Andy Birkey takes pride in being known for the “weirdness” of his work. A life-long maker, Andy pays his bills doing restoration work on churches and cathedrals. But in the true maker spirit, Andy’s other projects can incorporate reclaimed materials, metal, wood, plastic, and aesthetics from modern to steampunk. Connecting with the maker community has given Andy an opportunity to share a lifetime of knowledge with a new family around the world. Join us as we talk to Andy about:
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Jason Harrelson is the founder of Harrelson Trumpets. An experience in college led Jason to question what made one trumpet sound good while another sounded bad. Following that question all the way down the rabbit hole caused Jason to drop out of school and start his own company manufacturing high-end custom brass instruments. When you ask Jason what he does, however, he calls himself an inventor. Join us as we talk to Jason about:
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Bill Livolsi developed his skills as a writer doing work he didn’t care for. After ten years in the same niche, he began to search for something more than just a paycheck. In the last year, Bill has reinvented himself, connected with a community, and found a passion in making — and writing about it. In this episode, we discuss:
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Laura Kampf is an artist and Maker from Cologne, Germany. Through her popular YouTube channel, Laura shares projects spanning a number of disciplines, insight on making as a career, and her impeccable taste in music — all beautifully filmed thanks to a keen eye and a solid foundation in videography. Join us as we discuss:
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Tech startups and chocolate don’t seem like they have anything in common; but Ben Tseitlin, an entrepreneur and educator, uses chocolate as a way to introduce people to making. His company Benchic Chocolate offers hands-on classes in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, and also sells complete chocolate-making kits so you can experience the process at home. Listen to our conversation with Ben as we discuss:
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Bill Fienup started his career in product development while still a student in grade school. Though his perpetual motion machines were doomed to failure, they sparked a lifelong passion for product development that persisted throughout his life. Now, as president of Catalyze Chicago, Bill runs an incubator for hardware startups where he uses his experience to help others bring their products to market.
Follow along as we talk to Bill about:
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As a soldier in the US Army, Mike Merzke found himself making rudimentary furniture for his fellow soldiers while deployed to Iraq. His making hobby made life a little more comfortable for the soldiers away from home. Now, as Mike nears retirement from the Army, he is building his former hobby into a business — Merzke Custom Woodworking. Join us as we talk to Mike about:
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Tim Molinaro is a content creator and engineer. In his spare time, he runs Into the Dirtshop, a channel devoted to both making things and fixing things. With a passion for trash picking and working with reclaimed materials, Tim also has a flair for automotive work. His videos teach us that you don’t need a fancy shop to be a maker. You just need the desire to do it.
Join us as we talk to Tim about:
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Izzy Swan is an incredibly prolific person. Between furniture design, a truly prolific array of YouTube videos, and spending time with his children, Izzy still considers himself “as retired as he’s going to get.” Izzy found success by forging his own path. He has emerged as a prominent figure in the maker community with a reputation for creative problem solving and playful designs. Listen to our conversation with Izzy as we discuss:
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Curtis Buchanan makes chairs, but not just any chairs. He makes Windsor chairs the way they have always been made — by hand, starting from logs. A poor student throughout his academic career, Curtis found his passion only after leaving college without much of a plan. A succession of odd jobs and over 100,000 miles of hitchhiking gave Curtis a thirst for experience and a tolerance for risk that would serve him well in his career as a maker of fine furniture.
