Ah, the holidays.
That time of year when DIY-ers want to d.i.e. because they have set the bar too high again. Gifts in a jar, hand-felted laptop cases—carefully crafted artisanal homespun organic and fair trade objects imbued with positive vibrations.
Here at the studio, though, we like to make make things all year ’round. (Remember our October story about Sarah Kaiser's amazing projects?
In fact, making things is a design axiom here (my personal favorite). I asked people to share projects they have done.
Beth Herlin’s All-Purpose Bar
One summer when I had a little too much time on my hands, I decided I would try woodworking. Being a senior in college at the time, naturally the first project I came up with was building a bar. So with a lot of help and instruction, I designed and constructed a 5-foot wooden bar complete with two cabinets, two drawers, a mini fridge, and an epoxy resin surface made from various found objects and bottle caps. It was a fun addition to the shared common room in our suite.
But then I went off to Pittsburgh for graduate school, and I didn't quite have room for the entire bar in my car. So, I decided to store the base and cabinets, and create Bar 2.0: Coffeetable edition. I scavenged for cinderblocks to serve as the base for the bar top, creating the perfect coffee table for my very industrial apartment in what used to be an old cork factory.
Yet again, it was time to move. I graduated from my masters program and migrated to Boston to start my work at Invo. While I was finally able to unite all the parts of my bar once again, there was no way I could sacrifice the space it required in my tiny one bedroom. It had to do more than just be a bar. So, Bar 3.0: Bartainment Center was born. That’s right, my TV dispenses beer. Who knows what it will evolve into next!
Eric Benoit and The Laser Santa
Last year I took a laser cutting class thru Artisan’s Asylum and “illustrated” (=traced) + laser cut + glued + painted two christmas ornaments, one of which was the Santa from the classic stop-motion animation “Rudolph.” It was a gift for my parents. Here is the Santa... pre-paint and glue
... then finished!
Involution of the Birch
I typically keep a low profile here, but since part of my job is to cultivate a maker vibe at the studio, I thought I would share my first Invo-made craft. With paint, paper, and glue I transformed cardboard tubes into a portable birch grove.
Code is great, but sometimes it’s more satisfying to get your hands dirty in the creative process.