---
title: "About Handmade Cities"
meta_title: "About"
layout: "about"
description: "About Handmade Cities"
draft: false

features:
  - title: "About Handmade Cities"
    title_class: "mb-20 text-center text-white"
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    side: "center"
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    bg_img: 
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      img: "/images/starry_night.png"
    grid:
      - title: "Sponsor-free tech events"
        content: "We reject sponsorship deals because we must be allowed to criticize anyone’s software. Accepting “free” bags of money destroys our ability to change the industry."
        color: "#FC6D36"
        content_class: "text-white"
      - title: "An obligation to software quality"
        content: "The industry’s incentives are about imposing control and fleecing customers. We’ve abandoned the user’s quality of experience, agency over their software, and privacy."
        color: "#A456EA"        
        content_class: "text-white"
      - title: "Self-host wherever possible"
        content: "Anything essential to our conferences is processed in-house. E.g. When you register for an event we personally handle the process to generate your ticket—removing spying middlemen like Ticketmaster."
        color: "#6B8EE8"        
        content_class: "text-white"
      - title: "Healthy expansion"
        content: "As a [polyglot](https://vimeo.com/661662233), our founder intends to expand even outside the United States. Since we wish to retain independence, however, we’re only growing through increased audience support."
        color: "#60E3C4"                
        content_class: "text-white"

  - title: "Abner Coimbre"
    title_class: "text-white -mt-2"
    subtitle: "Founder"
    subtitle_class: "!text-[#F7CE3B]"
    image: "/images/people/abner_2022_512.webp"
    image_class: "rounded-full"
    section_class: "text-white"
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    content: "[Abner](https://abnercoimbre.com) is the founder of Handmade Cities and sole organizer for our conferences.<br><br>His professional story began when he left Puerto Rico for a yearlong internship at NASA. Abner was mentored on how they make software and after winning NASA’s Intern of the Year, he published an essay on their programming philosophy ([featured](https://observer.com/2017/07/a-look-into-nasa-coding-philosophy-kennedy-space-center-programming/) in the news.) He was promoted to launch control engineer.<br><br>Abner also started the [Handmade Network](https://handmade.network/), an online community learning to make quality software. He went on to work for Jonathan Blow multiple years and then Cyan Worlds to help ship the [Myst remake](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1255560/Myst/).<br><br>His concern of declining standards—both ethical and technical—pushed Abner to run tech conferences full-time, with ironclad conviction that we need independent organizers more than ever."

  - title: "Morgan Rammell"
    title_class: "text-white"
    subtitle: "Event Coordinator"
    subtitle_class: "!text-[#F7CE3B]"
    bg_color: "#060610"
    image: "/images/people/morgan_cropped_512.webp"
    image_class: "rounded-full"
    content_class: ""
    section_class: "!pt-24 text-white"
    content: "Morgan’s done corporate event planning for several years but is now interested in the indie space. She oversees the logistics of running and facilitating Handmade conferences, working with the venue to solve any issues that arise in real-time.<br>

  Born and raised in Washington state you’ll find Morgan snowboarding, hiking, camping, and even rock-climbing!"
  - title: "Phil Homan"
    title_class: "text-white"
    subtitle: "Technical Producer"
    subtitle_class: "!text-[#F7CE3B]"
    bg_color: "#060610"
    image: "/images/people/phil_homan_512.webp"
    image_class: "rounded-full"
    content_class: ""
    section_class: "!pt-16 text-white"
    content: "Phil Homan, who goes by [PH Test](https://phtest.tv/), is a Seattle developer with a knack for multidisciplinary work: live-performance visuals, experimental programs, games, and video production—often with tools he made himself!<br>

  Phil joined Handmade Cities to help Abner with matters related to streaming, recording, and A/V support at the conferences."
  - title: "Devon ([tek256](https://tek256.com))"
    title_class: "text-white"
    subtitle: "Editor"
    subtitle_class: "!text-[#F7CE3B]"
    bg_color: "#060610"
    image: "/images/people/devon.jpg"
    image_class: "rounded-full"
    content_class: ""
    section_class: "!pt-16 !pb-32 text-white"
    content: "Devon is a guy who makes things."  
---
