Becky Stern never turns off. Her creativity is as boundless as her energy. She is constantly putting together tutorials, moderating comments, creating videos, teaching, and making incredible objects for her online shop. Everything that Becky does is accurate, measured, and legit- even her abstract art has a purpose and is well reasoned. She is determined to understand everything from knitting machines to welding machines, but understanding them is never enough. Becky masters them.
One Project You Are Particularly Proud Of
1: My ASCII heart necklace: one of my more balanced combinations of tech and craft.
Two Mistakes You’ve Made in the Past
1: In college I worked as a computer lab tech on campus. One sleep-deprived shift during finals, I forgot to retrieve the department’s new presentation laptop from a classroom before the end of the night, and it was stolen. Since the building was under construction, the security camera network was down and the laptop was lost forever. I felt so terrible about it. I’ve since established a “when in doubt, lock it down” philosophy toward computers, cameras, bikes, and other valuables. It was the only major mistake I had ever made on duty there, and my then-boss let me keep my job. (Thanks, Dave!)
2: Letting YouTube comments get to me: MAKE has a quarter million subscribers on YouTube, and they sure are chatty. Something about YouTube attracts the lowest of the trolls, and the hurtful comments used to get to me. Not anymore! My skin has grown thick and now all I see are Halloween costume suggestions like La Roux or Ron Weasley.
Three Things That Make Your Work Unique
1: Alpha nerd: I work comfortably across disciplines in tech and craft.
2: Documentation: If it’s not online, it might as well not exist. I take pride in meticulous project videos, photos, and how-to instructions.
3: My sense of humor: I hope it comes across in projects like my Vicodin jewelry, laptop compubody sock, and Twitchie scorpion.
Four Tools You Love to Use
1: Olfa utility knife: Essentially a pro boxcutter, this thing holds its blade super steady and cuts like a hot knife through butter.
2: Olympus E-P2 camera: I wouldn’t be caught dead without my hip-snapping HD video-enabled sharp-shooter.
3: Foredom flex shaft: This pedal-operated rotary tool is like a Dremel on steroids, essential for jewelry production.
4: Rawhide jewelry mallet: This small soft-ish mallet doesn’t leave marks when I use it to flatten silver pieces against a steel anvil.
Five Inspirations
1: New York City – always moving, provides a sense of urgency.
2: My coworkers – some of the most creative, hardworking people on the planet.
3: Fear: If it makes me nervous or uncomfortable, there must be something there to learn or explore. For example: knee surgery, scorpions, power tools, and fire.
4: The pursuit of new skills: I love to learn new creative techniques, and will seek out the people who can teach me.
5: Maker Faire: The inspirational awesomeness factor at Maker Faire is off the chart. At every turn is sheer maker joy, and it’s impossible to leave without the strong urge to go straight to the studio and get making.
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