We Are Ninefold

Hi, we're Emily and Seth. We believe that every thing in our lives should be carefully crafted to be functional, spark joy, and embody unique artistic sensibilities.

Ninefold Design works with local artists and designers to create products for online retail. Our mission is to bring together design, engineering, and sustainability to create authentic, functional products designed with people at heart.

Our Story

We live together in a bustling community house in the heart of San Francisco – nine people who found each other through dance and share the mindset that living together is better than living alone. We cook and care for each other, hold community events (except during pandemics), and have adopted a pup named Barlow.

Following our dream to build a product development company is risky, but we believe that by working together with each other and with our community, we can make something amazing. This is how our artist collaborations were born. We know how talented and underappreciated some people in our community are, and we want to bring their art to the world. Not only does this provide individual artists an income source, but it also empowers them to take bigger risks and make more art to share.

Our Vision

Our collaboration doesn’t stop with artists – we're laying the groundwork to design new products in collaboration with customers. Let’s work together to make sure what we’re designing has functional results and works exceptionally well for the people who will be using our products every day.

Success for our company looks like success for everyone who touches a Ninefold product. We care about everyone who puts their time towards crafting Ninefold products and are excited about finding creative alternatives that are more sustainable and ethical than the traditional defaults.

Environmental sustainability is another core foundation. We strive to make all our packing material recyclable and are working to eliminate materials that would end up in landfills, minimize waste, and make shipping as efficient as possible. As our business grows, it will become increasingly easier for us to have a larger positive environmental impact.

Emily and Seth hiking and enjoying nature in Zion National Park, Utah.

Emily Doherty is a serial entrepreneur, and this is her third product company. She's a dancer, a blue belt in Jiu Jitsu, and a yogi. She enjoys bringing products to life that make people smile. As the founder of LMNO Design, many of Emily's past creations are now part of Ninefold.

Seth Heltsley has been a designer and engineer in Silicon Valley for over a decade. He’s a rock climber, backpacker, and loves all things in nature. Having logged a lot of hours in a chair, he designed the BackBadger to aid his own chronic neck and shoulder pain.

Featured Artist: Aimee Seaver

A San Francisco Bay Area native and lifelong artist, Amy has aphantasia, which is the inability to visualize images such as faces, shapes or colors. She particularly enjoys creating creature art and beautiful dark fantasy images, and wants to inspire other people with aphantasia (and other differently abled people) to express themselves creatively in their own ways.

Explore our collaborations with Amy and see more of her work at aimeecreature.weebly.com.