Louisville’s own Tyler Deeb is kicking off the AIGA Lou year with a speaking event on Friday, January 23. Tyler turned his freelance work into the successful brand Misc. Goods Co. and is raising funds for his new product, Coil, through Kickstarter.

Deeb quit his day job at the Southern Seminary in 2012 to found Pedale Design, a Louisville-based art direction and graphic design company who works with clients that range from start ups to big businesses, advertising agencies to non-profit charities. Following the success of a Kickstarter for a deck of playing cards (raising 2,345% of his goal), Deeb parlayed his profit into creating the startup Misc. Goods Co. Now he’s done it again by surpassing his Kickstarter goal for Coil, which will become part of the Misc. Goods Co. line once it is manufactured.