The Maker Movement

I have been absent from this blog for a while because I have been busy "making." 

I am a maker.

I make things.

I get great satisfaction from creating useful items for my customers.

I love that they pass through my hands.

Many people who aren't familiar with the online world of handmade will learn about what I do and say, "you should go on that show, Shark Tank." They don't really understand. I don't have a brilliant idea that I need financial backing for so that I can produce a million gizmos in China to sell to the hungry consumers.....

I create. With my hands. One item at a time.

I work directly with my customers.

This is the new way.

Or perhaps, the new, old way.

I just finished reading Makers by Chris Anderson. The Amazon description of this book states,

Wired magazine editor and bestselling author Chris Anderson takes you to the front lines of a new industrial revolution as today’s entrepreneurs, using open source design and 3-D printing, bring manufacturing to the desktop.  In an age of custom-fabricated, do-it-yourself product design and creation, the collective potential of a million garage tinkerers and enthusiasts is about to be unleashed, driving a resurgence of American manufacturing.  A generation of “Makers” using the Web’s innovation model will help drive the next big wave in the global economy, as the new technologies of digital design and rapid prototyping gives everyone the power to invent -- creating “the long tail of things”.

The author talks about how his grandfather designed and patented the underground sprinkler system in the 1960s. At that time, makers were not entrepeneurs. His grandfather had to patent his idea and then try to find a company that would license the product and be able to mass produce and market the product.

In today's world, makers can bring products to market without building huge inventories thanks to desktop design tools and access to manufacturing. The community can factor into the design process, helping to tweak designs to optimize features the customers want.

The author discusses the 3D printer at length. (I admit, my knowledge of the 3D printer came from "The Big Bang Theory"....)  The 3D printer will make creating easier. Essentially, the maker movement is like having cottage industries. Makers create niche products, but can sell it to the world.

I started on Etsy. I built my own website.

And now I am proud to be a maker on two amazing websites: Makeably and Custom Handmade. I am increasingly seeing more platforms for customers to work directly with makers.

I recommend the book "Makers". If you read it, let me know what you think!