Since launching MAKE seven years ago, our mission has been to inspire, inform, and connect the global community of makers — and aspiring makers. A central goal of our work is to help people get started with making.
And so it was at the end of our first Maker Faire that we thought, “How cool would it be if people could take home a slice of Maker Faire in the form of a kit they could do afterward to keep the magic alive?” Meanwhile makers kept asking us, “What ever happened to the chemistry sets and Heathkits I remember?”
We began to see an opportunity taking form. From this simple precept, we grew the Maker Shed store as a key element of the MAKE experience.
Since then, the Maker Shed has taught more than 10,000 people to solder; helped over 100,000 customers get started making or learn a new technology with our DIY kits, tools, and supplies; and supported dozens of independent makers launching their own small businesses, by writing about their products and carrying their early-stage kits in the Maker Shed store.
Those are achievements we’re proud of, but we’ve only scratched the surface. We know there are so many more makers out there just waiting to get their hands dirty.
We respect that not everyone celebrates the holidays, or chooses to do so with gifts. However, if you do, we hope you’ll give friends and loved ones the gift of making this season.
If you’re a subscriber, you’ll find our first-ever Maker Shed catalog mailed with this volume of MAKE. (If you’re reading someone else’s copy or bought yours on the newsstand, you can find our catalog at makershed.com/catalog).
Whether it’s for a subscription to MAKE, one of our hands-on Make: Projects books, or DIY kits or tools, please consider shopping in MAKE’s own store this season, and spread the spirit of making.
And for even more gift ideas, look for our new special issue, the MAKE Ultimate Kit Guide, on newsstands Nov. 22, and at makershed.com (item #KITSIP). You’ll discover 200 top DIY kits: rockets and robots; beverage-making and bicycles; chemistry and crafts; aircraft, automotive, and adventure; music, marine, and more. Revisit classic kits, and meet state-of-the-art kit makers like Wayne and Layne, Adafruit, Spikenzie Labs, Wired’s Chris Anderson and his DIY Drones, and many more. It’s a gift guide that makes a great gift in itself.
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