Meet Dan And Rachel Schwartz | Engineers, Parents, Builders

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dan And Rachel Schwartz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dan and Rachel, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
With our varied backgrounds (and a few too many pet peeves), we’ve helped friends and family bring ideas to life that make their everyday experiences easier and more enjoyable. After a while, we figured that there were probably more people out there that could benefit from these solutions as well!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We met at Georgia Tech while working on our undergraduate degrees in Mechanical Engineering (Dan) and Biomedical Engineering (Rachel). Since then, Dan has worked in automotive, consumer products, and industrial industries, both in the US and abroad. Rachel has pursued a career in healthcare administration and has also earned an MBA as well as a Masters of Healthcare Administration. We’ve overcome a lot and had a lot of fun along the way, but it’s good to look back and reflect how we got here.

For me (Dan), I’m excited and thankful to see how far I’ve come since graduation. I had an incredible opportunity to relocate to Munich, Germany to work on some big BMW R&D programs, which was an amazing experience that still pays dividends today. I’ve had the opportunity to work on teams developing best-selling car seats and related kid’s items, maintaining high standards of safety while also finding ways to make them more affordable and accessible. I even had a short stint learning the ins and outs of the bedding industry. That was a wild ride… some of the problems I was working on were the same challenges people have been trying to figure out for the last 100 years! My latest role in steel processing has allowed me to build upon my continuous improvement approach and implement things like engineering controls that allow for improved productivity while ensuring the health and safety of the employees. All of these positions gave me an opportunity to learn something new, understand how it worked, identify how it could be better, and then led me down a path to implement that improvement- and now I get to do that same thing but focusing on problems I want to solve!

For me (Rachel), I have always been motivated by purpose-driven work. I decided to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering with the hope of designing and constructing life-changing medical devices for those in need. At the heart of it all, I’ve always been driven by a deep need to find and connect to the “why” behind the work — to help others, even if my role is behind the scenes. That sense of purpose has remained constant, whether it’s through healthcare, mentoring others, volunteering at Sunday school, or simply modeling selfless and compassionate behavior for my daughters. Pursuing my MBA and MHA further empowered this passion, teaching me how to maximize the impact of every initiative and channel my ideas into broader, sustainable outcomes.

With our various backgrounds, experiences, and motivations, our individual professional careers would make a difference in the community around us, but we wanted to do more to ensure we showed our daughters what it looked like to work on a common purpose and towards a worthwhile goal together as a family. So, we created our family business, HDR2 Studio, as an outlet for us to merge our common goals of implementing simple, creative solutions to overcome life’s everyday challenges, and having fun while doing it!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Atlanta, Georgia has a lot to offer! When we have friends and family come visit, some of the places we visit include:

Georgia Tech – for football, basketball, baseball games, meeting up with friends and family, etc
Ponce City Market and Rooftop – food, shopping, games, the view!
The Beltline – for some exercise but mostly the fun vibes and everyday adventures
College Football Hall of Fame / Centennial Olympic Park / World of Coke / Georgia Aquarium – the Atlanta staples all within walking distance of each other
Piedmont Park – Atlanta’s version of Central Park: great views, plenty of space and trails, various festivals, and is the finish area for the worlds largest 10K run, the Peachtree Road Race
The Works Atlanta – food, shopping, more food
Your 3rd Spot – family friendly upscale hang out spot with games, bowling, and dining
Stone Mountain – not really a mountain, but still fun to climb. Also the Drone and Light Show!
Peachtree Corners Town Center / The Forum – shopping, dining, and an epic playground with areas for all kids and adults
Avalon / Halcyon – Upscale open-air dining and shopping (and people watching)
North Point Mall – A solid place for shopping and dining
Lake Lanier – A short drive for a lakeside Airbnb or weekend getaway
The Battery Atlanta – home of the Braves, with lots of hang-out spots, dining, and shopping options
The Fox Theater – musicals, shows, concerts, etc

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our faith is a big part of who we are and what we want our family to stand for, so we try to make sure that everything we do is rooted in that. We’re incredibly thankful for all that God has provided and the ways He’s guided our path. We’re also deeply grateful for the friends and family who have supported us and helped shape the journey we’re on. In different seasons, different people have shown up in meaningful ways, but across the board, we’ve always felt surrounded by encouragement and care—even when we didn’t ask for it. That safety net gave us the courage to take bold steps forward. We’re especially thankful for our parents, who sacrificed so much to give us a strong foundation, and we hope to pay that forward in the way we raise our own family and support others around us. And on a personal note—Dan wants to say thank you to his amazing, beautiful wife, Rachel. Without your resilient faith, playful tenacity, and passionate heart, we wouldn’t be the family we are today. The girls and I are so lucky to have you.

Website: https://hdr2studio.etsy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hdr2studio/

Twitter: https://x.com/HDR2studio

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HDR2studio

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HDR2studio

Other: https://makerworld.com/en/@HDR2_Studio
https://www.printables.com/@HDR2studio_3087049

Image Credits
Nancy Schwartz