Built in a garage
in New Orleans.
Nion Lights started with a sewing machine, a spool of LED tape, and a pair of plane tickets to Electric Forest. Three years later we still solder our first prototypes by hand.
One belt. A dance floor. A bunch of strangers asking where it came from.
The first version was hacked together for a single night out. Twelve LEDs hot-glued to a leather strap, a battery pack tucked into a back pocket, an Arduino running code written on a flight to Vegas. By the end of the set we'd given out our handles to a dozen people who wanted one of their own.
We went home, sketched a real product, and started shipping the next year. The hot glue is gone. The hand-soldering hasn't gone anywhere.
First prototype
A leather belt, twelve LEDs, an Arduino. Worn at Imagine Festival in Atlanta. Twelve strangers asked where to buy one.
Founded
We incorporated in New Orleans, raised $40k from friends and family, and locked in a manufacturer in Shenzhen for the silicone strap.
Glow Belt v1
Shipped to 312 backers in 14 countries. Bug count: more than we want to admit. Lessons learned: also more than we want to admit.
Glow Belt v2
Re-engineered from the buckle out. 56 individually-addressable LEDs, USB‑C charging, 50+ presets, and a magnetic clasp. The version we always wanted to make.
What's next
Chokers, anklets, a controller app, and a few collabs with artists and labels we admire. More on that soon.
Stage gear, not costume jewelry.
Light-up wear should survive a full set. We over-engineer the boring parts — the buckle, the silicone, the battery — so the fun parts can hold up.
Less Vegas, more Tokyo.
The product should look as good off as it does on. Black silicone, anodized hardware, no logos on the front of the strap.
One product, done well.
We ship one belt, in three sizes, and we keep refining it. We'd rather make the same thing better than ship five new things this year.
Made for the night.
Every decision — the brightness curve, the matte buckle, the way the buttons feel through gloves — is tuned for the hours between midnight and sunrise.
Two of us. One workshop. A lot of late nights.
CS grad out of LSU with a decade in software architecture and product design. Spends his time turning vague rave-floor daydreams into firmware, apps, and Shopify pages that actually ship.
The hands-on half of the operation. Hunt obsesses over the physical product — fit, finish, materials, and the small details that decide whether a belt feels like a toy or a tool.
“The festival belt that doesn’t look like a festival belt.”