FT.com: There is a new movement afoot. Just as the self-build trend is gathering pace, so too is a new wave in do-it-yourself (DIY) projects for the home – embracing everything from plumbing, woodcarving and pottery to robotics, electronics and recycling.
At the spiritual heart of all this is California-based magazine Make, which, since launching in print and online in 2005, has evolved into a virtual community with an archive of instruction videos, an online store and a network of Maker Faires, one of which was recently held in the UK. Its success is based on rising interest in hobbies with tangible results and the connective power of the internet, which lets enthusiasts share skills.
For even more ambitious DIYers, there is Ponoko, a digital production facility with bases in Wellington, New Zealand and San Franciso, which can cut pieces to any design submitted by a customer from a variety of materials, then deliver them by post. Through the website, currently receiving 500,000 page views per month, visitors can buy one another’s designs and assemble them at home with help from online instruction videos.
“At the moment we’ve aimed it at designers, which is the market that can take advantage of the technology available; the number of consumers that want to design and build unique products is very small at the moment,” says co-founder Derek Elley. But “with education and easier use of technology that could change very fast.”
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