Make: comes to Substack
Getting started once again
When Make: magazine came out in 2005, I used the word “Maker” to describe our readers and it caught on. However, we didn’t create makers; we discovered them — or re-discovered them — because there have always been makers, if not known by any particular name.
In looking for makers, we found a whole new world of people who tinker, hack, build, invent, create, and make, mostly for the fun of it. I felt that we discovered a uniquely talented group of people that weren’t properly understood and valued — sometimes even by themselves. They were enthusiasts and amateurs who loved what they were doing and would do it even if no one was paying attention to them. We also loved what they were doing and so we began to pay close attention to makers.
Now that they had a name to call themselves, they were much easier to find and we wanted to bring them together. We organized Maker Faire in the Bay Area, beginning in 2006, so that makers would meet each other in person and share their work with a broader audience. Out of those efforts has grown a vibrant, worldwide maker community, which we continue to cultivate.
Creating a quarterly print magazine (in digest size) was the starting point for Make:, a tangible and collectible thing that contains dozens of how-to projects, technology reviews and tutorials, and more. It’s always been by and for makers as well as those who will one day become makers. I realize that print is now considered quaint, and nobody likes it as a business, but it is still possible for us to produce a high-quality, engaging experience in print because we have many loyal subscribers.
However, if I were to start Make: magazine today, I’d probably start it on Substack. It’s a platform for telling good stories and we have plenty of stories about incredible makers and what they do. More importantly, it’s a new way to build community around what makers are doing and to share ideas, tools, and various forms of making, new and old.
Our goal with Make: over the years is to inspire more people to experience the joys of making and to grow a community that welcomes beginners as well as experts. Now, as we explore sharing makers and their projects here on Substack, we carry forward in the same spirit that motivated us many years ago, one of optimism, experimentation, and endless curiosity. We hope you’ll join us.
