Building Bespoke: Why Ownership is the Ultimate Feature

From MSDOS to Monnette’s: A Journey in the Software Craftsmanship Mindset

In an era of "off-the-shelf" subscriptions and generic software, what does it mean to be a software artisan? Join Jeremy Schroeder—software developer, former Mayor, and co-founder of OJ Tech—for a 45-minute deep dive into the philosophy of "Building Bespoke."

Jeremy will trace his unconventional path from 11-year-old QBasic hobbyist to graphic designer and, eventually, creator of the Denizen scripting language and the Spaceport web framework. The heart of the talk focuses on the Monnette’s Market Kiosk project: a custom-built hardware and software ecosystem designed specifically for a local Toledo institution.

You’ll hear the "unfiltered" side of bespoke development, including:

Hardware vs. Humanity: Why a lack of an "autocut" printer changed everything.

UX in the Wild: How real customers interact with screens (spoiler: they don’t just "click").

The Full-Stack Duo: How the intersection of design, fabrication, and hardware soldering (with his son, Ollie) made the project possible.

The Artisan Mindset: Why building from scratch—despite the troubleshooting—makes you a better problem solver.

Special Guest: Ollie, 15, Co-Owner of OJ Tech

Whether you're a seasoned developer or a tech enthusiast, this talk is a celebration of building the things you’re interested in, building them yourself, and choosing authenticity over "standard" solutions. There will be refreshments and pizza supplied, as well as ample opportunity for networking before and after the talk.

Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-toledo-presents-building-bespoke-why-ownership-is-the-ultimate-feature/.