AMIE CHEN

For gamers, digital artists, and coders alike, there is nothing more satisfying than a well-designed UI (user interface). Amie Chen has had much success with her UIs over the years, helping multiple startups and larger companies appeal to their clientele with an easy-to-understand interface. Among her programs are Pretzel, which shows keyboard shortcuts depending on which app is the current focus. She’s also the mind behind Stitches, an HTML template generator with CSS functions. In an interview with Maker Mag, she told them “making products is a byproduct of getting to a good solution, and getting closer to a good solution is what gets me out of bed every day.”

ARIELE ALASKO

On the opposite end of the spectrum of “digital to traditional” lies Ariele Alasko, a woodworker from Brooklyn. What began as a hobby quickly spiraled into a full-time job, with Alasko dedicating her time to crafting both functional and decorative pieces. One of her specialties? Brushes shaped like a “U” with bristles on both sides. But she’s also made cutlery, tables, mobiles, and wall hangings. Her Instagram is updated regularly with pictures of her woodwork as well, some of it for sale. (Occasionally, the updates are of her dog, Mazie.)

MENGLY HERNANDEZ

Most people find repetition to be… well, repetitive. But Mengly Hernandez relishes in it. According to her website, it’s “a meditation through which she explores and mends traumatic memories.” Beyond personal healing, it results in beautiful patterns and designs full of color. Her craft manifests in art installations and sculptures using a mix of fibers and textiles. She’s even dabbled in performance art. While none of her work is for sale, don’t think she’s just letting it sit in a gallery: much of it adorns her home or her body (or that of her children).

SARA VIEIRA

Hailing from Portugal, Sara Vieira is well-known for her unique, front-end apps and advocacy for mental health. In 2018, she released the popular app “Is There Uber In,” which informs travelers whether there’s a ridesharing service available in a certain location. As for mental health, her presentation “Your Brain Does Not Have a Fix Flag” uses pop culture references and easy-to-understand language to tackle a very serious issue. Her retelling of her own struggles with panic disorder and depression are blunt, but the writing and multitude of GIFs make it enjoyable.

JESS EDDY

Continuing our international tour is Jess Eddy, based out of Sydney, Australia. She’s worked on several projects over the years. Among these are “UI Goodies” and “Get a Room.” The former is a catalog of resources for designers and developers build a user interface. The latter allows users to easily book a conference room. In 2018, she told Maker Mag “to me, indie making is about empowerment. It’s not about waiting for someone else to bring a solution or asking for permission. It’s observing your environment and looking for areas to improve upon or innovate it.”

LAUREN HOM

Here’s a fun motto for you: “work hard, snack often.” These are the words that Lauren Hom has dedicated her life to. You’ve probably seen her lettering before- some of her past clients include Starbucks, YouTube, and TIME Magazine. The McCafé products at McDonald’s? That’s her! And true to her motto, her Instagram frequently features her delectable looking “Hom Noms.” Also worth checking out is her “Flour Crowns” series, where she dons delightful headwear… made of bread. Who says female makers can’t be stylish?

LISA HOLBROOK LEWIS

Lisa Holbrook Lewis is a female maker from Oregon who specializes in handmade goods. Her main passion are stump prints. Using stumps or logs found during hikes, she dips them in ink and stamps them to paper. The result is a one-of-a-kind piece of art. But that’s not all she can do with wood. She’s also crafted stools, candle holders, end tables, and planters from scavenged wood. While her Instagram hasn’t been updated for a while, her website “Light & Ink” still has plenty of prints available for sale.

LIMOR FRIED

Known as “Lady Ada,” Limor Fried is more than just an icon among makers. She’s empowering other makers to bring their creations to life. (Much like Inventionland!) Her company, Adafruit, was founded in 2005 and quickly became a staple for the NYC maker scene. In 2016, she was named a White House Champion of Change. Two years later, Forbes Magazine deemed her one of America’s Top 50 Women in Tech. She’s still proud of her honor with Wired Magazine, however, being the first female engineer to grace the cover.

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If you don’t want to spend your hard earned cash on the latest in VR tech, which can be anywhere from $100 to upwards of $800, there’s a DIY for that. In fact, thanks to DIY makers who put their tips out there, you’re able to make your own smartphone compatible VR headset for less than $20?

