Among the resident artists of the Hot Shops Art Center in downtown Omaha, those painting landscapes, throwing clay and glassblowing intricate ornaments, inventor James Hermsen can be found 3D printing and assembling medical innovations. The founder and owner of Suh Hermsen Strap LLC, he makes, sells and donates specialized eyewear around the country and abroad. 

“You come in here, you see me in the shop, but there’s a lot of people who walk through the door,” Hermsen said. “There’s a lot of people who I work with outside of here.”

Hermsen said he’s proud of his small, flexible team, made up of him and one employee. The Omaha community, he said, has put him on a path of “organic growth.” He thanked his co-inventor, Dr. Donny Suh, as well as the assistance he received from local education institutions and their respective business support resources. 

Hermsen specifically spoke on the contributions of UNeMed and the Metropolitan Community College Prototype Design Lab on his journey. He described his venture as one born from collaboration. 

UNeMed is the tech transfer office of the University of Nebraska Medical Center — turning research into operational products and companies. 

The MCC Prototype Design lab on the Fort Omaha Campus is for both MCC students and residents of the wider metropolitan area. It offers access to advanced machinery and experts to bring their ideas to life. For paid monthly to annual memberships, the open-access makerspace has equipment for everything from woodworking and metalworking to vinyl cutting and plastic modeling.

The team at the MCC Prototype Design Lab described the setting as a 10,000-square-foot hub where “organic collaboration” occurs among users and technicians. The lab, they said, provides members of the public with hands-on training and workshops that help people shape their ideas.

MCC Director of STEM Pam Petersen said she has witnessed multiple projects scale into viable ventures. 

“There’s been lots of success stories,” Petersen said. “James is one of them.”

A carpenter and inventor with a long list of work experience, Hermsen emphasized that access to the 3D printer at the MCC Prototype Design Lab was “instrumental” in developing the pieces for his hand-assembled products. He said it enabled him to go to market quicker. 

“I went from not having access to resources to manufacture a medical device to immediately upgrading the straps that we were making to medical grade,” Hermsen said.

He said the primary product and revenue generator that came out of the lab is his patented ergonomic straps licensed through UNeMed. The adjustable wrappings go around a medical professional’s head, connect with wearable loupes and better distribute pressure caused by the heavy magnifiers hanging from one’s nose and ears. 

For charitable causes, Suh Hermsen Strap LLC also crafts accommodating eyeglasses for children with unique facial traits that standard glasses don’t rest perfectly with. The company seeks to make eyewear accessible and affordable with its other easily adaptable, 3D-printed glasses, which Hermsen said are commonly donated during described “medical mission trips.”

“It’s gotten my name out all over the country and the world,” Hermsen said. “And I think it’s a small price to pay to be known or to become the specialty eyewear person.”

A resource roadmap for prototyping

Hermsen had previous experience in the world of active and children’s eyewear with his former business, Spokiz. He said his time inventing solutions in the industry led him into local education, medical and nonprofit networks. This web of sources eventually connected him to his key collaborator Suh.

Suh was an active inventor and celebrated professor in the UNMC Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. The breadth of his work can be seen in another UNeMed company called Precision Syringe, which offers a redesigned syringe for easier and steadier needle handling.

Hermsen said Suh had a drive for helping patients with microtia and other facial anomalies, in addition to helping fellow medical workers. Suh Hermsen Strap LLC formed in 2018 as a result of their respective backgrounds in the eyewear space and combined motivations to make a difference.

Suh has since moved to the University of California, Irvine. Hermsen is the owner of the company, launching it under his name. 

Dr. Tyler Scherr, licensing specialist and business development manager at UNeMed, said his office always looks for opportunities where external partners can fill in the missing pieces to a founding team. 

“James is a fantastic dude and just kind of a garage tinkerer,” Scherr said. “So in the case of a university inventor working with a community member, we love it.”

Hermsen said the MCC Prototype Design Lab — which launched in 2017 — removed cost barriers that would have come with mass manufacturing. Additionally, he said students have helped with the 3D modeling side of his products. 

“I felt like I got a huge capital infusion, like I just got a grant,” Hermsen said.

UNMC also has a track record partnering with MCC to remove obstacles toward launching real-world research applications. 

In 2019, the Omaha Medical Technology Pipeline sparked from funding through the U.S. Economic Development Administration. It was a collaboration of UNMC, MCC, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the Nebraska Business Development Center and the Greater Omaha Chamber. The goal was to create functional inventions and support entrepreneurial efforts while providing students experience with 3D design, rapid prototyping and marketing. 

UNeTech Associate Director Joe Runge said the initiative led to over 60 medical device inventions developed over three years and progress with “a number of startups,” such as University Medical Devices and Impower Health. UNeTech is a startup incubator and support organization associated with the University of Nebraska. 

Due to factors of funding and shifting skill demands, the cross-campus initiative has since transitioned from physical prototyping to the Omaha Virtual Reality Pipeline. The new program gives students applicable experience with immersive design and development. Runge said he sees artificial intelligence as the next subject area to explore. 

“We want to continue on learning to use those processes, not just to build startups and to advance intellectual property, but to create really individual and bespoke educational opportunities for these students, based on what their interest level is,” Runge said.

The future in sight

Runge said infrastructure and relationships are in place between MCC and the University of Nebraska system, meaning future collaborations with the MCC Prototype Design Lab are always on the table when and if opportunities arise and are financially backed. 

“Historically, learning how to prototype is not the easiest thing to do, and Metro is not (originally meant) to be a prototyping service,” Runge said. “To really have a robust prototyping program … you need people that have the time to learn how to do it and the ability to keep them supported.”

MCC leadership said they envision ongoing collaborations between the MCC Prototype Design Lab and the recently launched MCC Small Business Development Center. This means pairing aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners with the tools and space to craft their own products and packaging. 

Petersen of MCC said the MCC Prototype Design Lab “is whatever you need it to be.”

On top of being open to new business relationships and looking into scaling with injection molding, Hermsen said he’s partnering with multiple organizations to continue his efforts in providing his glasses to those in need globally. 

With 3D printers now based in his own workshop at the Hot Shops, Hermsen said he hasn’t had to rely as much on the MCC Prototype Design Lab. He said his company has assembled 50,000 straps to date. 

Still, he said he will turn to the lab’s expertise from time to time and to get assistance for his other passion projects, such as teaching creativity to kids through mask making. 

“I like to work with kids and teach them about creativity because I think that creativity spawns ideas and art,” Hermsen said. “When you put limitations on people, then it limits the potential outcomes for solutions.”

You can learn more about the MCC Prototype Design Lab and its offerings here.