After months of research and writing the 11-part MakerCulture series is now appearing on http://rabble.ca and http://thetyee.ca - two leading alternative news sites in Canada. You can find on thetyee here and on rabble.ca here. This series was produced by 2009 online journalism students at the University of Western Ontario and Ryerson University under the supervision of Wayne MacPhail. Hope you enjoy the work.

Heather Travis at the Western News, the UWO's newspaper, does a fine story on the MakerCulture Project. Thanks Heather!

Here's the final logo for the entire project. I riffed off the gonzo fist because I think that idea ties in with what maker culture's about (and I'm a big fan of Steadman and HST).
This is the only design I have used a typeface on as opposed to doing the lettering myself. I don't plan for it to stay this way, but my hands don't seem to be capable of generating lettering today. My writing is atrocious at best, and the sketches I produced for this design look closer to soundwaves than words. Producing consistent letters in a semi-circle is maddening.

-C

The fabricators take a tour of the Fab Lab in Elyria, Ohio. Scott Zitek and students of his 'Introduction to Personal Fabrication' class explain what personal fabrication means to them.

The fabricator team talks with Devin McPherson of the Michigan RepRap group to learn more about personal fabrication and 3D printers.

The fabricator group design a button and travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan to see it printed on a RepRap machine.

I think I’m one of the lucky ones.

Not only did I have the opportunity to research do-it-yourself (DIY) prison inmate inventions, but later in this Maker Culture ride, I got to also dive into DIY natural building and home décor.

I have interviewed makers in all three areas of study and been enlightened in the process. Had I missed the chance to work on this project, the Maker Culture revolution would’ve passed me by.

What a roller coaster ride – topic changes, technical issues, crazy deadlines. But for this extra knowledge and the awesome Culture team, I am grateful.

Marvin Chung attends La Roche College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and studies interior design. In first year, his group was given stacks of cardboard, a painting and wood glue. They were told to find a concept within the painting and construct a functional chair – using only the glue and the cardboard!

The painting? Dancing people. The chair? A lounge/rocking chair – which rocks from front-to-back and side-to-side. The FIRST cardboard chair in the world with all these seating options!

And it looks pretty good too.