Here’s all you need for the project: Cardboard (obviously), Velcro strips, tape (packing and scotch), a pair of Biconvex lenses, a head strap, glue, and your smartphone. That’s all, folks! As for additional tools, you’ll only need scissors (which we assume you already have in your house… somewhere), a cutting board (again, you hopefully already have this because you’re a person), and a box knife.

If you saw the word Biconvex and had a small stroke, don’t worry we’ve got you covered. There are several available options for these lenses available on Amazon in a varying range of sizes. Luckily they’re super affordable, if you only need one pair it’s less than $7! If you want to shop around for other options, the creator from Creativity Buzz gives this advice in the description, “You can use any easily available convex lens. If the focal length is low, like 35mm to 50mm then performance is good. However, those are not easily available. So use the lens from small magnifying glass or toy binocular. Those are having a focal length of 100mm to 120mm.”

The velcro strips are also very easy to find, but you could also easily cut up ones you already own if you don’t want to buy a whole pack (you’ll only need one).

The YouTube channel that brings us this innovative masterpiece is called Creative Buzz, which was originally started by Akash Vaghani, a Youtuber from India. The channel first began as an outlet for his love of engineering and a part-time way to pay off his college fees as he studied Civil Engineering. Now the outlet has grown into full-time work with high-quality equipment and more than 800,000 loyal subscribers. They’ve even created a Facebook Page and website for fans who want to continue to follow and support their maker-friendly projects.

After you complete this inexpensive and easy DIY, you’ll be ready to leave our reality behind and explore the virtual worlds available to you. As a pro-tip, the Maker who created this DIY leaves us with some helpful tips on some smartphone compatible VR apps to try with our brand new headsets, “When looking for apps for Google Cardboard I recommend searching Google Cardboard, durovis dive, and virtual reality in the app store in order to find the most results. My favorite apps are Insidious VR, Google Cardboard, and Roller Coaster Simulator.”

We’re trying to level our excitement, but we can’t control ourselves. Get out there and get gaming, fellow Makers!

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1) Build a bookshelf with ladders and wood

Would you believe that all you need to create your very own bookshelf is two ladders and planks of wood? Step one, buy two ladders. Step two, buy planks of wood that are thin enough to fit within the steps of the ladder and long enough to reach them both when they’re opened. Make sure you measure before you buy the wood. Step three, place the planks of wood within the ladder steps. Now you’ve got a new place to display your books. Extra points if you paint the ladders or wood!

2) Sharpie Mug

Have you seen those adorable customized mugs all over Etsy? Well, it’s really easy to make one of your own. All you need is a coffee cup, a sharpie, and an oven- that’s it. Simply take the sharpie and write or draw whatever you want on your cup. Once whatever you wrote or drew on the mug is dry, pop the mug in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Viola! You now have your own customized mug (and maybe even the beginnings of your own Etsy shop, too).

3) Color Your Keys

Do you spend a good five minutes at your front door, struggling to hold all of your belongings as you flip through your various keys? Rather than buy key covers, try this simple DIY project to help. Simply take nail polish in various colors and paint a different color on the head of each key. That’s it. Much easier to find the one purple key than one of the ten silver keys you have.

4) Bathroom Basket

If you want a cute storage bin to display your various soaps and candles, but don’t want to spend money on a wicker basket, there’s a very easy and inexpensive way to make your own. Simply take a cardboard box and a piece of frayed, rustic rope. Using a hot glue gun, glue the rope along the bottom edge of the box. Continue to spin the rope around and glue, working your way up to the top of the box. Once you reach the top, snip off the end of the rope and make sure the pieces are secure. Next, take an old white tank top and cut at the halfway mark. Glue the top two halves together, then fold them over the top of the basket. Now you have a rustic bin for all of your bathroom display needs. Check out the video below to see the steps in more detail:

5) Imprint a photo onto wood

To display a photo with a more rustic feel here’s a super easy way to imprint a photo onto wood. Simply cover the wood with gel medium and place the paper photo face down on its surface. Smooth our all the bubbles firmly and let it dry overnight. In the morning, dab the photo with a wet cloth and gently rub the wetted paper residue off. Cover with Mod Podge and let it dry. And now you’ve got a rustic wooden photo to display however you’d like!

