Most AI was built to replace what makes things special. The Makers Program was built on the opposite belief: that AI should amplify the craft that makes a business worth caring about — not flatten it into something more manageable for an algorithm.
Starting today, we're opening applications to the Obvious Makers Program. Selected makers receive $5,000 to $25,000 in free Obvious credits, custom workflow design from the Obvious team, and hands-on support for as long as they're in the program. There's no cost to apply or participate.
The program has three tiers — Studio ($5,000), Workshop ($15,000), and Atelier ($25,000) — sized to the scale of the business, not to a growth model. Every application is reviewed by a person at Obvious. We're not running a lottery. We're looking for makers whose craft we can genuinely support.
“If we can help a blackboard company that's been at this since the 1940s spend less time on logistics and more time on craft, we've done something that matters.”
The first cohort includes New York Blackboard, a family-run slate blackboard company operating out of New York since the 1940s; Grovemade, a Portland-based workshop making desk goods from real materials; and Luvhaus Pottery, a Hudson Valley ceramics studio making functional pieces from local clay.
Applications are open now and reviewed on a rolling basis. Most applicants hear back within two weeks. If you make something the world needs more of, we want to hear from you.