In the summer of 2018, one of our founders, Philip, discovered the need for a coat hook in their Tesla Model S, as the older Teslas lacked a hook to hang up a jacket or blazer. For those with pets, it is well known that dog and cat hair spreads everywhere, and placing a clean jacket on a seat full of pet hair is not an option.
Philip then began designing a coat hook that could be hung on the headrest of the Model S and Model X. At the time, the headrests were adjustable, which allowed a small plastic hook to be attached in the space within the headrest. After several iterations, the design was finalized, and the first hooks were manufactured.
Philip then distributed these hooks to various people in the Tesla community, including Hamid, Vice President of the Tesla Club in Sweden. Hamid immediately wanted to purchase a larger quantity of hooks to sell to his customers who drove Teslas.
The hooks were a success at eCarExpo 2018, and after a few weeks, 4 3D printers were needed to keep up with the demand. What both Hamid and Philip did not know then was that this would be the start of Hamphi.com. Over the following six months, the foundation for our e-commerce site was laid with the development of more 3D-printed products, while the first stickers began to be designed.
When the product range was to be expanded, many prototypes were first 3D-printed, such as mud flaps and iPad holders. This was where Philip learned the limits of 3D printing and realized that they needed to start using their own molds to create the next collection of products for the website.
