IN THE MAKER SHED
Happy Holidays
from the Maker Shed!
By Dan Woods
SINCE LAUNCHING MAKE SEVEN YEARS
ago, our mission has been to inspire, inform,
and connect the global community of makers
— and aspiring makers. A central goal of our
work is to help people get started with making.
And so it was at the end of our first Maker
Faire that we thought, “How cool would it be if
people could take home a slice of Maker Faire
in the form of a kit they could do afterward
to keep the magic alive?” Meanwhile makers
kept asking us, “What ever happened to the
chemistry sets and Heathkits I remember?”
We began to see an opportunity taking
form. From this simple precept, we grew the
Maker Shed store as a key element of the
MAKE experience.
Since then, the Maker Shed has taught
more than 10,000 people to solder; helped
over 100,000 customers get started making
or learn a new technology with our DIY kits,
tools, and supplies; and supported dozens
of independent makers launching their own
small businesses, by writing about their
products and carrying their early-stage kits
in the Maker Shed store.
Those are achievements we’re proud of,
but we’ve only scratched the surface. We
know there are so many more makers out
there just waiting to get their hands dirty.
We respect that not everyone celebrates
the holidays, or chooses to do so with gifts.
However, if you do, we hope you’ll give friends
and loved ones the gift of making this season.
If you’re a subscriber, you’ll find our first-ever Maker Shed catalog mailed with this
volume of MAKE. (If you’re reading someone
else’s copy or bought yours on the newsstand, you can find our catalog at makershed.
com/catalog).
Whether it’s for a subscription to MAKE,
one of our hands-on Make: Projects books,
or DIY kits or tools, please consider shopping
in MAKE’s own store this season, and spread
the spirit of making.
And for even more gift ideas, look for
our new special issue, the MAKE Ultimate
Kit Guide, on newsstands Nov. 22, and at
makershed.com (item #KITSIP). You’ll discover 200 top DIY kits: rockets and robots;
beverage-making and bicycles; chemistry and
crafts; aircraft, automotive, and adventure;
music, marine, and more. Revisit classic kits,
and meet state-of-the-art kit makers like
Wayne and Layne, Adafruit, Spikenzie Labs,
Wired’s Chris Anderson and his DIY Drones,
and many more. It’s a gift guide that makes
a great gift in itself. ;
Dan Woods is MAKE’s associate publisher and general
manager of e-commerce.
16 Make: makezine.com/28
