W E CAN’T SAY NO TO A GOOD IDEA, of highly imaginative and resourceful people who and our readers give us lots of good ideas. are transforming traditional arts and crafts with
You should see how many proposals for unconventional and revolutionary techniques,
great projects come rushing at us through that materials, and tools.
series of tubes known as the internet, and so many CRAFT is written for and by creative DIY enthusiasts,
of them are terrific that we’re sometimes sorry tech-savvy makers and crafters, students (of all ages),
MAKE isn’t a 500-page publication. teachers, the intellectually curious, artistically inclined,
So we had a challenge: how to fit more stories in and environmentally aware. People who derive an
each issue of MAKE without increasing the page innate sense of pleasure in finding unexpected ways
count or publication frequency. We thought about to repurpose, remake, and reuse materials, art,
printing the stories in a tiny font on rubber paper — technology, and devices in their daily lives. In the
to read the magazine, you’d stretch the pages. That premiere issue, CRAFT will show you how to:
idea was nixed. One staffer proposed running the » Embroider a skateboard
stories through a compression algorithm and printing » Make and program an LED tank top
pseudocode to decompress the text on the inside » Convert an old pair of shoes into chic knitted boots
back cover. That idea was also rejected, and the » Weave with pixels
staffer who proposed it had to stay after work and » Create an iPod cozy with felt-making
clean soldering iron tips. When we started telling friends about the new
It was time for some out-of-the-box thinking. We magazine, many of them asked us, “Does this mean
took a look at the kinds of project proposals we were that MAKE will never again run an article using yarn,
getting, and noticed that each story could be placed paint, clay, or paper?”
along a DIY spectrum. There were “soft” projects on Definitely not. We’re as happy with MAKE’s editoral
one end, and “hard” ones on the other end. For mix as our readers seem to be. But if you like the
instance, stories about bookbinding, rubber stamping, craftier side of MAKE, we hope you’ll give CRAFT a try.
and silicone molds were on the “soft” side of the The premiere issue goes on sale Oct. 17, 2006,
spectrum, while making a rocket with a miniature and we anticipate a quick sellout (as was the case
videocamera, a headphone amp in a mint tin, and a with the inaugural issue of MAKE). Avoid crushing
wind-powered wi-fi hotspot belonged near the disappointment and reserve your copy today by
“hard” (not to be confused with “difficult”) side. subscribing. As a special offer to MAKE readers, visit
Ah, we thought — what if we were to collect the craftzine.com and claim an inaugural subscription
best of the soft tech ideas and put them in their for yourself or as a gift for the crafter in your life.
own magazine? In other words, give MAKE a sister Do so before Oct. 17, enter promotion code
zine! This publication could showcase the artier, MAKE4CRAFT, and receive a cool CRAFT T-shirt.
craftier project ideas that came our way. And so, (And if you refuse, we’ll round you up for soldering
the idea for CRAFT was born. iron tip-cleaning duty.)
Just like MAKE, CRAFT is a quarterly, project-based
magazine dedicated to the current renaissance in the
world of crafts. Our vision with CRAFT is to unite,
inspire, inform, and entertain a growing community
The makers of MAKE are an eclectic bunch, many of whom also enjoy a good craft-tech project.
References:
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