This episode was originally published on April 1st, 2016. Due to an error in the feed, it has been republished here. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Will Holman is a maker and furniture designer with big ideas. His book, “Guerilla Furniture Design,” comes from a lifetime of living the nomadic lifestyle, often leaving belongings behind when moving from place to place. He is also an architect and the general manager of OpenWorks, a future makerspace in Baltimore. Will hopes to provide a space for community members to learn, work, teach, and start their own businesses. Our conversation with Will covers many topics, including:
Patrick Laperrière, better known as Pat Lap or Le Picbois, makes woodturning videos that combine skill, humor, and heavy metal. Working out of his grandfather’s workshop in Quebec, Pat began making videos as a way to get more time in the shop. Pat’s sincere enjoyment of life and his love for both making and the community of makers is evident in everything he does. Join us as we talk to Pat about:
In his own words, Steve Blom makes beautiful things. Through his business, Sawtooth Woodshop, Steve creates custom items from reclaimed wood. Coming from a family of makers, Steve has a lifetime love of learning and a drive to create new and interesting things whenever he can. Listen as we talk to Steve about:
podcastformakers.com/steve-blom
@podcast4makers
@sawtoothwoodshop
Callye Keen is a product designer with a long manufacturing history and over 200 products under his belt. Coming from a family background in low-volume, high-precision manufacturing, Callye now runs Red Blue Collective, a group that aims to help hardware startups get off the ground. Our conversation with Callye covers a range of topics, including:
podcastformakers.com/callye-keen
Twitter:
@podcast4makers
@callyekeen
Scott Carpenter’s life is a study in persistence. Early on, he had the idea to make a synthetic baseball glove. That idea remained with him through years of fine art education and other jobs, including one at a big name sporting equipment manufacturer. His idea grew and developed, and now Carpenter Trade Gloves are worn in the major leagues by players who choose them based on quality, not endorsement deals. Our conversation with Scott covers many topics, including:
- fine art and its influence on Scott’s maker career
- learning from the competition
- the motivational value of being told “No”
- paying dues and learning from the competition
- dispelling the mystique of a complex process
- turning a hobby into a business and the importance of enjoying what you do
- balancing handwork and machine processes without compromising quality
podcastformakers.com/scott-carpenter
@podcast4makers
@carpentertrade
David Picciuto inspires through his work. A musician, photographer, videographer, and woodworker, David's creations are works of art - both the videos and the projects themselves.
David's life is seemingly a series of experiments in careers that didn't quite fit, but the result is a set of skills perfectly suited to his current profession as the personality behind MakeSomething.TV.
In our conversation with David, we talk about:
- changing careers later in life
- finding an audience
- impostor syndrome and seeking approval
Joseph Mapes is a third-generation tailor. As the owner of Oliver & Rowan Bespoke in Chicago, he is a maker of men’s clothing - suits, pants, shirts, and coats, made from paper patterns precisely cut for each individual client’s measurements. Bespoke is the pinnacle of tailoring, but Joe never planned to become a tailor.
Bill is a photographer, musician, lifetime learner, and maker. This interview with Bill covers a range of topics, including:
Tony Rouleau is a maker. Tony's Hillview Wood & Metal specializes in custom wood and metal work, machining, welding, 3d printing, and design. Listen in as we discuss where machinist jobs have gone, how they are coming back, and why machining is a very rewarding way to be a maker.
The guest for this episode is Phil Pinsky. He is a maker, a podcaster, and a content creator on YouTube. Together with co-hosts Bill Lutes and Tim Sway, Phil discusses life as a maker, both part time and full time, on a great podcast called Reclaimed Audio. Reclaimed Audio can be found in iTunes.
Zach Kaplan is the founder and CEO of Inventables the hardware store for designers. The company is attempting to bring manufacturing from the factory to the desktop making it as accessible as desktop publishing.
Inventables sells machines and supplies so that you can make products ranging from jewelry and signs to furniture.
In this episode we will here the origin story before the begining of Inventables, and what the early days were like. Plus, where the direction of the company is headed.
podcastformakers.com/zach-kaplan
Bob Clagett is the guest. Bob likes to make all sorts of stuff, with all sorts of materials. Bob has a tremendously popular YouTube channel called I Like To Make Stuff and he also shares a successful podcast called Making It with Jimmy DiResta and David Picciuto.
His videos are a great resource for teaching, inspiring and empowering others to make the stuff that they want to have.
podcastformakers.com/bob-clagett
John Saunders is the guest. Not only has John created a very successful YouTube channel that educates the viewer all about CNC machining, welding and fabricating and more, but he has also grown what basically started as a hobby into a full fledged business.
Johns business performs machining services and also live CNC training seminars. From growing up on the farm, to college, and eventually in business for himself, I know you will enjoy hearing Johns story.
podcastformakers.com/john-saunders
From working along side his father for most of his life, earning a bachelors degree in Commercial Arts, being featured on Mike Rowe's new show "Somebodys Gotta Do It", to demonstrating at conferences, and being pretty active online...Rory has a lot to talk about.
Dragon Forge LTD is Rory's family business - a blacksmith business. We talk about Rory's beginning, some difficulties, some successes, and philosophies that make a person who they are.
Paul Jackman is the guest this week. He is a maker, a woodworker, a degreed civil engineer, and (of late) a content creator on YouTube.
In this episode we will hear how Paul earned a thorough technical school education first, and then, with some experience in the trade, he went on to attack college. We will also hear about his very determinate goal for paying for college.
www.podcastformakers.com/paul-jackman
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