The ToolMade Project

08/18/2016

Thrilled to have this write-up in Make: Magazine. We're all about environmentally-conscious and socially-ethical trades work here, so was nice to get on the soapbox for a few minutes! Also, a shout out to Craftsman for allowing me to do outreach into so many communities around the country. My mind is blown on a regular basis and my heart swells every day.

Along with fighting to rescue historic buildings and running a "repair-anything" workshop, Carla is a gifted artist and maker.

06/21/2016

This is what we need more of if kids are going to become empowered, critical thinkers. Fantastic.

04/18/2016

Fantastic! Want to lessen stress, violence, environmental apathy, obesity, unaffordable home maintenance, and a zillion other social ills and health issues? Want to empower people, regardless of their current socioeconomic status? Want to live in a world with critical thinkers who know how to improvise and find new paths around the numerous obstacles we all face? Want to work to improve the quality of life of those around you? Put tools in their hands. So basic, so simple, so true. Really. Excited to get to know this group. http://www.chicagotoolbank.org/

04/16/2016

Medieval women in trades! https://www.facebook.com/lisa.quidtum/posts/10153728947527800

Last week I discovered the Balthasar Behem Codex of 1505 (also known as the Codex Picturatus), a compilation of the charters and bylaws of the guilds of Krakow written in German, Polish and Latin. …

04/14/2016

Following up with an incredible workforce training crew in New Orleans. They are THRIVING and we're so happy we got to help.

04/14/2016

Well this is just beautiful. I just ran to my jar of marbles to gaze at them with a whole new appreciation.

04/05/2016

Street art as a way to bring attention to important issues of neglect and vacancy. God, I love this.

04/03/2016

Need some summer clogs?

03/30/2016

Well this is just fantastic. We got to interview some folks at the Austin Tinkering School a while back and learned that teaching kiddos how to use these tools and use them safely is not only empowering, it's an excellent way to raise a generation of problem solvers and innovators. This is especially important at a time when shop and home economics classes are pretty much non-existent.

What is a Tooling Camp? A Tooling Camp is a five day long, hands on workshop for girls, young women and gender-variant youth, designed to teach campers to use hand and power tools competently and c…

03/29/2016

Latest ToolMade Project, featuring The Rust Belt, vacant properties, solutions, and Brick + Beam Detroit.

So, I’ve noticed a bit of a theme recently. The ToolMade Project (TMP) has partnered with numerous organizations and amazing humans working their tails off in Rust Belt cities, though perhaps…

03/04/2016

Last week, I met with a crew in Springfield that's using the bones of rural America to prop up those needing help. I don't come from a military family, but I certainly have great sympathy for the struggles that many vets have with unemployment, lack of housing, and psychological trauma. This was incredibly inspiring to learn and write about. Thanks to Craftsman for partnering on this, and thanks again to Sangamon Reclaimed for the great work they do.
http://toolmade.org/2016/03/03/sangamon-reclaimed/

02/27/2016

Don't have time to plane down and sand a giant slab of old growth wood for a dining room table top? No problem, just pick up a stroke sander with a 10' bed.

02/27/2016

Oh, the things we can make with a great deal of patience. "Some of the tiniest artifacts, like stemware and flatware, are so small that masks were worn to prevent inhaling them."

02/23/2016

One more reason to get your hands dirty repairing vs. running to a big box and replacing. BEAUTY. As we Super Glued some sentimental ceramics together at the last Community Glue Workshop repair clinic, we were reminded of Kintsugi, the art of celebrating what we mend.

The Japanese art of kintsugi, which means

02/20/2016

This is a workforce training initiative that comes out of the Evanston ReBuilding Warehouse, a building material reuse warehouse in Evanston, Illinois. The trainees are individuals facing multiple barriers to employment who are learning hard and soft skills in a green industry. We did a blog post on them last year, which was rather convenient, as I happen to be the Assistant Director of the warehouse.

Filmed and edited by George Patay, April 2015

02/20/2016

"As a former Capitol Hill journalist, Suzanne Nelson passionately loved politics and her participation in the representative government. It was ‘intellectualism as sport’ until several events caused her to question her previously unexamined ideals and lack of connection to the land that she so dearly loves. She quit her job and, quite literally, ‘dropped out’. Later, when unable to find the kind of food she wanted to feed her family, she bought a dairy cow, Greeley, who became both the impetus and the beginning of her farming career. It’s a life that she approaches each day with as much careful thought, passion and energy as she did Capitol Hill days, but now her ideas and ideals will change the world from the ground up."

One photographer’s quest to capture the female side of of farming.

02/11/2016

30,000 years ahead of the curve. “'The ancient master' he said, 'was skilled in techniques previously considered not characteristic for the Palaeolithic era, such as easel speed drilling, boring tool type rasp, grinding and polishing with a leather and skins of varying degrees of tanning.'”

In what is quite an amazing discovery, scientists have confirmed that a bracelet found in Siberia is 40,000 years old. This makes it the oldest piece of je

02/01/2016

Remember shop class? It's coming back, along with a new kind of workforce in New Orleans. Check out this month's featured group and recipients of a whole lotta Craftsman tools. They're incredible.