01
The world is changeable.
The way things are is not necessarily the way they must remain.
We respect what came before us without assuming it represents the limit of what is possible.
About
Budmen Industries
We create, teach, and help organizations navigate complex challenges through inquiry, making and discovery.
Budmen Industries is an applied curiosity practice where we create possibilities through inquiry.
We work across design, manufacturing, technology, art, and education. We make objects, develop experiences, explore ideas, and bring people together to accomplish things that didn’t exist before.
These activities may appear different, but they are connected by a common belief:
The world is changeable, and we have the capacity to participate in changing it.
We believe that capacity exists in far more people than are regularly encouraged to exercise it.
Our work is about discovering what is possible, making those possibilities real, and helping others develop the confidence and ability to do the same.
We change things.
And we help others discover that they can, too.
Meet the Budmens
Stephanie Budmen and Isaac Budmen
Stephanie and Isaac Budmen are inventors, designers, and educators based in Syracuse, New York. Their work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the London Science Museum, and the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum. During the pandemic, they produced 3.5 million face shields for hospitals in 45 days. Under NSF funding, they've led inquiry-based education programs that have reached approximately 13,000 students over the last four years. They run Budmen Industries, an applied curiosity practice, which they've kept open for fifteen years.
Together they wrote Applied Curiosity, published September 18, 2026: the illustrated field guide to their practice. tryappliedcuriosity.com →
What we believe
02
People are capable of exceptional things.
We believe changemakers can be found, and changemakers can be made.
Exceptionalism is not a claim of superiority over others. It is the conviction that we are capable of accomplishing things beyond what our current circumstances might suggest.
03
Action creates possibility.
We do not wait for possibility to give us permission to act. We act to discover what becomes possible.
04
Curiosity is a practice, not a personality trait.
We don’t simply ask what is possible. We participate in finding out.
05
Meaningful change is made together.
A small collection of committed people, united by shared standards and a willingness to work, can accomplish things that appear improbable from the outside.
Cyborg Sculpture: Sonochromatic Scale, with Neil Harbisson →
06
The work matters more than the performance of work.
We would rather demonstrate a possibility than endlessly describe one.
07
Our greatest impact may be what others do next.
We want people to leave our orbit more capable of pursuing possibilities of their own.
Our mission
To create possibilities through inquiry and help people discover their capacity to change things.
Our vision
A world in which more people recognize their capacity to shape what comes next, and have the curiosity, confidence, and practical ability to act on it.
Our beliefs become actionable through the Creative Discovery Method. It is a repeatable practice for navigating the unknown.
The cabinet
Specimens from fifteen years in the unknown on purpose.
- BI-2020-CNN CNN This librarian is using 3D printing to help protect health care workers in NYC
- BI-INS-MMOA The Metropolitan Museum of Art Met Media Lab. Picasso dimensionalization, Bocconi sculpture scan, Van Gogh brushstroke research, and objects for the Please Touch collection.
- BI-1910-SV Scarab Vase Read the story
- BI-2020-FN Fox News 3D-printing technology battles coronavirus outbreak
- BI-2020-CBS CBS Cornonavirus Update: 3D Brooklyn Printing Face Shields For Healthcare Workers
- BI-INS-SMI Smithsonian FUTURES · Cyborg sculpture, with Neil Harbisson
- BI-2020-NBC NBC With coronavirus mask and ventilator shortages, Americans in March 2020 can learn from March 1776
- BI-2018-BD Buildini Read the story
- BI-INS-CMOA Carnegie Museum of Art Sculpture
- BI-2020-TNY The New Yorker How 3-D Printers Are Helping to Fight the Coronavirus
- BI-2020-WIR Wired When Government Fails, Makers Come to the Rescue
- BI-INS-AMS ArtScience Museum Singapore Cyborg sculpture, with Neil Harbisson
- BI-2020-FS Face Shield Read the story
- BI-PRESS-PEO People
- BI-INS-LSM London Science Museum 3D printed work
- BI-2018-AD Architectural Digest Philadelphia Spotlights Design That Solves Problems and Builds Community
- BI-2020-TV The Verge 3D PRINTERS ARE ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
- BI-INS-HNM Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum From Wearables to Cyborgs, permanent exhibition
- BI-2020-FOR Forbes Protect Healthcare Workers: 3D Printer Groups Race To Help 2020 PPE Shortage
- BI-2019-NA Neil's Antenna Read the story
- BI-2020-MAK Make: From Design to Distribution: The Amazing Story of the IC3D Budmen Face Shield
- BI-INS-CCDB Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona Cyborg sculpture debut, with Neil Harbisson
Recognized by
2026
STEAM Project of the Year
A current outstanding technology project, invention, or process designed, invented, or constructed in Central New York.
The Scarab Vase
2026
SRC CNY STEM Champion Award
Recognizes community and educational leaders in Central New York who advance science, technology, engineering, and math education.
Budmen Industries
Let's Work Together
Stephanie and Isaac Budmen are on a mission to inspire curiosity and exploration. Their passion for discovery has lead them to give talks, workshops, and lectures at venues like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harvard University, SxSW, Haystack Mountain School for Craft, the AIGA and many more. They are always eager to share the Creative Discovery Method with those eager to unlock their own potential.
Have an impossible question or a project that sparks curiosity? Want to bring Budmen Industries to your community? Connect with us on our inquiry page to start your journey.
Work With UsQUESTION NO. 001-0000-00
What if the unknown holds no threats, only opportunities?
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