Co-founder, Titan Gauntlets
Karan Pandey
Co-creator of Titan 1 — the world's first modular wearable AI gauntlet, fully funded on Kickstarter in 30 minutes. Wearable robotics and personal AI, on the body.
ImPossible Workshop: Wings of Desire EditionSF Tech Week · Preview & demo day
Oct 8 · 3:00–5:00 PM · Frontier Tower, 7th FloorFree · capacity limitedFree RSVP · Oct 8 previewSponsor · Patron🔒 Presales open Oct 8
A preview of an Impossible Workshop · SF Tech Week · Oct 8, 3:00–5:00 PM · Frontier Tower, 7th Floor · Free · capacity limited
Wings of Desire
The Oct 8 preview is free — RSVP, because capacity is limited. Then build your own 16-foot robotic angel (or devil) wings over multiple weekends in a separate workshop.
Want to be a sponsor or patron and help others learn to build Wings of Desire?
No email app? Write tomick@departmentofstrategicsurprise.com
Free to attend · capacity is limited · RSVP required
Ja'Shon, co-leader of the workshop, opens his devil wings on Market Street
16 feet
of motorized wingspan, from tip to tip.
1 aluminum skeleton
drilled, bolted, and fitted to your back.
40 feathers
hand-made from wire, mesh, paste, and crushed velvet.
2 linear actuators
so the wings open and close on command.
1 AI-ready robotic control system
the nervous system underneath, wired for the agentic intelligence you can add later.
0 places to buy them
which is the entire point.
Away from the studio
The build ends. The wings don't.
Every cohort walks out of the shop carrying something no store stocks — and takes it somewhere a store will never reach.
Wings from a previous Impossible Workshop build
Preview & demo day · SF Tech Week
The sneak peek
Thursday, October 8 · 3:00–5:00 PM
Frontier Tower, 7th Floor · 995 Market St · San Francisco
Free with RSVP — capacity is limited
In the room: Mickey McManus · Karan Pandey · Ja'Shon Wright
To be clear: this is the preview, not the workshop. Nobody builds anything on Oct 8 — two hours where the finished wings do the talking, and the fastest way into a build cohort.
See the wings fly in person. Watch the actuators open a 16-foot span over your head, handle a finished feather, and meet the people who built them.
Step in front of a moonscape backdrop and spread the angel wings — or the devil (dragon) pair. On the moon, 1/6th gravity means the wings would help you glide; if you actually tried flying off Frontier Tower, you'd have a spontaneous disassembly. Then step into the dragon's lair.
Three people are in the room, and all three will tell you how the build actually happened: Mickey McManus, who originated the Impossible Workshops; Karan Pandey, co-founder of Titan Gauntlets — the modular wearable AI gauntlet fully funded on Kickstarter in 30 minutes; and Ja'Shon Wright, founder of the fashion house Haus of Hyte, who wore the devil wings you saw open at the top of this page and co-leads the workshop.
You'll also meet Frontier Tower's Otherminds team — the people who will help a lucky few build OpenClaw autonomous behaviors into their wings, so the wings start making decisions of their own. Patron and Angel tiers get the bonus workshop.
Pre-orders open that day: a limited number of early build slots for the Halloween and Winter cohorts, claimed first-come at the event.
About the price: the preview is free — no ticket, nothing at the door. What's limited is space. The 7th floor holds a limited number of people, RSVPs are first come, first served, and the list closes when it's full.
How the two hours run
3:00 PM
Doors open
Both wings deployed. Moonscape backdrop up.
3:15 PM
Live wing spread
Dragon and angel open simultaneously.
3:30 PM
Build story
Mickey + Ja'Shon + Karan on the build.
4:00 PM
Try-on + selfies
Moonscape. Dragon's lair. Titan gauntlet.
4:30 PM
Presale open
Tonight-only perks. Figure spots go fast.
4:45 PM
Open floor
1-on-1s. Last selfies. The a16z embodied intelligence event starts at 5:30 PM, also in Frontier Tower.
Free with RSVP · capacity is limited · RSVPs are first come, first served
In depth · Oct 8
Three people who make the impossible tangible
Workshop co-leader · Haus of Hyte
Ja'Shon Wright
The maker wearing the devil wings at the top of this page. Founder of the fashion house Haus of Hyte — he curates the colorways and brings movement and mythology to the build.
