Maker Spotlight: Anne Quinn

Name: Anne Quinn

Home: Overland Park, KS.

Makerspace: Hammerspace Workshop in Kansas City, MO. 

Day Job: Digital machinist & graphic artist 

How did you get started in making?

I have been a creative for as long as I can remember. I went to UW-Stout for industrial design and UWEC for illustration. Industry work aside, I’m also active in various hobbies including arcade, video game and anime related cosplay & prop builds, elaborate Hama bead pixel art, and most recently laser cut meme designs.

What type of maker would you classify yourself as?

I suppose I would place myself somewhere in the mix of traditional arts, graphic design, and pop culture. My lifelong passion for gaming has been the inspiration for many of my creations over the years. However I am always willing to expand my knowledge into other aspects of making. My current job in custom fabrication gives me the opportunity to make things that are outside of my personal interests which is what I absolutely love about it.

What’s your favorite thing you have made?

I don’t know if I can claim a favorite. I’m proud of the way several of my projects have turned out, and I consider each new project a learning experience. I recently worked on a collaboration project with a few of my fellow maker friends at Hammerspace Workshop, building custom retro style bar top arcade cabinets that run thousands of retro games using Raspberry Pi. I took on the task of creating the custom vinyl decal art for the outsides of the arcade cabinets to give them that extra retro flare, an artistic challenge that was right up my alley. We made 4 of these machines to show off at the most recent Maker Faire event in Kansas City, and now we offer this arcade project as a regular class at our makerspace.

Any advice for people reading this?  

Keep pushing the limits within yourself and you may find that you are capable of more than you ever imagined.