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Documenting learning
One of the unexpected things I learned from Fab Academy was the importance and value of documentation. Fab Academy is assessed on documentation – not what you make, but how well you evidence what you’ve done, explain what you discovered, and describe the process of learning and solving problems. This is valuable not just for…
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2018-08-03 Prototyping a dog bed
It’s been a while since I posted an update, so to get back into the swing of things, here’s something we’ve been working on over the last couple of months: a safe place for the dog to lie, especially when we’re driving.
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Fab Academy: Graduated!
Well, that was a blast. In mid-January, I quit my job, and started a new adventure at the University of Brighton fab lab: Fab Academy. I knew it would be interesting, challenging, and hard work; little did I know how much. Over the course of 5 months, I came to love walking down the corridors…
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Treatex Hardwax Oil
One of many combination oil and wax finishes suitable for wood (Osmo is another popular brand which I haven’t used). It gives good plywood a beautiful smooth sheen, and is easy to apply with a rag. Way better than water-based PU varnish, in my experience. £26 for a 1 litre can.
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Drawer runners
These are 45cm, full-extension, side-mounted, ball bearing runners. If your drawers and cabinets are square, and a good fit, proper runners like these are the way to go (rather than fitting wooden rails for the drawers to slide on). They feel secure, smooth, and let you pull the drawer out all the way when opening.…
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Intentional Things
I was recently asked to write 3 pieces for Kickstarter about building values into maker-led businesses – for the kinds of people launching hardware products on their platform. These pieces follow on from a series of talks Kickstarter and Machines Room hosted in late 2017. The first, on Ethical Electronics, has just been published on the Kickstarter…
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Podcast news
Episode 7 of the Hello Shenzhen series will be the last Looking Sideways episode for a little while. I have a couple of podcast ideas in development, and they’ll be shared here if and when they come to fruition. In the meantime, I’ve started a new weekly podcast called Unreliable Devices, which is tracking my progress…
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Shenzhen Special 6 – Maker Ed
In this episode, I’m visiting three people all working in maker education. My first stop is at the Shenzhen American International School in the Shekou district of Shenzhen, to meet Carrie Leung, who teaches a maker-based curriculum there.
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Back to school
Big changes afoot in 2018 – I’m going back to school. I’m taking part in this year’s Fab Academy programme at the new Fablab at the University of Brighton. Fab Academy is a 5 month course that teaches students ‘how to make (almost) anything’ using the tools in a fablab.
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Shenzhen Special 5: Product Design
In this episode, we focus on design – and in particular, how designers help bring products to life through Shenzhen’s vast network of suppliers and manufacturers. Shenzhen is a destination for anyone who manufactures electronics products, whether they’re Apple, or a hardware startup that’s just cruised through its crowdfunding goal. Some of the bigger manufacturers have…
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Andrew Sleigh 