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Humans do two things that make us unique from all other animals; we use tools and we tell stories. And when you make something, you’re doing both at once. – Adam Savage
The Maker community represents a technology-based extension of DIY culture. It revels in the creation of new devices as well as tinkering with existing ones. Typical interests enjoyed by the maker culture include engineering-oriented pursuits such as electronics, robotics, 3D printing, as well as more traditional activities such as metalworking, woodworking, and, traditional arts and crafts. There is a strong focus on using and learning practical skills and applying them to reference designs. – Wikipedia
A selection of my ‘makes’ are shown below; refresh the page to see another random selection or click here to see all.
You can also visit my dedicated Campervan Conversion Page to see in detail my biggest make ever!
VW Shuttle Rear Heater Conversion
I have modified the rear HVAC unit in my Shuttle to accept standard Hot Air ducting. I removed the plastic panels to replace them with plywood and therefore lost the use of the vents. I wanted to reinstate this functionality and give myself the option of positioning the outlets in a more convenient location. I…
80’s Cocktail Dress
Having been invited to an 80s fancy dress party and unable to find a suitable outfit… the only option was to buy an original pattern and make a dress. It had to be in pink taffeta obviously and being able to customise it to turn one of the dress options in to a bolero with…
Campervan Blind
I wanted the neat look of a recessed blind in my LWB VW T6 Shuttle, but without the price tag of a pre-built unit. As I was going to carpet and ply line my van walls anyway it was quite straightforward to add this functionality. The fun part was designing and 3D printing a new mount for the Ikea Blind I chose and making a new pull from leather to allow easier opening and closing of the blind.
Van Tatts
With the help of my fantastically talented friend Mish, I have customised the tailgate on my VW T6. I saw her work on large format murals and messaged her to see if she wanted to be literally let loose on my van with a sharpie. We set a date and exchanged some ideas via Pinterest…
Woodburning Stove
My family and I love being outdoors, but living in the UK it’s often cold and so would invariably find ourselves around some kind of fire pit or the like. Fire-pits are messy, cumbersome and lead to a face full of smoke for one or all of the people trying to keep warm! On one…
Day Van Furniture
I want my van to be flexible. It needs to work as a Day Van for trips out with bikes and muddy shoes or to travel to see friends and family, yet remain usable as a basic van. That’s a lot to ask from a Long Wheel Base VW Transporter, but I think it’s doable. Key to making this all work is a system of removable pods and a bed of some kind. The bed, by its very nature, is the biggest element of the setup so it made sense to start there and then make everything else fit around it.