The Universal Human Need To Make

Lisa and I went to a great Vivid Ideas event last night featuring Jake Nickell from Threadless, presenting on the topic "Never Stop Making". The concept of stepping away from the screen(s) and actually creating something resonated with me, and is a goal that I have been working on for a while.

Jake talked about the power of Making and that creating is essential for the soul; that is, the "Universal Human Need To Make". He also talked about Making in terms of adding to our community through contribution. In this era of information consumption, we need people to Make more than ever.

He went on to talk about just "doing it", trying not to overthink, or predict the outcome of your Making. He suggested making yourself uncomfortable - trying something new and not letting inexperience limit you. Most of Jake's Making is self-taught and he suggested that being an amateur can bring innovation through taking a unique approach. My favourite point in the presentation was the challenge to get together with friends to Make. I love the concept of collaborating on something fun, just for the sake of Making together. You never know what Making may bring.

Jake was joined by other panelists including Aussies Jeremy Somers (We Are Handsome), Dana Tomic Hughes (yellowtrace) and Jai Al-Attas (One Meaning Communicated Differently), who are amazing entrepreneurs and brought similar insights. See pic above with Jake far right (sorry Jake, your face disappeared).

You can listen to Jake's full presentation here on 2 SER 107.3 online. I hope you are as inspired as I am to Make. Maybe a challenge to make some of those pins??? I'm going to make this cute top with some gorgeous Liberty Tana Lawn fabric that my friend Karla sent me for my birthday from London. I'm also half-way through a large-scale art piece for the toy-room wall, and have just started a painting for my office.

I'd love to see what you are Making at the moment, or something that you have made recently. I'll be featuring projects and fun things to make with kids here on Bondville too. Keep a look out for the Make posts.

Image: Steph Bond-Hutkin using Instagram (follow me @sbond)