Our Story

Flexyz started with a broken fidget, a classroom full of kids, and a simple comment from David: “I can make those.”

Before Flexyz, David had been 3D printing as a hobby since 2019, while Rachel spent 17 years working as a teacher. One day, some of Rachel’s students brought their broken 3D-printed fidget toys to school and asked if she could fix them. After attempting a few repairs with hot glue, Rachel sent David a picture. His response was simple: “I can make those.”

So he did.

David started printing articulated dragons for Rachel’s students, and they were an immediate hit. Soon other students wanted them. Then friends and families started asking for them too. What began as something fun to share with a classroom quickly started to feel like it could become something much bigger.

In 2023, we officially began growing North Coast 3D Printing and our Flexyz brand. What started with a single 3D printer on our kitchen table soon became four printers running in our garage—and we kept growing from there.

We began taking our products to local markets and festivals throughout Humboldt County, where we were able to see firsthand what people picked up, played with, came back for, and loved. Those hundreds of hours spent selling face-to-face helped us build a carefully curated collection of fidgets, clickers, keychains, magnets, toys, and gifts that are genuinely fun to interact with.

Today, Flexyz has grown into a family-run production studio with more than 150 products and partnerships with over 20 independent retailers throughout Northern California and Southern Oregon. Every Flexyz product is still made by our family right here in Humboldt County, just as it was when we started.

We use materials including plant-based PLA and wood-infused PLA, and we love that 3D printing allows us to make products locally, in small batches, with less excess inventory and waste than traditional mass production.

A lot has changed since that first dragon came off the printer, but the heart of our business hasn’t. We still love making things that people want to pick up, click, fidget with, collect, give as gifts, and—most importantly—have fun with.

From one printer on the kitchen table to thousands of Flexyz finding homes across the country, we’re incredibly proud of how far this little family business has come—and we’re excited to see where it goes next.