[Current Co-Chair]
HAIK TOKATLYAN
Haik Tokatlyan is the owner and creative director of Jaywalk Studio, a boutique design and fabrication firm located in Woburn, MA. The studio serves a diverse range of industries, from architecture to medical devices, specializing in the design and fabrication of unique objects and architectural elements. The company functions under two brands, Jaywalk Studio and Jaywalk Medical, both of which emphasise a research and collaboration based approach to problem solving.
Haik's career began in restoration, working on fine art, historic objects, and automobiles. His journey eventually led him to the Wentworth Institute of Technology where he studied industrial design. With a wide-ranging background and extensive experience, Haik seamlessly blends traditional craftsmanship with modern technology and digital tools. This fusion allows Jaywalk to create one-of-a-kind art installations and low-volume hand made products tailored to specific applications.
[Current Co-Chair]
PATRICK KANA
Patrick Kana is a furniture maker and educator based out of Boston, MA. Patrick is the Associate Director of Makerspaces and Lecturer for the College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD) at Northeastern University and owner of Kana Studios. Patrick began apprenticing in Lutherie at age 16 and continued studying under multiple master craftsmen through 2013, both in the US and abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. Patrick went on to receive his MFA in Furniture Design in 2015 from the School for American Crafts at RIT. He exhibits widely across the US, and is represented by galleries in New England and New Mexico. Patrick has been an active member of MKR|MGR since 2019, and has lead community build projects in the Boston in collaboration with Payette, Digital Ready Boston and the BSA, including mentoring student-built public furniture installations in Boston and Oakland, CA. In 2021, he was awarded Maker of the Year Finalist by Australian Wood Review Magazine as well as the 2024 CAMD Excellence in Teaching Award for his sustained community impact on students and faculty in the realm of fabrication. With a passion for education and mentorship, he spends his weeks teaching fabrication each semester at Northeastern, mentoring a Makerspace staff of over two dozen and creating speculative work in his studio for clients and exhibitions.
[Co-Chair Emeritus]
PARKE MACDOWELL
Parke channels his background in the building trades to expand the role of the architect – strategically collapsing the architect/builder divide. Parke frequently consults on issues regarding complex geometry, scripting, and methods of full-scale fabrication and material prototyping. At Payette, he leads in-house fabrication initiatives and works across a range of projects within the firm to explore and implement innovative design strategies. With a special interest in the community-building potential of architecture, Parke also leads many of the firm’s pro-bono and outreach initiatives. Parke was previously at NADAAA, where he spearheaded their in-house fabrication and design-research studio.
[Founder]
JAY NOTHOFF
Jay Nothoff is the Fabrication Studio Manager at Sasaki, where he helps bridge design and making. Born and raised in the industrial Midwest, Jay comes from a long line of innovators who contributed to the modernization of the automotive and manufacturing industries in Flint and Detroit. His professional journey has taken him through a range of roles— sign shop fabricator, art director, shop manager, and IS/AV systems integrator—each building on the last. Along the way, he developed a deep understanding of systems thinking, material properties, economies of motion, and iterative design through prototyping and practice.
For over 20 years, Jay has been driven by the challenge of turning ideas into physical forms, using machines and materials as his creative tools. At Sasaki’s Fabrication Studio, he thrives in a collaborative environment, working with project teams across disciplines to integrate digital fabrication into the design process. His passion lies in supporting projects at all scales—helping designers and technologists explore, experiment, and bring their concepts to life.