Originator of Impossible Workshops
Mickey McManus
Creator of the workshop format built around one rule: make something meaningful that you cannot simply buy. The flock descended on the Castro on Halloween 2025.
Also at the preview · Titan Gauntlets
Intelligence you can wear
Karan Pandey brings Titan 1: a modular wearable with a built-in display, attachable tools, and personal AI. It is a glimpse of the same future the wings are built for — machines that live on the body and respond to the world around them.
Build presales
Learn about the build experience on October 8, 2026Presales open then — and so do the actual workshop dates.
Six ticket tiers, two multi-week tracks, and the $0 application seats go live on Oct 8 — the same day we announce exactly when each cohort builds. RSVP for the free preview and it's all right here that day, first come, first served.
Track
Halloween Sprint
Three intense weekends in October — blueprint and skeleton, the feather marathon, electronics and first flight — ending with the flock on the Castro on October 31.
Track
Winter Track
The same build paced across the season and landing in time for the winter holidays, with office hours that keep going after the workshop ends.
Cohort dates, ticket prices and seats are announced when presales open
The build
From butcher paper to flight
- Session 1
Blueprint & skeleton
Trace your wings at full scale on butcher block paper. Cut and drill the aluminum, assemble the frame, size the backpack mount.
- Session 2
The feather marathon
Wire, mesh, paste, press, trim, repeat. Forty feathers, then every one attached to the skeleton.
- Session 3
Electronics & first flight
Mount the actuators, wire batteries and controller, add the fur coverlet. Test flights. This is the day people cry.
- Finale
Take flight
Halloween in the Castro, or the winter holidays. Wear what nobody else can buy.
Patron & Angel bonus
Give your wings a mind of their own
Patrons and Angel Investors join a bonus workshop with Frontier Tower's Otherminds team, led by Morgan Hough, to add agentic embodied intelligence — OpenClaw autonomous behaviors that let your wings sense, respond, and move with intent.
First 3 Patrons only
You, at twelve inches, in a box
The first three Patron seats come with a custom 12-inch winged superhero action figure — you, wearing the wings you built — delivered in a box. Three of these exist for this cohort. When the third Patron seat goes, the offer closes.
We've done this before
A flock of makers, in wings they built themselves
Impossible Workshops teach people to design and build things you can't buy — superhero action figures, crucible-moment dioramas, and wearable robotic wings.
The flock
Different wings, same impossible rule
Questions
Before you commit
Is Oct 8 the workshop itself?+
No. It's the preview and demo day during SF Tech Week — two hours on the 7th floor of Frontier Tower where the wings fly, you can try them on in front of a moonscape or a dragon's lair, the build story gets told, and pre-orders open. Nothing gets built that afternoon. The build happens later, in the Halloween Sprint or the Winter Track.
Is the Oct 8 preview free?+
Yes — it's a free SF Tech Week event: no ticket price and nothing at the door. What's limited is space. The 7th floor holds a limited number of people, RSVPs are first come, first served, and the list closes when it's full. RSVP, then arrive early.
When do build presales open?+
On October 8, 2026 — the day of the free preview. That's when we announce exactly when each cohort builds, along with the six ticket tiers and the $0 application seats. Until then prices and cohort dates stay off this page. RSVP for the free preview and they'll be right here that day.
What is Otherminds?+
Frontier Tower's Otherminds team, led by Morgan Hough, runs a bonus workshop for Patron and Angel tiers on agentic embodied intelligence — building OpenClaw autonomous behaviors into the wings. You can meet the team at the demo day and hear how it works.
Do I need experience?+
No. If you can hold a drill and follow a stencil, you can build these. Instructors walk you through every step.
What do I take home?+
A finished pair of motorized wings, fitted to you, with batteries, charger, and controller.
Are tools provided?+
Yes — drill press, saws, hardware, and consumables are all shared on site.
Halloween or Winter?+
Halloween is three intense weekends in October. Winter spreads the build across the season, finishes for the holidays, and adds office hours after the workshop ends.
How do Access seats work?+
Two per cohort, funded by Patrons. Apply with a short note on why you want to build; you contribute time instead of money.
What is the first-three-Patron bonus?+
The first three Patron sign-ups get a custom 12-inch winged superhero action figure of themselves and their wings, delivered in a box. Three only — after the third Patron seat is claimed, the offer closes.
Can I get a refund?+
Refund terms are shown at checkout. Materials are ordered once seats are confirmed, so later cancellations may be partial.