TechWears: Turning Circuit Boards Into Something Worth Celebrating

These custom awards, designed and created by TechWears, demonstrate the company's unique approach to sustainability by turning surplus circuit boards into meaningful recognition products.

What do you get when you combine technology, sustainability, and a love of design? For TechWears, the answer is distinctive awards and gifts made from upcycled circuit boards.

Founded by Drew Johnson who serves as Design Lead and Chief Executive Up-Cycler, TechWears designs and manufactures distinctive awards and bulk gifts from upcycled circuit boards. The company's mission is to transform an overlooked industrial material into products that celebrate technology, innovation, and achievement while keeping valuable materials in use at their highest possible value.

Giving Circuit Boards a Second Life

Hundreds of custom keychains await delivery, each crafted from upcycled circuit boards and designed to give valuable materials a meaningful second life.

Nothing evokes technology and innovation quite like a circuit board. Yet surplus and obsolete circuit boards are typically treated as waste rather than a valuable feedstock material.

TechWears takes a different approach. Rather than extracting commodity value through traditional recycling, the company preserves the form, character, and embedded value of the circuit board through upcycling.

“TechWears gives pre-consumer recycled circuit boards a second life by turning them into durable, attractive products people love to display,” Johnson explains.

The result is a unique approach to sustainability; one that keeps the material itself intact while transforming it into something meaningful.

Finding Room to Grow

TechWears founder Drew Johnson (left) collaborates with team members on a custom project in the company's workspace at the Warehouse Business Accelerator.

As TechWears began looking for ways to grow, Johnson needed space that would allow the company to expand without taking on the risk of a large, long-term commercial lease.

“We came to the Warehouse Business Accelerator because we were eager to grow TechWears and needed a place where we could scale up without taking on the risk of a large, long-term commercial lease,” Johnson says.

In Colorado Springs, the company was finding mostly 2,000+ square-foot spaces with three- to five-year commitments.

“The Warehouse gave us the flexibility to dig in, expand production, and begin to see what this business is capable of becoming.”

The Make It Accelerator, the Warehouse Business Accelerator’s 4-month cohort for manufacturers,  also played an important role in the company's development, providing strategy, networking, mentorship, and help identifying the next steps required to scale.

From Custom Awards to Major Customers

The company's growth is reflected in the customers it is now serving.

This year, TechWears has produced custom awards for Mastercard, Palantir Technologies, Workday, and dozens of other organizations, large and small.

That market traction demonstrates real demand for a more distinctive and sustainable approach to recognition awards.

Most recently, TechWears was certified at the Bronze Level through the Colorado Green Business Network, recognizing the company's ongoing commitment to environmental leadership and sustainable business practices.

The Power of Connections

For Johnson, the benefits of being part of the Warehouse Business Accelerator extend beyond physical space and programming.

TechWears has built valuable relationships and received referrals and opportunities through the Warehouse, Manufacturer’s Edge, Forge Campus tenants, Loveland Economic Development, and the broader Northern Colorado manufacturing and entrepreneurial community.

“For a small company like ours, that ecosystem matters,” Johnson says. “A conversation, introduction, or referral can turn into our next major customer or collaboration, so we appreciate when people take an interest in our success!”

That kind of connection is at the heart of the Warehouse Business Accelerator, where creating an environment where growing companies can find not only space, but also the relationships, resources, and support that can help move them forward.

Happy, Scrappy & Ready for a Design Challenge

When asked about TechWears' team and company culture, Johnson summed it up simply: “We’re happy, scrappy, and we love a design challenge.”

These days, some of the company's favorite projects start with someone saying “We need awards, but we don’t want to give people another generic crystal trophy. Can you help?”

“That’s our sweet spot. “Johnson says.

For TechWears, it's about taking something that might otherwise be overlooked and transforming it into something people are proud to display.  And that combination of creativity, sustainability, and manufacturing is exactly the kind of innovation we’re proud to support at the Warehouse Business Accelerator.