Owen Essen

Hi, I'm Owen. Maybe you're here because you ended up with a product I designed or a story I wrote. Or maybe I got on your radar for some other reason entirely. Either way, welcome!

I decided to hang my own flier on the great bulletin board of the internet so that when people Google my name, I can introduce myself directly, rather than leave you to sift through bits and pieces impersonally on other websites.

Whether you saw my name in the about section of a software tool you're using and you're wondering “Who is this guy?” or we met at a hostel somewhere in Latin America and you're wondering “Who is this handsome, mysterious stranger and what is he doing on his laptop during the day?” you're in the right spot!

Essen United

According to LinkedIn, I'm the Founder and Managing Director of Essen United. Google's AI Overview currently describes Essen United as “a boutique operational structure established in 2021 by Owen Essen to manage expansions into proprietary software, media projects, and physical brand lines.” That sounds about right. Basically, I like to tinker with things, and Essen United is the business entity I use to commercialize my creations. We have a portfolio of physical product brands that are popular on Amazon, including Insprinity, as well as software projects like Mercaturo.

Owen as a young child running a lemonade stand outside a brick house — One of my early entrepreneurial efforts. Also the first time I was accused by one of my customers of being a greedy capitalist.

I always wanted to work on my own projects full time. Some of my friends at art school looked down on people who were interested in business. To me, business was going to be part of the work either way, and I figured if I understood it, I'd have a better shot at keeping control over my own work.

A genuine fossilized megalodon shark tooth photographed on a plain background — Being in the fossil business makes for interesting bedroom decor.

Creative inspiration doesn't have to come from somewhere far away. Sometimes it's just noticing the bugs in your own backyard.

On the road

In my twenties I spent close to seven months living out of my car on a road trip across the US, often sleeping in National Forests, Walmart parking lots, or wherever I could find a safe place to park for the night. Later I took a couple of multi-month trips through Mexico.

Owen sitting on the hood of his car in a foggy forest clearing during his road trip — Somewhere out west on the seven-month road trip, parked for the night.

Owen standing on a sandy beach path in Caye Caulker, Belize, wearing a backpack — I night snorkeled with octopuses and bioluminescence off this island in Belize. Photo by Samantha Allen.

Owen smiling in a selfie on a tropical beach in Mexico with boats in the background — I was attacked by a pack of feral dogs and searched by police in this town, but I have fond memories of it nonetheless.

Where I'm from

I grew up dividing my time between two very different places: the rugged mountains of Colorado, where my family lived off-grid, and the forests of central North Carolina. The county in Colorado had exactly one traffic light, and it was broken. Splitting time between the two gave me a real appreciation for each of them.

Owen as a young child riding a black pony wearing a cowboy hat in a dry mountain landscape — On a horse named Rebel on our family's off-grid property in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. As a kid, I once had to jump off him when he took off at a full gallop, wouldn't stop, and the saddle began to slip. Photo by Bett Wilson.

Owen and his sister Elia smiling in a field near a forest at sunset — My sister Elia and I near my home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Photo by Bett Wilson.

Travel was part of my life from an early age. My parents had backpacked around the world before I was born, and took me on a road trip through northern Mexico when I was still in diapers, in part because our mountain cabin was brutally cold in the winter. As a kid in Mexico I liked collecting bottle caps and giving them away as gifts to other kids we met along the way.

I studied film and television at the Savannah College of Art and Design and full-stack web development at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, but much of my real education has come from books and from experimentation. I taught myself to work with 3D computer models in middle school, and that was a turning point for me. I realized I could teach myself all kinds of things off the internet.

Owen in a cap and gown speaking at a microphone during his high school graduation — High school graduation. It was all downhill after that. Never again was I captain of the football team. Never was I captain of the football team before that either, as it were.

Owen sitting at a wooden table inside a medieval fantasy LARP tent with actors in costume in the background — I shot several werewolves the night this picture was taken.

Say hello

Does it seem like we have some things in common? Send me a message and say hello.

Occasional updates

No spam, no selling your info, no weekly emails just to send emails. Only when I actually have something worth mentioning.