6) Wooden Pallets to Couch

This one may sound beyond your capabilities, but we promise it’s super easy. Simply start by taking some old wooden pallets and painting them with white paint. Then you stack them strategically in a corner of your house and place cushions on top. Suddenly you have a super cute couch and some storage space to boot!

7) Blanket Ladder

Supplies:

– 16 feet of wood and 8-foot furring strips
-Eight (2 and 1/2 inch) wood screws.
-Wood glue
-Stain (Minwax in Dark Walnut)
-Saw (if you don’t own a chop saw you could easily do this project by hand with a hacksaw)

First, cut one 5-foot piece of wood from each of your 8-foot pieces, so you have two five foot pieces. Then cut four 18 inch pieces of wood from the remaining wood. Lay them out on the ground to make a ladder. Put them 12 inches apart and measure 18 inches from the ground and leave 6 inches at the top so that you can hang the blanket from the bottom bar. Dab a little bit of wood glue on the end of each bar then attach with a screw from the outside of each side piece going straight into the center of the end of each bar. Stain it the color of your choice and let it dry and air out completely.

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But what is the maker movement? It’s the technological side of DIY, with an emphasis on creating new hardware and tinkering with the old. There is some overlap with hacker culture, but hackers are more concerned with software rather than physical tech. Everything from robotics and 3D printing to metalworking and arts-and-crafts have their place in the maker movement. As the name implies, it’s about creating something new, rather than depending on the old. It’s about creativity and invention.

Obviously, none of these activities are new. Inventors and creative types have existed since the dawn of humankind. But the maker movement is the first time such a large and dedicated base is devoted to invention and production. Previously, inventors were considered odd and quirky, operating outside of normal trends. Now, they’re everywhere, and seen as visionaries. Revolutionaries, even. It all depends on who you ask.

That said, these modern inventors still face many of the problems their predecessors did–namely, securing funds. Not everybody is able to become an eccentric billionaire with a mansion full of strange devices. This is where Kickstarter comes in. An individual or group comes up with a product, technological or otherwise, and builds a prototype. They’re unable to convince any companies to buy and produce their product. Instead, they turn to Kickstarter, where anybody interested in their idea can invest in making it a reality and gain a few perks along the way.

Kickstarter was founded by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler in 2009. It was an immediate success, with the New York Times calling it “the people’s NEA.” Reportedly, more than $4 billion in pledges have been made, across more than 250,000 projects. The very first successful Kickstarter was darkpony’s “Drawing for Dollars,” which exceeded its goal of $20 by 75%. Compare this to the most successful project, the Pebble Time smartwatch, which made over 4000% of its funding. Humble beginnings, indeed.

For the most part, it’s a win-win scenario. Inventors can promote their product and offer incentives for higher donations. Interested consumers can pay what they want, often getting an early version of the product in return. The inventors get funding, the consumers get the product. With Kickstarter’s policy of money only going to the host if the project is completely funded, there’s an extra layer of security in case of failure. And failures there have been- most notably, Central Standard Timing, which raised more than a million dollars before being canceled due to mismanagement.

Still, for every bomb, there’s one that manages to succeed. This has opened the door for hundreds, if not thousands of members of the maker movement to bring their creations to life. While this does saturate the market to a degree, it’s also allowed for some amazing advancements in just a few years. For example, coding was once a hobby for only the most dedicated computer nerds, requiring advanced knowledge of multiple programming languages. Now, kids can learn to code their own websites or games using toys or online tools. This, in turn, inspires a new generation of the maker movement.

Kickstarter and similar sites are not exclusive to the maker movement, nor are they the root source of the cause. Rather, the two coexist and work together to improve lives. Quite literally in some cases- a successful Kickstarter might help both the inventor pay their rent and result in a device that helps those with a disability. Yes, the platform has flaws, and the maker movement isn’t devoid of failure either. For every success story you hear, there’s at least a dozen more that have flopped.

The maker movement will only continue to grow over the next decade as new generations with interests in technology and creativity come of age. Some may even be so young as to not remember a time when Kickstarter was commonplace. There’s a new era of self-made millionaires out there, just waiting to be discovered. You just need to find the right link to their page.

