Makers

This was my article for "The Maker" column in the New Hamburg Independent (published July 21, 2010)...

Let's say that you consider yourself an aspiring maker. Your head is filled with wild project ideas and your hands are itching to handle and shape the raw materials that will become your dream. You attempt a project and it doesn't turn out anywhere near how you expected. Did you read the instructions wrong on the epoxy you bought at the hardware store? It's not supposed to ooze out the sides and stay sticky for days is it? Maybe you are wondering why the new power tool you bought isn't cutting aluminum as precisely as it cuts wood. Are you supposed to change blades first? Or maybe, just maybe, you don't even know where to begin.

One of the hardest aspects of the DIY (do it yourself) movement is that you can feel isolated, doing it yourself. You may want to try out new materials and techniques in an attempt to make your vision come to life, but you may also struggle with your initial lack of skills. With a germ of a project idea that gets you excited, you may run into roadblocks when trying to figure out how to implement a plan. This should never stop you from trying. You don't have to accept that you are doing it all alone. There are many ways that you can get help in today's flourishing global (and local) maker community. It doesn't have to be DIY, it can be DIWH (do it with help).

The DIWH idea hit home when I heard about a couple of guys in Kitchener/Waterloo that used plans from the website www.projectdalek.co.uk to guild their build of a life-sized Dalek (a race of super villains from the Doctor Who television series). Starting with a proven plan is a great way to build with confidence, working on the successes of other makers.

One way to get ideas and instructions for builds, is the Instructables website at www.instructables.com. Here you will find projects that run the gamut from cooking to electronics, from making unique video-game inspired furniture to glowing chemistry. When someone else has gone through the research to ensure a project is possible, it gives you a great head start. Just be sure to heed the warnings that Instructables users post as some of the projects can be dangerous if not done with the proper precautions.

Another way to find help and encouragement if you're struggling with something would be to share your work (at whatever stage of completion), with other makers. Locally, the Kwartzlab hackerspace hosts regular Tuesday Open Nights (TONs) where non-members are welcome to come in and check out the space, while showing off or working on their own project. Hackerspaces like Kwartzlab often host workshops where you can learn new skills as well.

Following the DIWH mentality might mean that you have to reach out to local businesses to complete some parts of your projects. For instance, you may be great at sculpting robot bodies from aluminum and have no ideas how to get a good finish on your beast once complete. Maybe you need some specialty gearing or custom fabric for a different project. Sourcing a small manufacturer and chatting up the specialists while they help you can allow you to learn from the masters.

If all else fails and you still have nowhere to start, you can always check out an art or craft show in your area. The ArtWorks show and sale (on locally in October 2010) features a large range of artisans, and is scheduled to have some seminars. Smaller, fringe festivals might be good to check out as well.

Wherever you find yourself in your quest to get help with your projects, don't be afraid to ask how an artist or fellow maker accomplished something. You'll most likely be surprised at how much they'll share with you.

This is my column that appeared in an April 2010 (I think the 28th) edition of the New Hamburg Independent.

Makers are a unique bunch. They're not afraid to get their hands dirty in the pursuit of their art. They can see odd and wonderful connections when they're holding a wool sweater, some conductive thread and handful of light emitting diodes (LEDs). They solve problems by cobbling things together in new (and sometimes frightening ways) and they're always getting things done.

But maybe you are not that type of person, or at least not all of the time. Maybe your maker “mojo” is still in its infancy, and that's OK. If you find yourself interested in the concepts of the maker movement but can't find the time or the creative energies to get things done, then there are still ways that you can support the makers around you.

Many makers are scavengers when it comes to finding the raw materials for their projects. Chances are you have a basement, closet or garage with more than a few items that a maker is just waiting to get their hands on. It's garage sale season, why not get that stuff out there and into some creative hands? It's a great way to make a few dollars for spending on your own sprouting maker ideas, and a good way to get some use out of that old bread maker that was gathering dust. Someone might be waiting to make a compost accelerator out of it.

If hauling your personal effects out to the lawn doesn't sound appealing, then carting it off and donating it to a thrift store is the next best thing. Thrift stores are a maker's treasure trove. Old toys can be harvested for their gears and wheels, any electronic thing that makes sound is waiting to have it's circuits bent (more about that in a future article), and some clothes are just begging to be altered and made new again.

Makers come in all stripes, and crafters are some of the best citizens of the maker realm. Craft show season is approaching, so make some plans to spend some quality time browsing a local sale. Chances are, at least some of these makers have chosen to forgo a steady pay cheque to put their full creative energies to the task of supporting themselves. Buying handmade is a great way to support makers. Besides, adorning the front yard with a handmade flowerbed sign or decorative concrete stepping stone warms your home much more than those mass-produced (and potentially hazardous) plastic bric-a-brac lawn ornaments, don't you think?

If the crafty niche isn't your style, you can still seek to donate your financial appreciation towards the maker community. Local artists are pushing the boundaries in their craft to make fine pieces of pottery wall art and sculpture. It might take some research, but chances are you will find someone in the area that is right now working on something you and your family would love to display in your home. I thoroughly enjoyed the Wilmot Rural Routes Studio Tour last fall, and it was a great way to see the diversity of artists in our area.

So, if you're not yet ready to take the plunge into the maker world, there are plenty of ways for you to contribute. Keep an eye on your own circle of friends and family for any budding makers, and support them in any way you can.

The article I wrote for "The Maker" column in the March 17th issue of The New Hamburg Independent...

Makers perform and perfect their craft in many places. The basement workbench scented by the smoke lazily drifting off a soldering iron, a garage full of power tools, a sewing room piled high with fabric and fasteners, or the kitchen table. Working here the maker is productive with their uninterrupted bursts of creativity. But there are always those times when a maker's drive runs dry. Maybe they are struggling to master a new skill, or they are unsure how to handle a new material. A great way for makers to connect with other people and share their fascinations is to get involved with a “hackerspace.”

I'm starting to write for the local newspaper again. Here's my first article for a column my editor has named "The Maker". It went to print in the Feb 24, 2010 issue of The New Hamburg Independent (which actually gets delivered on the 23rd)...

I grew up surrounded by people who made stuff. My father built things large and small. Things like greenhouses, and ornamental windmills and flower pot holders. My mom sewed and crocheted and was always knitting something. My grandfather built his own table-saw and was an avid carpenter. My grandmother made the most delicate tablecloths and doilies you can imagine. My uncle even built a trailer from the back end of a van that had been through a front end collision, and he just had to paint it the same overly vibrant orange to match the van that would tow it.

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 :)