MEET THE MAKERS: Elizabeth McCoskrie
Liz is the type of person you want next to you on the top of a mountain when you are hesitating on a steep, icy, ski run. She’ll encourage you with a little glint in her eye, a smile, and a big, “Send it bub!''. Whether it’s backcountry skiing, an all night team relay run, or a Thursday night sailing regatta, Liz brings the witty comments, playful jests, and big belly laughs.
With a background in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Liz came to Flowfold to work with a small communal team. She likes working at a place where everyone pitches in. “Everyone sweeps the floor,” she says. Across the board the Flowfold team hones stellar craftsmanship, but as Liz points out it’s the diversity of minds that creates powerful potential. “Craft creates community because you are working with people who have a similar goal, and when you have people with similar interest and different minds you can create something pretty cool.”
“Creativity to me, in my life, is a sense of flow and connection to what you are doing. It’s a feeling. It flows out.”
She goes on to say, “Creativity to me, in my life, is a sense of flow and connection to what you are doing. It’s a feeling. It flows out.” You could say creating flow at Flowfold is Liz’s superpower.
Liz expands the concept of creativity beyond design and color. Her creative genius lies in systems thinking, and at a company that has many products, and manages multiple daily processes, a brain like this is irreplaceable. She brings flow state to the workplace by systematically designing everyday operations. Studied in “LEAN Manufacturing” she aims to create fluid motion, to make operations move smoother.
“I get excited about systems and flow and how to create things that are easy for everyone to understand and use, that do the work themselves.” Liz aims to create efficiency and, “To get things to happen on their own, intuitively”.
This means making sure the right things are in the right place at the right time. It’s like being in a really well laid out kitchen, where the hot plate is right next to the hot pan when you need it. To create this intuitive flow Liz looks at a process from start to finish. She thinks about layout, about how workstations communicate with each other, and about how physical movement of parts and pieces are related to time. In 2018 Flowfold expanded from 700 square feet to 4500 square feet, and in the process implemented many of Liz’s designs. With them in place an order can be received, made, and sent out in a matter of mere hours.
When Liz isn’t sending it on the slopes, she’s finding other ways to enjoy the seasons. She loves going for hikes on the Bold Coast with her dog Electra, and sailing around Casco Bay in the summer. And this winter she’s been getting cozy to macramé and 70’s up her plant collection.
LIGHTNING ROUND! 3 Questions with Liz
1. Liz, What is your favorite Flowfold product?
The large odyssey. It holds the perfect amount of stuff for a weekend getaway.
2. What is your favorite product to make?
Dopp kits, because they are fun to work with as a team. Getting the flow going between operators and machines feels fun, collaborative, and efficient.
3. What is the most recent adventure you’ve taken a Flowfold product on?
I took my minimalist wallet skiing. I can quickly pull it out of my purse and throw it in my jacket pocket and know I have the necessities.
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