MATTER’S MISSION

Eco-intelligence, creativity, and innovative philanthropy unite at MATTER L3C: an industrial design & consulting studio based in New Orleans, uniquely focused on raising awareness and funding initiatives that advance social change. A portion of all proceeds flow to causes that impact the health, happiness, and sustainability of our communities both locally and for our neighbors around the world. MATTER L3C makes the world a better place by creating products and collaborations that matter.

MEET TIPPY

Tippy Tippens is the Founder and Director of Matter L3C and the BirdProject. She is a social entrepreneur, designer, gandhiwarmer, and is passionate about helping to build sustainable growth, making the objects that we live with us work for us instead of against us and ultimately wishing to contribute to greater happiness.

Her professional experiences have included: designing faucets for Kohler, freelancing for lighting, furniture, graphic, architectural, and wayfinding firms as well as designing and making home furnishings for over ten years. She has also guest lectured, participated in exhibitions, competitions, and collaborations in design, public projects, and photography. She earned her masters degree in industrial design from Pratt Institute and her B.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University.

In September of 2010, she moved from Brooklyn to New Orleans after the BP Oil Spill in order to create BirdProject. Currently she is a SENO Fellow in the New Ventures Accelerator program and has recently founded BirdProject and MATTER L3C, Design for Social Change. The company was founded after developing BirdProject, finding the need for socially inspired products which are regionally sourced and sustainably made.

ABOUT L3C’S

Matter is one of the first eight L3C’s in the state of Louisiana, which currently exist in 10 states. This new business structure is designed to be a hybrid between an LLC and 501-3C whose basis in business is for social good. The L3C is an exciting part of a social entrepreneur’s toolkit, helping to build new, healthy markets that inherently create triple bottom line benefits & win, win collaborations.