Budmen Industries

03/04/2026

Last Thursday our founders Stephanie and Isaac gave a talk at the Everson Museum of Art about failure, darkness, and discovery, and their not-so-straight journey creating the Please Touch version of Adelaide Robineau’s Scarab Vase, known as the Mona Lisa of Ceramics.

The evening kicked off with an introduction to our Creative Discovery Method, how our projects start with a big question, and why we believe life is not a straight line. The most meaningful work comes from the detours, the failures, and the moments where you have to start over.

Then they shared the story of how they underestimated the monumental and elusive task of digitizing the Scarab Vase, how they had to challenge every assumption they started with, and what happens when you celebrate failure.

Applied Curiosity in action.

The evening ended with audience members having the opportunity to interact with the Please Touch version of the Scarab Vase, something that hasn’t been possible for 115 years.

Thank you to the Everson Museum of Art and to everyone who came out to celebrate curiosity, failure, and discovery with us.



Photos:

03/04/2026

Last Thursday our founders Stephanie and Isaac gave a talk at the Everson Museum of Art about failure, darkness, and discovery, and their not-so-straight journey creating the Please Touch version of Adelaide Robineau's Scarab Vase, known as the Mona Lisa of Ceramics.

The evening kicked off with an introduction to our Creative Discovery Method, how our projects start with a big question, and why we believe life is not a straight line. The most meaningful work comes from the detours, the failures, and the moments where you have to start over.

Then they shared the story of how they underestimated the monumental and elusive task of digitizing the Scarab Vase, how they had to challenge every assumption they started with, and what happens when you celebrate failure.

Applied Curiosity in action.

The evening ended with audience members having the opportunity to interact with the Please Touch version of the Scarab Vase, something that hasn't been possible for 115 years.

Thank you to the Everson Museum of Art and to everyone who came out to celebrate curiosity, failure, and discovery with us.

Everson Museum of Art Stephanie Rose Isaac Budmen

Photography by: Payton Hirsch

02/24/2026

This Thursday Feb 26 from 6-7pm co-founders Stephanie and Isaac Budmen will be giving a talk at the Everson Museum of Art about failure, darkness, and discovery, and their not so straight journey creating the Please Touch version of Adelaide Robineau’s Scarab Vase.

It’s free to attend. See you all there!

02/24/2026

We are thrilled to welcome six new members to the Everson Museum of Art Board of Trustees: Dirk Sonneborn, Louise Rosenfield, David J. Foor, Ed Cronk, Isaac Budmen, and Gia Mahmoud ⭐️⁠

Together, the Everson’s new trustees will bring a range of expertise, leadership, and perspectives that will support the Museum’s mission to engage the Central New York community.

View the full announcement:
https://everson.org/news/everson-museum-of-art-welcomes-new-board-members/

10/13/2025

We're a week away from our talk in DC! If you can't make it to our talk, your voice still belongs in the rooms where decisions are made.

We’re gathering curiosity from all over: classrooms, kitchen tables, maker spaces, and bus stops and carrying them, together, to the people who write our laws.

Please join the Curiosity Movement and write a card, telling Congress why your curiosity matters: https://www.letcuriositylead.org/

Our promise: We will take every card and hand deliver them to Congressional offices. Because curiosity is a civic virtue. The questions we ask today shape the country we become.

We believe curiosity fuels creativity, innovation, education, and community well-being. Curiosity is not a personal trait, it is a practice and civic virtue worthy of national investment and protection. A Budmen Industries project.

09/28/2025

09/28/2025

In chaotic or uncertain times, the most important question isn’t What is happening? It’s What can I do to help? From Crisis to Change Some of the world’s most powerful innovations began as rapid responses to crisis and became global game-changers. The proverb “necessity is the mother of inve

09/19/2025

We started with a question: Can we digitize the Scarab Vase, the iconic porcelain masterpiece of Adelaide Robineau?

We were honored to speak at the Everson Museum of Art at the 27th annual Arts & Crafts Conference about our process of digitizing and 3D printing Adelaide Robineau’s iconic Scarab Vase.

This project seriously challenged us at every step. 3D scanning presented enormous challenges dealing with refractive materials and incredibly detailed repeating elements. We thought that would be the hard part, but 3D printing a Please Touch version was even more challenging to successfully achieve the details and material properties.

The Please Touch vase is now on exhibit at the Everson Museum of Art, go check it out!

08/12/2025

Do you know an educator who puts creativity into everything they do? Who puts student curiosity at the center of every lesson? Tell them to join us for the Collaborative Educators Summit!! A free 2 day event full of collaboration, curiosity, and change making! Happening next week on Aug 21 & 22 in East Syracuse, New York.

Tune in for the keynote “Following Curiosity” by Stephanie Budmen and Isaac Budmen, a deeply human invitation to cultivate a practice of inquiry across your personal and professional life. Followed by diverse breakout sessions by Mary Rice from the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Marguerite Mitchell from Redhouse Arts , Molle DeBartolo from American High, Monica Andrews from the Everson Museum, Amy Stewart from MACNY, and so many more incredible sessions, this year’s Collaborative Educators Summit is sure to be one you don’t want to miss.

Register for your spot today: https://sites.google.com/esmschools.org/2024-collaborative-educators-s/home

07/24/2025

We asked the question to 70+ students: "Are Humans Robots?" At the start of the program, there were definite No's but after completing a biomimicry robotics activity, we asked the question again, and the answers had changed! Some students said Yes! Definitely! some said No, and some went back and forth between the two.

We had a blast working with students from Geneva City Schools and Geneva 2030, looking forward to the next time!

06/29/2025

One year ago, we launched Curious Critter Corners: permanent installations at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. This project brought together curiosity, creativity, technology, and community.

This wasn’t just about building interactive experiences for the zoo (though that was amazing in itself). It was about sparking curiosity and asking questions.

More than 50 high school students experienced firsthand how science, technology, engineering, art, and design can come together to solve real-world problems.

It brought attention and conservation awareness to our local zoo and the animals that call it home.

And it was made possible by so many generous hands, educators, designers, engineers, supporters, and sponsors, who believed in the power of hands-on learning.

Thank you to everyone who helped bring this to life. Your support, time, and creativity made a powerful impact.

With gratitude to:
Rosamond Gifford Zoo
Think Variant
Cordura Brand
80/20
Tracy Lumber
Erie21 Le Moyne
Le Moyne College
Keenan Center at Le Moyne College

12/21/2024

Co-founders Isaac and Stephanie were on the radio talking about inquiry based learning and curiosity.

Have a listen 👂

Isaac and Stephanie Budmen and their students from the Keenan Center at Le Moyne College dive into the transformative power of curiosity and how it drives education. Focusing on inquiry-based learning, they share insights into how encouraging students to ask questions and explore new ideas leads to deeper understanding and engagement in STEAM and beyond.

Listen anytime ➡️ https://bit.ly/3Z8xDDq