Energy & Sustainability

If you’re a maker just starting out your journey in sustainability, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to get started. From understanding the types of materials to utilize, learning what steps will help reduce waste and emissions, and finding inspiring new ways to explore creativity that don’t have a negative environmental impact. The good news is there are plenty of resources available for DIYers looking for ways to make their projects more sustainable – from simple switches you can make today, big-picture ideas for longterm change, or exciting new ways makers are helping push sustainability into the future. In these blog posts we’ll look at tips tricks and ideas specifically tailored towards diyers and makers on the road to creating projects with greater eco consciousness so that not only will you create something beautiful but also respect its impact on our planet!

Happy Higgs Boson Day!

Happy Higgs Boson Day!

A tachyon walks into a bar. The bartender says “Hey buddy, not so fast.” Happy 4th of July, everybody!  I celebrated today along with the rest of America: by hanging out with friends, throwing some meat on the grill, and discussing the breaking (and long-awaited) discovery of a Higgs Boson particle. The discovery is touted […]

Liberty Tool Company of Liberty, Maine

Liberty Tool Company of Liberty, Maine

Liberty Tool Company in Liberty, Maine sells salvaged hand tools. This lovely three minute video featuring Liberty owner and tool buyer H.G. “Skip” Brack pays homage to beautiful old tools, notes the importance of tool use in sustainable economies of the future, and provides a glimpse into a solid small-town business providing a useful service to its patrons.

Stair-Navigating Skateboard

Stair-Navigating Skateboard

Po-Chih Lai’s Stair Rover is designed to traverse stairs as easily as flat surfaces. The piece aims to expanding the capability and possibility of extreme sports as we understand them. Inherited from our natural instincts, sliding as children and snowboarding as adults, the focus is on one of the most influential and stimulating sports – […]

How-To: Extract and Process Natural Clay

How-To: Extract and Process Natural Clay

This two-part series from Eddie Starnater of Practical Primitive shows you how to extract the clay from raw soil and process it into a material that can be used for pottery. In the first part, Eddie teaches a simple water extraction process that uses a series of mixing and decanting steps to remove sand and silt, followed by pouch filtration to remove excess water. In part two…