One of my favorite exhibitors at World Maker Faire was Brad Litwin, who does exquisitely-crafted, whimsical kinetic sculptures. I gave him one of my Editor’s Choice Blue Ribbons. Now, Brad is selling these wonderful crank-powered “MechaniCards.” What a nifty gift. They sell for $45 assembled, $35 for a kit. [Via Boing Boing] MechaniCards More: Brad […]
UK maker Nick Thatcher’s pistol-sized coilgun is a mere 15cm (5.9″) long and uses 5 caps taken from disposable cameras. I think the brass bars are just to make it look like a raygun. On my last coilgun the charging unit was built in, this resulted in a rather hefty box slung underneath the main […]
Bumped into one of my new neighbors at the mailbox last week, and when I mentioned that I work for MAKE, she mentioned that her teenage son builds puzzles. Mechanical puzzles. Complicated ones. Turns out, he doesn’t just build them–he designs original configurations and sells them online. He’s got a following.
On today’s O’Reilly Radar, Dale Dougherty has posted the full text of the talk Thomas Kalil delivered at a workshop entitled “Innovation, Education, and the Maker Movement,” held (at the NY Hall of Science) immediately following World Maker Faire. This speech is quite amazing, coming as it does from the Deputy Director of Policy of […]
On my radar this week is Marc Newson’s show at Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea. Newson approaches design as an experimental exercise in extreme structure and advanced technologies, combined with a highly tactile and exacting exploration of materials, processes, and skills. As an industrial designer, his reach is broad and diverse, from concept jets and cars […]
This astounding architectural resource is a treasure to anyone working with building design, construction, or for those of us just fascinated by architecture from our armchairs. Run by ArchitectureWeek, the site seems an inexhaustible database of photos, building plans, building and architectural element information and history, and other technical and cultural-historical aspects of architecture. You […]
Steve posing with his Winnebiko II in the late 80s A big Maker Birthday shout-out to our friend, MAKE contributor, and DIY superhero Steve Roberts. Steve has been artfully hacking the physical world in creative, innovative, and inspiring ways for decades. Throughout the 80s, he biked across America, in his tricked-out recumbent, computerized bikes and […]
