Skip to main content
About // Irregular Design Group

We designed the gear we wished we had in service.

The goal from day one was simple: build a suppressor that addressed the problems we actually had when we were active. Not another silencer following a market trend. Something intimate to what we wanted from one.

The service background is not something we hang a hat on. It serves as a vote of confidence that what we make is backed by direct experience. Sean brings the design and manufacturing side. Slade brings the testing and evaluation background. Same team. Same standard.

Force Recon USMC NSW / SEAL Self Taught Self Funded Made in Cincinnati, OH Additive Manufacturing Subtractive Manufacturing
01 // Origin

It started with a Joint Op in 2013 and a handshake in 2024.

2013
A Joint Operation overseas.
Sean and Slade cross paths but never really interact. They remember each other anyway.
2020
A mutual friend makes an introduction.
They start working on a project together. It doesn't fit Sean's manufacturing company at the time. Slade eventually leaves that collaboration and starts Irregular Defense and SC Irregulars on his own.
2021 – 2023
The OMM.
Slade comes back to Sean with a fresh take on the original idea. Sean designs and manufactures it while still teaching Close Quarters Tactics and Marksmanship in the Marines and running his first manufacturing startup. A mutual friend handles production runs while Sean's shop is at capacity. A few prototypes later, the Gen 1 OMM exists. More importantly, the two build the kind of trust that leads to a bigger conversation.
November 1, 2024
IDG is founded.
Slade asks Sean to start a suppressor company together. Kate Shurtleff steps in to run business operations, giving Sean and Slade the room to focus entirely on figuring out how to make suppressors under their own manufacturing horsepower. Sean shakes hands with his old team, leaves two weeks later. Irregular Design Group launches with Slade, Sean, and Kate.
2025
The Hesychia line.
They buy their printers. With manufacturing partner Tim Bell, a legend in the field, they bring the Hesychia product line to life. Despite building a revolutionary product from scratch through trial, error, and persistence, the first year is a success. IDG is now a fully vertically integrated advanced weapons design and manufacturing company in Cincinnati, OH.
02 // Leadership

The people behind the products.

Naval Special Warfare, 16 Years
Slade Cutrer
Chief Executive Officer

A medically retired Navy SEAL with 16 years of service, Slade began at SEAL Team 8 before earning a coveted role as an operator in a national mission force. Retiring in 2019 due to combat and training injuries, he served as an RDT&E (Research, Design, Test, and Evaluate) representative, sparking his passion for design. A husband and father of four, Slade founded SC Irregulars and Irregular Defense.

Force Reconnaissance USMC, 13 Years
Sean Bernstein
Chief Product Officer

A 13-year Force Reconnaissance Marine veteran, Sean taught himself CAD while deployed in Iraq, laying the groundwork for a post-service career in manufacturing. Before leaving the Corps, he founded an OEM manufacturing company in Ohio, driven by a vision to master every facet of product design and production.

Operations
Kate Shurtleff
Chief Operations Officer

Kate didn't just join IDG. She is the reason two founders who knew how to build products were able to build a company around them without crashing it into the ground before a single unit shipped. A highly versatile operations and strategy leader, she specializes in scaling complex programs and optimizing business performance across diverse sectors. She excels at cross-functional project management and financial modeling, translating executive strategy into measurable revenue growth and operational efficiency. An owner from day one, a competitive horse show jumper, and a shooter.

Strategic Partners
Sales Director
Chris Rossiter
Dealer Operations & Revenue Strategy

Two decades building companies from scratch turned Chris into a generalist who thrives where business gets complicated. His early work in sales and business development grew into leadership across management, public relations, and complex legal and corporate structures. He has started, scaled, and sold multiple ventures, carrying forward hard-earned lessons from each one. As Sales Director at IDG, he leads dealer operations and revenue strategy, working alongside veterans and industry professionals to bring thoughtful products from concept to the hands of end users. In every channel and partnership, he keeps long-term brand integrity and customer trust at the center of how IDG shows up in the market.

Manufacturing Partner
Tim Bell
Advanced Manufacturing

Over 40 years in manufacturing, with more than 20 of them in additive, starting as a journeyman toolmaker and building five manufacturing companies from scratch to profitability. Tim helped industrialize the first LPBF metal printers brought to America out of Cincinnati and went on to lead additive programs at BeAM and Siemens, before partnering with Sean, Slade, and Kate producing suppressors and precision components. He thinks in toolpaths and process data, not marketing decks. If it can be made better, faster, or tighter, Tim already has a plan for it.

!