Interesting notion for a Lego-based enterprise Eli Carter, who wants to sell you a custom-packed kit (complete with custom instructions) to build a Lego nameplate with text and colors of your choosing. Check it out at Brick-Built Nameplates.
Since the Makers Market beta closed, a group of self-described “MM Refugees” has set up an Etsy treasury to promote their “wonderful science, tech and artistic creations.” I’m very pleased to see this; some of my personal favorites are included. They’ve also got a Facebook group. [Thanks, Michelle!]
Andrew Argyle’s original Sputnik I clock was featured way back in MAKE Volume 03. Since then Andrew, aka GlowingTech, has done very well selling fully assembled Nixie clocks, kits to make Nixie clocks, and individual and bundled components. The kit pictured here is based on an article published in the October 2006 issue of Nuts and Volts, and includes everything needed to make a 6-tube Nixie clock, less the case, for $100.
If you’re sitting on a clever idea for an electronics kit, why not enter it in our Gadget Freak Design Contest? Besides the publicity, you could win $1000 to help get your idea off the ground, as well as a free pass to sell your kit in Makers Market.
Doug Jackson’s DIY Word Clock Kits, which we first blogged about back in April, have been a giant hit. Doug has done a lot of things right. In classic maker fashion, he’s taken a very expensive piece of designer electronics and shown us how to do it ourselves for a fraction of the price. He hasn’t kept any secrets, open-sourcing the design at every step of the way. And he’s offered a range of pricing options to suit his customers’ available funds, time, and skill level, providing his kits in various stages of completion from just the PCB all the way up to the completely assembled clock.
That said, there’s almost nothing we like to see better than a maker hanging out a shingle and selling their own handiwork. Finding these people and helping to promote their work was the single biggest reason we launched Makers Market. If you’re on the fence about hanging out your own shingle, give it a look and/or drop me an e-mail, and let’s talk. Likewise, if you’re ready to take the plunge but could use a bit of start-up cash, consider entering our Gadget Freak Design Contest. It’s been running for a couple of weeks, now, but the pool of entrants is still small, and the pool of truly impressive entries is smaller still, so there’s a very real opportunity there for the right clever person with the right clever idea. First prize is $1,000 in cash and guaranteed admission to Makers Market.
