Create room for improvement
Creativity is in our DNA. We love to experiment, invent, and improve. Whether it’s finding a new way to refurbish a device or designing a completely new product, we encourage out-of-the-box thinking. Innovation to us isn’t just tech – it’s any fresh idea that can make a product or process better.
The Start
Every great venture starts with a story. Instrooments was born from the idea that a small group of determined people can make a meaningful impact by doing things differently. Started as One World LLC, and our name reflects our broad vision: one world, interconnected and sustainable. Founded in 2015 by a husband and wife, Instrooments began in a garage (classic startup style) in the Chicago suburbs. We came together from various industries – technology, engineering, marketing, and operations – with a shared passion for sustainability and innovation. We saw how much perfectly good “stuff” was being thrown away and how businesses often needed help adapting to a fast-changing world.
The Present
Our approach is to stay minimalist and agile. We run a lean operation, leveraging each team member’s strengths. We embrace a black-and-white mindset in design – clean, bold, and straightforward – which you’ll notice in our branding. But when it comes to solving problems, we think in full color, outside the box, and beyond boundaries.
The Future
At the core of all that is the belief that continuous improvement will get us far. Every project, every product, every process in our company is open to reflection and refinement. We celebrate small wins and learn from failures quickly, constantly iterating.
Our Story of Finding Value in the Overlooked
Instrooments was founded on a simple but powerful idea: there is hidden potential in the things we discard. Our journey began not in a boardroom, but in a workshop, driven by a fascination with deconstructing old electronics to understand how they worked and what they were made of. This hands-on curiosity revealed a world of waste — valuable materials and functional components being sent to landfills simply because their original purpose was complete.
We saw a problem that needed a solution. We started by refurbishing electronics, giving them a second life and keeping them in circulation. This grew into a full-fledged recycling operation, built on the principles of responsibility and value recovery. As we perfected our methods for extracting precious metals from circuit boards and jewelry, we never lost our passion for creation.
This creative spirit led to an experiment. Could we apply the same principle of upcycling — transforming overlooked materials into something beautiful and functional — to other areas? This question gave birth to our flagship creation: a free-standing, eco-friendly patio fireplace that runs on clean biofuel. We designed and built it from scratch, proving that with ingenuity, even basic materials could be elevated into a premium, design-led product.
While the fireplace remains a symbol of our innovative roots, our core mission has become laser-focused. We have channeled that same creative energy into mastering the art and science of recycling. Today, Instrooments stands as a dedicated partner for businesses and communities, committed to building a circular economy where every material is valued, recovered, and reused.
Our story began with a single spark of curiosity, and it continues with a burning commitment to create room for improvement for our partners, our communities, and our planet.
Thank you for taking the time to read about us, and we hope to connect with you soon – whether you’re a customer, a client, or a fellow enthusiast of the things we care about. Onwards and upwards, together!