Today’s post is written by Stephen Parsons
The staff at my office think that either I am becoming totally antisocial or have a secret affair going on. While they are gathering in the lunch room to share their sandwiches and a little office gossip, I heat up my bit of soup or leftover chili and biscuits, then skulk off to my office where I close the door firmly for forty-five minutes or so, emerging from my seclusion then to put my plates and utensils in the dishwasher and grab a tea before work starts again.
Of course if it is an affair, it is with the internet. What did we do before the world wide web became saturated with amazing art and craft content? Not only is there a ton of content on every imaginable craft topic, you can get it served up in almost any learning style or media choice you can think of.
For me, YouTube is the most common visit for my lunchtime learning leaves. Sites like Marc Spagnuolo’s The Wood Whisperer, Colin Knecht’s WoodworkWeb, Stumpy Nubs Woodworking Journal,and of course Mathias Wandell’s (WoodGears.ca) channels are just fascinating. Izzy Swan and FixThisBuildThat are also popular choices for my midday marathons. HGTV and the DIYNetwork bring similar mutimedia content to the market but with better editorial control and quality (and slicker advertising, of course).
If you prefer step-by-step instruction, there are plenty of options out there and some of the newer ones – like Instructables – have an incredible range of material, albeit little quality control. Many of the big box building supplies companies like Home Depot also have Do It Yourself project sites, primarily focused of course on home improvement.
The traditional magazine is holding on, but quickly giving ground to the e-Zine. Major players in this space such as Popular Woodworking, Popular Mechanics, Fine Woodworking, and Canadian Woodworking now get the majority of their audience reach through their web sites, selling lucrative subscriptions to member-only plans and videos and plenty of advertising on the public content.
If you prefer a little social content with your woodworking, I can’t even start to list the thousands of blogs, vlogs, podcasts, and of course Facebook and Pinterest sites. You may have even come across this blog or our facebook site Googling crafts and woodworking?
Need more? Try searching on woodworking guilds, and member associations to find out what’s happening locally like the Atlantic Woodworkers Association or Nova Woodturners Guild here in Halifax.
Like all internet journeys, every sojourn into the web sends me down a rabbit hole that never makes obvious my eventual destination. Good thing I only have an hour for lunch. My partner tells me this internet thing might yet catch on and I think she’s right.
What internet resources inspire and capture your interest and what is it about them that holds your attention?
I wanted to send a quick thanks for your webpage, where I found some useful woodworking information. I teach class for beginners at our local rec center and I’m at a loss sometimes as to what resources to share with the class that they can explore at home. But I found some great ideas on your page that will help my students who like to keep learning at home.
I have a young boy named Tyler taking this class with his grandfather and he found this article, http://store.alansfactoryoutlet.com/Building-With-Wood-Tips-and-More-s/1860.htmwhich we thought had a lot of great information for beginners. I wanted to share it with you because I thought you would like to post it for other beginners and I’d like to encourage my student to keep up the good work. I’m sure Tyler would love to hear what you think of it. Thanks again!
Best wishes,
Bill
Thanks Bill – great to hear that you are encouraging young boys and girls in the pursuit and research of woodworking and craft design and production. Tell Tyler we really appreciate the link and will follow the additional links that come from this article. This is how we grow a community and we are so happy that Tyler has the interest to find and share this resource.
S.