Every Neighborwoods map is unique, just like the neighborhoods you hold dear.
Neighborwoods began as a passion project initiated by Aymie Spitzer in 2012 while she was a designer at Hyperakt, an independent design studio based in Brooklyn. Aymie’s love of vintage maps and hand lettering came to life on a beautiful map of Brooklyn she engraved on Hyperakt’s newly acquired laser engraver.
From that single map, a company was born. Hyperakt incubated Neighborwoods and we’ve all had a ton of fun learning what it’s like to expand a product line, sort out production and fulfillment at scale, provide human-to-human customer service and present our product to people who love fine craftsmanship as much as we do. Thousands of Neighborwoods products ship out every month to customers all over the world who yearn to have a memento of their favorite city etched in wood, just like we did.
Neighborwoods products are made with Aromatic Red Cedar plywood, which comes from the Western Red Cedar tree. The species is native to western North America, and specifically, to the Pacific Northwest. Western Red Cedar trees are huge! They range in height from 213-230 ft tall and 10-13 feet wide. Dozens of 8’ X 10’ sheets of the Red Cedar arrive at our Miami production facility every month and are then trimmed down to fit in our laser engravers.
The adhesive used to bond the Aromatic Red Cedar veneer to its' solid 1/4” core is made from all natural, soy-based ingredients. It is formaldehyde free, completely biodegradable, and 100% made in the USA.
The wood we use is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and harvested in the USA. FSC certification ensures that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits. The rustic look of the reddish colored heartwood and its fresh natural scent help lend our products their heirloom charm.
We are as mom and pop as they come. Hyperakt co-founder, Deroy Peraza leads creative direction and strategy for Neighborwoods while his parents’ company, based in Miami, handles all of our production and fulfillment.
Our day to day operations and our community are managed by the amazing Mary Dawson, who has been part of the Neighborwoods family since our very early days. She is in constant coordination with John Rincon who meticulously manages our production space in Miami where the walls are covered with racks, labeled by city, neatly storing our stock of maps and the room is always abuzz with the sound of lasers making magic. Our products are lovingly photographed by Marianna Fierro.
Mary is a Philly girl. She takes fine care of our customers and retailers day in and day out, and ensures that our products make their way to loving homes. Mary also handles our social media and finances. She is the glue that holds it all together.
A Brooklynite by way of Havana and Miami, Deroy has a not so small obsession with Barcelona. He is the driving force behind Hyperakt Labs, where Neighborwoods was incubated. He handles all Neighborwoods business strategy and creative direction.
Although from Venezuela, John is as precise as a Swiss watch. His laser-beam focus and stoic attention to detail is our secret weapon. He orchestrates the production of thousands of beautifully crafted Neighborwoods products from our Miami workshop.
Imported from Udine, Italy, Marianna’s default attitude in everything she does is passionate enthusiasm. As our product photographer, she won’t rest until every tasty detail of our products is captured through her lens.
Hailing from Phoenix, Aymie’s love of old world maps and hand lettering inspired her to create Neighborwoods as a lab project while she was working at Hyperakt, a Brooklyn design agency. Her lettering and design is the heart and soul of our products.