SHEPSTONE/LABS SHEPSTONE/LABS
A personal digital workshop

Useful things. Thoughtfully Built.

A personal workshop for useful tools, original games, and ideas worth exploring.

See the work Say hello →
Built by Dune Hadad.

A little curiosity can become a useful tool, a playful world, or something unexpected.

What happens here

Playful experiments.

Cozy games, pixel-art worlds, and little moments of calm. A place to explore atmosphere, interaction, and the details that make something enjoyable to use.

Explore the greenhouse

Useful little tools.

Desktop utilities and small software experiments, explored one idea at a time. A little tinkering, a little learning, and plenty of attention to the details.

See what's taking shape
On the workbench

Personal projects

VibeSpin

A personal desktop experiment in keeping coding projects organised and launching them without terminal commands.

Developer toolIn progress

DAIO

An Android experiment in daily planning, bringing together tasks, calendar entries, alarms, and a conversational spoken briefing.

Android appIn progress

TilePlanr

A browser experiment in planning tiled objects: exploring layouts in 3D, calculating cuts, and estimating materials.

3D planning toolIn progress

Still taking shape. A place to try ideas, learn, and refine the details.

Behind the workshop

From tinkering to toolmaking

Dune Hadad
Dune Hadad
DIGITAL MECHANIC · PORT SHEPSTONE ORIGINS

The foundations were laid at five, with a handsaw in our home workshop. I grew up on a big stretch of beachfront, where something always needed fixing. Being outdoors so much taught me to see how things connect, and I've been picking up skills ever since.

I'm Dune, a hobbyist builder who enjoys making useful tools, playful experiments, and small digital experiences. Shepstone Labs is where I share what is taking shape.

I like exploring how things work, trying unfamiliar tools, and giving small ideas enough attention to see where they lead. Some become something useful. Others are simply fun to make.

Desktop utilities, planning tools, quiet games, and fiction share a home here, connected by curiosity and the pleasure of making.

The name? A nod to Port Shepstone, where it all began.

Games

The greenhouse

Games I'm making. So far: one about keeping a cactus alive, and one about running a small harbour.

Happy CactusIn progress Little PortIn progress

Retro games restored

Classic DOS games from the early ’90s, running in your browser. Original files, no remakes.

Play Jill of the Jungle
Beyond the screen

Allow Me to Be Frank

A novel by Dune Hadad

Frank is charming, capable, and always on his way somewhere. He knows how to put people at ease and keep his own feelings to himself. His nephew Bernard looks up to him. Frank, who loves the boy absolutely, isn’t always sure he deserves quite so much admiration.

Over seven days on the Kenyan coast, they share the pleasures of a life Frank rarely slows down to enjoy—a life caught between the demands of the wider world and the people who make it worth living.

Writing & fictionIn progress
Allow Me to Be Frank by Dune Hadad: cream cover with navy lettering, a compass, and a catamaran on calm water
A novel in progress · Dune Hadad
A question, a thought, a hello

Say hello

Questions about a project, feedback on an experiment, or just a hello.

Or email
hello@shepstonelabs.com

VibeSpin

In progress

A personal desktop project exploring a simpler way to organise coding projects and start them with a click, without remembering terminal commands.

For
Developers
Runs on
Desktop
Built with
Rust + Tauri
Ask about the experiment

Still being explored and refined.

DAIO

In progress

An Android experiment in making daily planning feel more personal. Bring together tasks, calendar entries, and alarms, then hear a conversational briefing covering what you have finished and what is still ahead.

For
Personal day planning
Runs on
Android
Explores
Spoken briefings and daily routines

Still being explored and refined.

TilePlanr

In progress

A personal software project exploring 3D tiling layouts for objects such as vanities, cabinets, plinths, and planters. Enter the object and tile sizes to see each face in 3D and as a flat plan.

Work through tile patterns, cuts, and offcut reuse, with tile quantities, material and cost estimates, cutting templates, and printable reports to help plan the project.

For
Planning tiling projects
Runs in
Your browser
Explores
3D layouts, cuts & materials

In progress. Estimates are planning aids; check measurements and material requirements before cutting or ordering.