forever.
Function is the requirement, not the goal. What makes an object special is the intention spent past the point where it was necessary.
It opens
- No adhesive anywhere in the primary assembly path.
- Standard fasteners only. No proprietary drivers, no security bits, no one-way clips.
- Opens with tools a person already owns.
- Opening it does not void anything.
It's serviceable
- Every wear item is field-replaceable: batteries, switches, bearings, seals, connectors, displays.
- Every object ships with an exploded diagram and a written service procedure.
- No serialized part pairing. A replacement part works because it's the right part, not because we blessed it.
Parts exist
- Every field-replaceable part has a name, a part number, and a price.
- We stock them for a minimum of ten years from the last unit sold.
- Where a part is a standard commodity, we say so and tell you where else to buy it.
It's sovereign
- Core function never requires an internet connection, an account, or a server we operate.
- No telemetry by default. If an object ever reports anything, it's opt-in, it's disclosed, and it's readable.
- Your data is local, and it's exportable in a format that will still open in twenty years.
It's documented
Every object ships with, or publishes:
- Schematics
- Firmware source
- Bill of materials, to the extent our suppliers permit
- Mechanical drawings sufficient to make a replacement part
- The service manual
It's upgradable where upgrading makes sense
- Where an object contains compute, the compute is a module. The enclosure is designed to outlive it.
- Firmware is user-flashable, over a physical connection, without our permission.
- We do not remove features from objects you already own.
Materials are honest
- Material is what it appears to be. No finishes imitating another substance.
- Wear is allowed to show. Objects are designed for how they'll look in year ten, not on the unboxing table.
- Country of origin and manufacturer are disclosed.
What we won't do
- Glue an enclosure shut
- Use a fastener you can't buy
- Require an account to use a thing you bought
- Break an object remotely, for any reason
- Pair parts to serial numbers
- Ship a product we don't stock parts for
- Discontinue support as a sales tactic
Nothing becomes an orphan
If Special Objects ceases operating, we will publish everything: design files, schematics, firmware source, mechanical drawings, supplier documentation, and tooling records for every object we ever sold — under a license permitting anyone to manufacture, repair, and modify them.
Versions
This is version 0.1. It will change, and every version stays published, so you can see what we changed and when.
If an object of ours fails this standard, tell us. That's a defect, not a preference. jordan.snyder@gmail.com
| v0.1 · 2026-08 | First public draft. |