Photo by Robert Couse-Baker used
under creative commons license

I've got this sprout of an idea. Actually, it's becoming a Frankenstein, weed/tree sort of thing (but in a good way) as I graft on ideas while I scavenge the 'net and other people's minds. The seed for the idea started as a vision of a maker/artist supply store and it's been morphing from there.

The idea really took root when I stumbled on The Scrap Exchange, a "nonprofit creative reuse center located in Durham, North Carolina". This is much, much more than retail store for reclaimed industrial discards. They have a gallery for displaying local artists' work and they host community events and workshops. They even do birthday parties and corporate team building, all with a focus on making stuff while diverting waste from the landfill. They accept and actively collect donations of "lean, safe, reusable industrial discards as well as new, finished products that are no longer needed by businesses" to sell in the store. Their artists' marketplace seems like a great showcase and "features products from local artists who are using reclaimed materials in their work."

I'm sure we could make something like this work here in the Region of Waterloo, especially with the movers and shakers over at Kwartzlab gaining steam (and there's DIYode and thinkhaus too) and encouraging the build-it-yourself creative maker attitude. I'm guessing there are piles of would-be-debris that local industries would otherwise send to the landfill… why can't we divert that and put it in the hands of artists, makers, educators and families? I think a store like this would do well and be a great support for our vibrant and growing community of local artists.

I'd like to see something along the lines of The Scrap Exchange, with a possible tech twist. Maybe sell Arduinos ("an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software") and bulk LEDs at cost to encourage projects with a geeky leaning?

So, what do you say? Would you shop at a place like this for your project supplies? Would you hold a eco-conscious maker birthday party for your kids here? Do you or your company have any materials that you would consider donating to the cause? What would make a store like this a great place to shop? Do you want to help out? Have more ideas?

Leave a comment, point your friends here, give it a tweet or a blog post of your own, and help get the discussion going :)

I'm looking forward to reading/watching a new series on makers. It's a collaboration between Rabble and The Tyee.

There some good videos on the initial articles and it looks like a good place to learn more about the maker culture (if you don't already know much about it), or a good place to point your friends to see what it's all about.

One of the videos even features our very own St. Jacobs Farmer's Market, our own backyard filled with makers :)

I finally got around to finishing of a Minty Boost case... something I started back in October. I've had the circuits for three kits (bought from Adafruit) all soldered up and tested, but not packed into the cases. Getting a Dremel as a gift this Christmas gave me the perfect excuse to get back at the project.

If you don't know, a Minty Boost is a battery-powered charger for devices that charge from USB ports.

Here's the circuit before packing, pretty small:

Here's the Altoids tin in the process of having the hole cut:

I overcut the hole a bit, but it worked out OK since I had to enlarge it a bit to make the USB port fit anyway. Note the strip of cork I'm using to prevent the vice from scoring the case (compliments of a repurposed Ikea placemat). I had to use a grinding bit to smooth out the edges left by the cutoff wheel, and had to make sure the tin was free of debris before putting in the circuit.

I wanted to be sure there were no shorts, so I applied some electrical tape to the bottom of the tin:

Once done, everything fit in nicely... and it even worked :)

Check out the photo album for more pictures

This year I was eager to put my (limited) knowledge of Google SketchUp to work designing our family's gingerbread masterpiece... our fifth entry in the Wilmot Gingerbread Contest.

One nasty habit of SketchUp that I found particularly annoying for this task, was the way it joins pieces together as you extend or overlap them. I was hoping for a parts list at the end of the design that I could use when baking, and following the tutorials wasn't getting me there. To get around this, I found that creating each piece separately and then turning it into a component would allow me to place the piece in the model without having it become part of the other pieces. In the end, I looked over the list of components for my list of pieces to bake.

It's that time of year again... time to start work on your entry for the 2009 Gingerbread Contest. For all of the rules and official contact information, check out the Indy blog at:

http://nhindependent.wordpress.com/2009-gingerbread-contest/

This will be our 5th year entering the contest. It's great to work with the family on a project from design to completion, and it's great to see all the creations that other people can come up with.

This year's theme is "Santa's Workshop".

I just finished reading The Scavengers' Manifesto, a book I stumbled on at a great little book shop in New Hamburg (Upper Case Books).

For makers, this is a really good read. There seems to be a lot of crossover between the maker/diy movement/resurgence that's been gaining popularity for a number of years and the scavengers' movement as described in the book.

The book begins with a few chapters that are quite scholarly... defining and describing the classifications of scavengers (insect, animal and human) in nature, the history of human scavenging and how the "scavenged look" in fashion evolved through the hippie, punk, grunge and other movements. This is interesting and good background for the rest of the book. There is even a chapter devoted to comparing scavenging to major religions. Near the end, the manifesto gets down to the essentials, detailing the many various types of scavenging that are possible and ending with "The Scavenger Code of Ethics".

