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Hello.
Founded by John Nottingham and John Spirk in a carriage house in Cleveland, Nottingham Spirk is now a towering, 70,000-square-foot landmark, true innovation house, and the partner you want by your side if you need to get a product to market fast.
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Mission
An established leader in disruptive innovation, Nottingham Spirk partners with companies to create thriving new business innovations that propel economic growth.
Vision
Serve as a beacon of innovation for organizations pursuing uncharted territory to accelerate growth and improve life experience.
Values
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Ingenuity
The core of who we are. We approach problems with unparalleled determination, courage and faith in a positive outcome. We see the unseen, then we do the impossible.
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Excellence
Strive for excellence. Exceed expectations with the highest quality work and deliver the best possible outcomes for our Client-Partners.
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Partnership
Always think vertically. Leverage our collective knowledge across disciplines while closely collaborating with our Client-Partners.
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Positivity
Never problems, always opportunities. Foster a positive and open environment where anything is possible, and everyone can do their best work.
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Commitment
Do what you say. Unparalleled integrity, fairness and honesty in our commitments to each other, our Client-Partners and our community.
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Empathy
Kindness matters. Embrace diverse thoughts and harmonious approaches to problem solving. Acknowledge each other’s whole lives.
We see the unseen... and do the impossible
If you know the Arm & Hammer Spinbrush, the Swiffer Sweep + Vac, or the Sherwin-Williams Twist & Pour™ paint container, then you know Nottingham Spirk.
We are an established leader in disruptive innovation, partnering with companies to create thriving new business innovations that propel economic growth. Since 1972, we have served as a beacon of innovation for organizations pursuing uncharted territory to accelerate growth and improve life experiences.
From our 70,000 square-foot innovation center in Cleveland, Ohio, we have created or designed hundreds of products in the consumer, healthcare, and business product sectors. The longest-standing design collaborative in the world, we employ a thoughtfully creative Vertical Innovation® approach that is truly transformative.
Unmatched expertise, diverse skills and hands-on innovation
You'll find a broad and deep understanding of the innovation space in each of our Nottingham Spirk associates. With an 11-year average tenure, our team of researchers, industrial designers, engineers, and prototypers bring experience and knowledge to every project we take on.
Nottingham Spirk tackles all innovation programs with a multidisciplinary, cohesive group of associates. All work is done under one roof in the state-of-the-art Nottingham Spirk Innovation Center. The result is patented game-changing products, created faster and more efficiently–made possible by our people.
A Partnership is Formed
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John Nottingham and John Spirk shared a dream — reinventing the world’s largest companies rather than joining one of them.
Immediately after earning their Industrial Design degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1972, John and John both won traveling scholarships and spent the summer in Europe. They designed the Nottingham Spirk logo, sketched on a napkin in Milan, Italy.
When they returned to Cleveland they became co-CEOs of their own design firm, establishing Nottingham Spirk in a garage in Cleveland’s University Circle.