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The World Maker Faire hosts large and small-scale Maker Faires all over the world. These fairs host around 200,000 people annually; in 2017, there were 190 smaller-scale Maker Faires all around the world with 30 larger ones in big cities. Each separate fair is hosted out of a school, community building, or larger convention center. These family-friendly, weekend-long events feature DIY spaces, more 3D printers than you can imagine, robotics teams, costumes, food and retail from around the world. Makers are able to present in panels about STEM and STEAM topics, their focuses are on innovation as they celebrate the past forms of creation as well.

On September 22^nd, the World Maker Faire will take place in Corona, New York at the New York Hall of Science. While there, you can get inspired by all of the projects and art installations focused on electronics, robotics, 3D printing, and fabrication. Some notable Makers who will be there are Possibility Studios – a Makerspace out of NY, Mass Destruction 10 – a New England combat robot building group, and the Fearless Fixers – a group who teaches the users on how to repair day-to-day electronics. To find a Maker Faire that is local to you, visit the Maker Faire website:  https://makerfaire.com/map/

Burning Man is another example of a maker gathering, but this one is on the other end of the spectrum. Where the World Maker Faire takes place indoors and operates as more of a convention, Burning Man is a little rawer. Taking place outside in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada, the event starts with an empty desert and ends with what the event-goers refer to as Black Rock City, a temporary city dedicated to family, art, self-expression, and relying on yourself.  Artists and creators from around the world attend this week-long event. The event, which states that it is not a convention but a community, relies on ten principles that explore the values of their community: radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace (respecting the environment), participation, and immediacy.

Now through January 2019, the Smithsonian seeks to bring the art of Burning Man to the east coast by hosting an exhibit called “No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man” at its Renwick Gallery. With room-sized installations and framed photographs of installations that were later burned with the city, you will be able to get a feel of the growth of this event and the culture and community around it. Many of the exhibits feature smaller scale pieces, “Truth is Beauty” by Marco Cochrane, was a 55’ dancer that was recreated to be 30’ so that it could fit within the gallery. Others are VR booths that are set up to digitally walk through a museum of the artist’s full collection of interactive pieces. Also, there are artists who are setting up new pieces entirely for this exhibit, who have nothing but photos to represent their works as they have burned them all. By walking into this gallery, which is mere steps away from the White House, you will truly feel like you’re stepping into Black Rock City.

These gatherings, though very different, are focused around the exact same thing: creating and making together. There is a focus on community and networking that gives you a “these are my people,” feeling when you enter. Though they’re hosted in two different environments: one indoors and the other outdoors, both of them are filled to the brim with people who are unashamed to be themselves. These gatherings and the overall Maker Movement are helping people embrace who they are and share what they’re doing. With the “show and tell” mindset, Maker gatherings are a facet that continues to bring the community together.

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Maker Culture and the movement around it is thought to be a reaction to the disconnect within the physical world in cities. To simplify this, Maker Culture has been created as a bridge to pull communities back into sharing and face-to-face interaction as people help one another. Another idea of why Maker Culture is significant is because of millennials. This generation wasn’t necessarily required to take a woodshop or home economics class and may have work-oriented parents who were not likely to pass on these important skills. Therefore, millennials take to the internet to teach cooking, crafting, building, and many more maker skills as they start to build homes and families.

Maker Culture which can also be called Do-It-Yourself Culture (DIY Culture), and speaks to the very informal, highly networked, peer-lead movement of sharing skills. This contains trades as well as simple or detailed crafts that you might not have the supplies or skills to craft at home or by yourself. With the movement starting within more condensed places like cities, you can see the need (and space to utilize) power tools and various other technologies, has rapidly declined. This has sparked those deeply engaged in the maker movement to set up places known as Open Source Hardware Shops where someone can come in and work with materials that they might not have space or money for.
Some of the popular fields that are addressed within Maker Culture are art, metal-working and jewelry making, calligraphy, filmmaking, website making and design, and technology. Products that are produced within these communities have a focus on sustainable development, helping the environment, and improving the local culture. Sometimes, these groups of Makers set out to improve the community through art installations or collections. The movement can be seen in classrooms, offices, elderly homes, and much more.
Maker Culture is taking off worldwide. Created to address a need to get our hands dirty and pull together as a community, it is benefitting the world in many different ways. By attending group events in a close city, checking out a DIY project online, or reaching out to share your skills; you are not only be adding to this amazing culture and movement, but you are be learning and improving your personal skills as well.

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