Every Phoenix starts out as a smudge of Charcoal.

The last few years have pushed the importance of good AV solutions to the forefront of every industry. Working from home, remote work, hybrid and high-flex meetings, and an expanding need for accessibility-minded solutions. AV is everywhere, and whether you are starting from ground up or expanding existing solutions, the true success of a project will rely on a designer and programmer that know how to listen to your needs and turn them into a reality.

Good solutions don’t have to be prohibitively expensive and difficult to use. In both design or programming, Charcoal Phoenix is here to craft a user experience, not just a user interface. In our opinion, the best AV is invisible and effortless to the people using it.

Who and What is Charcoal Phoenix?

Ok, so I used the royal we up there. Charcoal Phoenix is me: Richard Blaylock.

But I didn’t just choose the name to stand out. I have been working the various technology fields for a quarter of a century, spending time as:

  • Deskside Computer Support
  • Integrated Circuitry Design
  • Network Engineering
  • Software Engineering
  • Telephony
  • Server Administration
  • Higher Ed AV support
  • AV Systems Engineering

I’m also a pretty creative person. I have a lot of experience in graphic design, have written and produced plays, am a published novelist, and am involved in running multiple science-fiction, fantasy, and horror conventions.

And all of this experience is brought with me when I am turning a pile of boxes and wires into a working AV Solution.

I am used to working on large projects, some of which you can check out in my work samples page. I’m used to working with and leadings teams, designing and programming for clients with specific needs and an ability to rely on their systems to just work, and providing robust commissioning to ensure the system I deliver is the system the end client wanted.

So why the phoenix? Because AV is a creative process, one that can run in cycles. Our needs are always changing, and so is the technology that meet them. Let me help you start from a simple idea or need, the charcoal smudge in this metaphor, and turn it into something amazing, our phoenix.