The text is interspersed with many personal stories of the authors' scavenging adventures. One of my favourite maker-like stories from the book details the scavenging of an old stereo that was brought home only to find that it didn't work. The author, who wasn't trained in electronics repair spends hours attempting to fix it, and describes the success as follows:

I pressed the On button and glorious stereophonic high-fidelity music filled the room. And I could feel the presence of the previous owner and the manufacturer and the designer and everyone back to Michael Faraday and Alessandro Volta standing there with me, smiling.

That is the secret joy of scavenging.

I think makers by nature take what is discarded and make something beautiful out of it. We are always on the look out for a scavenged part, or a deal on some fastener or controller board (finding deals is a form of scavenging too). I recommend this book to any maker that has ever dumpster dived to save a tube radio (or whatever) from the landfill, if only to realize that you are far from alone in your scavenging :)

September 1, 2009 marks the first official day for members to work in the region's very own "hackerspace". Last night, makers of all stripes were voted in as members by the board of KWartzLab (a not for profit, incorporation) in a ceremonial handing out of the keys. I can't wait to see what projects come out of this place. To say the folks there are creative would be an understatement :)

To think this whole thing got rolling when I asked for a blog post to go out on the Makezine blog is a bit humbling. I'm not a paying member of the group myself at this time, but I support them 100%. I'm so glad that there were enough ambitious and enthusiastic people to get things rolling, and I appreciate that these folks were encouraged by my enthusiasm, and that they didn't listen to me the times when I went "off my rocker".

Update... a blog post on the topic with photo's is over on DW's blog at KWartzlab.ca.

I'm thinking about writing a mobile application for makers. Why you ask? A few reasons come to (my) mind. Because I'm seeing a need and I'd like to fill it. Because I think stretching myself beyond my current level of geekery is fun. Because I can (and you likely could too).

The first problem I'd like to solve is the "Oh my gawd I can't believe someone is throwing that out I could so use that in a project I need someone to help me fish it out of the dumpster" problem.

Consider this... iPhone (or Blackberry, or Google phone, or whatever) in hand, you snap a picture and click the "Sound the Alarm" button. The application sends out notifications to all your maker friends (in the method they prefer). Maybe it checks their location to see if they might be around. Maybe it sends out an e-mail or tweet or Facebook post calling for help. The notes flying around tell them that you'll stick around for the next 10 minutes, and that you've got time later in the night (say 2:00 AM?) if anyone would like to help.

Maker friends... can you think of something else to add along this line, or even some completely unrelated mobile app that might be handy to have? Would you use this application? What other social networks sites would you want to connect with? Is there already an application like this, so I don't reinvent the wheel?

Bre Pettis has a mission. Awhile back he tweeted:

"My mission in life is to develop infrastructure to support people who want to make things and meet people who make things and make things."

I've been thinking about Bre's mission for a week or so, wondering what my mission in life is... and especially how it relates to supporting people who want to make things.

Reading the Make: Magazine blog for over a year and following Bre with his posts there and his more recent development of Makerbot Industries had me all juiced up and interested in how hackerspaces (NYC Resistor in this case) can spur on great ideas and technological creativity. I've made my attempts to get hackerspace setup in our area. At this point though, a number of competent people have taken that ball and are now running with it where I have fallen behind... and that's OK. I think I need to get my maker groove on before I can play an active part in a hackerspace just yet.

The Make: KW maker group is a more likely target for my "supporting maker energies" these days. From what I've seen so far, we've got a large group of extremely talented makers in our region, and I think having meetups and events where makers can mingle is a good thing. Who knows what inspired collaborations might be spawned across the table? Who knows what problems can be solved when people bring in their half-finished projects for a demo? Who knows what we will learn from each other when workshops are held and skills are shared? Who knows?

I love meeting makers and hearing their stories. I love seeing connections made and projects take form. I would love to see the maker movement spread across our region and make a difference in our communities. So for now my mission... well maybe not my life mission but more of a life resolution at this point, is to support the maker movement in the Region of Waterloo in any form I can figure out.

Are you a maker? If you are interested, check out the Make: KW website where you can blog about your projects and sign up to the mailing lists of your choice. Or you can send ideas my way and we'll see if we can make things happen.

Here's a quick and somewhat silly make. It's the middle of June and my 2 1/2 year old thought that his sippycup of milk was too cold to hold. His older brothers are always wearing out their socks. So I went through the (clean) laundry basket and found a sock that had the heel and toes worn through. I cut it off at the heel and slipped it over the bottom of the cup, pulled up just enough so it would still sit flat.