Eccentric Cubicle book excerpt: improvisational fabrication

Here’s another Make: Books PDF excerpt, this time from Eccentric Cubicle. In the introductory chapter, author Kaden Harris explains the philosophy of improvisational fabrication:

A Maker’s life is rarely fully funded, with an unlimited budget, a state-of-the-art shop facility, and a team of brilliant young assistants poised to spring into action and help bring a creative vision into reality. In terms of toolage, raw materials, and skillset/knowledge base, “work with what ya got” is pretty much standard-issue methodology for [insert really high percentage here] of us. Whether this situation ultimately proves to be limiting or liberating depends entirely on your attitude towards “comfort zones, working outside of.”

Now, I’ve never met an out-of-the blue creative impulse that didn’t warrant at least two sketches, a few Google inquiries and a cursory rummage through the parts bins. Before I know it, it’s 6:00 the next morning, and I’m waist-deep in technology I know almost nothing about, watching the coffee distill, wondering “what the Hell was I thinking?” and counting down the minutes until the scrap yards open their gates.

Comfort zone? What comfort zone?

Over time, this seat-of-the-pants approach to Making coalesced into something that’s almost definable, and definitely learnable: The Philosophy of Improvisational Fabrication. Common sense from a Maker perspective, it’s based on the following pillars…

Follow this link for the full excerpt.

Previously:

• Fashioning Technology book excerpt: Sewing Soft Circuits

Buy Eccentric Cubicle by Kaden Harris in the Maker Shed today!

Who says office cubicles need to be dreary? In this book, author Kaden Harris of Eccentric Genius introduces aspiring and die-hard Makers to a highly entertaining parallel universe of surreal office-based projects that are sure to pique the curiosity of even the most jaded office mates. From desktop guillotines and crossbows to mood-enhancing effects and music makers, each project presents a different set of challenges and opens new avenues of Maker lore.