Clarendon Labs is an independent iOS studio with one chair at the bench. The same person designs the icon, writes the Swift, ships the build, and answers the support email.
The Thesis
Made carefully. Shipped slowly.
The trade-off is that we ship slowly. The benefit is that nothing leaves the bench before it's good. We're not chasing the next platform or the next round. We're making a small catalog of considered iOS apps — a few games, a few tools — that you'll actually want to keep around.
Independent, profitable from day one, accountable only to the people who use the software. The plan is to stay that way.
Sole proprietor & only engineer.
100%
Native Swift
$0
Subscriptions
0
Third-party trackers
1
Engineer · founder
How we work
Six things, never broken.
A short list of operating principles, kept short on purpose.
01
Finished before it ships.
If it's not the quality we'd want to use, it doesn't go out. No exceptions. No betas-as-product.
02
One app, one job.
We don't bolt features onto things. Each app in the catalog does one job and gets out of the way.
03
Native, every layer.
Built in Swift, on Apple frameworks. No web shells. Buttery on the latest hardware, kind to the rest.
04
Pay once, when we can.
Pricing matches what the app actually does. Free with a one-time unlock by default — subscriptions only when service costs are ongoing.
05
No tracking, ever.
No analytics SDKs. No ad networks. No attribution kits. We'd rather know nothing than know too much.
06
Replies from the founder.
Every email is read by the engineer who built the app. Usually inside one business day — faster if a real bug is loose.
Provenance
The facts of the shop.
Founded
2026
Registered as Clarendon Labs LLC in the State of Illinois.
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
Uptown neighborhood — and the name. 4801 N. Clarendon Ave.
Team
One person
iOS engineer. Designer of every pixel. Answerer of every email.
Stack
Swift, SwiftUI, AppKit
Native Apple frameworks. Supabase + Resend for the apps that need a server.
Business model
Direct sales
Apps sell directly via the App Store. No investors, no advertisers, no data brokers.
Support hours
Mon — Fri · 09:00 — 17:00 CT
One business day reply on average. Real bugs jump the queue.
A short history
How we got here.
2025 · Q4
The notebook.
First sketches of Rolligan at a kitchen table in Uptown. The thesis takes shape: small catalog, paid up-front, slow.
2026 · Q1
Papers filed.
Clarendon Labs LLC registered in the State of Illinois. The studio formally exists.
2026 · Q1
Build begins.
First commits to Rolligan. Native Swift, no shortcuts. Concept work on YulePick alongside.
2026 · May
Rolligan ships.
Available on the App Store. The catalog opens with one entry. Work continues on No. 002.
2026 · December
YulePick: Secret Santa — planned ship.
An anonymous gift exchange organizer for households, offices, and the group chat that won't stop debating rules.
Get in touch
Talk to the bench.
Press inquiry, support question, or just hello — every email lands in the founder's inbox.