Makerbox review
Ok, two things:
First- OMG Star Wars!!!!! The Last Jedi just came out and it was AMAZING!!!!!! Did you see it? Did you love it? Leave a comment!
And, second- Makerbox!
Makerbox is a quarterly subscription box produced by a company called, appropriately, Quarterly Co. They do several different box themes, including Maker, Literary, Culinary, and Biohack, curated by relevant celebrities. I was super into subscription boxes a few years ago, but I had not heard of this one until Adam Savage popped up on my Instagram feed to tell me about it.
So here's my take on subscription boxes: they're a lot like Christmas presents. They're really fun to receive and open, but at the end of the day you're left with a pile of random stuff you neither want nor need. I've subscribed to several, so I speak from experience. LootCrate (nerd stuff) was good, and I have a ton of t-shirts from them that I still wear all the time, and a few other items that I love, but I also have a giant bag full of random toys that I have zero interest in. BarkBox (dog stuff) was great, unless you have an overachieving power chewer. Even the power chewer-specific box wasn't always tough enough for my sweet little puppy. But, again, it was fun to get the box and fun to watch Blitzen destroy a new toy every month. So, yeah, mostly worth it. I've also subscribed to LootCrate Pets (nerdy dog stuff), Smuggler's Bounty (Star Wars stuff), DokiDoki (Japanese stuff), ArtSnacks (art supplies), Julip (nail polish), and......... I feel like I'm missing one..... so, yeah, a bunch of boxes, most of which were, ultimately, not worth my money. I canceled my last subscription box early this year.
And then Adam Savage told me to buy a box. And Adam Savage is my hero and I'll do pretty much anything he tells me to do. Including dropping a small pile of money on a box of random items curated by him. I mean, seriously, how can I say no to hand-selected Adam Savage Christmas presents? Obviously, I couldn't.
I was not disappointed! This box was amazing! Every so often I wish I had the good sense to record an unboxing video, because I was like "OMG WOW!!!" for every single item I pulled out of this box! Also, the box was layered like some sort of archaeological dig, so I was presented with one item at a time and was able to fully appreciate the surprise of each item before moving on to uncover the next one. Again, just like Christmas!
First: Documents!
I'll be honest with you- I haven't read these yet. I opened the box about two hours before the Star Wars premier, and then I spent all weekend working a craft show, so I have no real idea what they say. But Adam Savage wrote them so they must be amazing and insightful and inspiring!
Next up, a random bag of cardboard
Adam Savage is a big advocate of using cardboard as a building material, so I know these little, precisely cut, individually numbered pieces must turn into something good! Once I skimmed the documents I figured it out- they're for building a model of Adam's shop! And the big, uncut pieces are for building a model of your own shop/studio/home/whatever. Fun!!!
After the cardboard, a hot glue gun!!!
Ok, obviously I already have a hot glue gun. Two, in fact - one regular and one low temp. But my glue gun is close to 20 years old and gross and tiny and covered in glue, and I've been thinking about upgrading it for some time. So, thanks Adam!!! And this is a full size glue gun that uses full sized sticks! My old one was a mini version that uses the skinny little sticks! I don't know what the practical difference is, but I'm super excited to find out!
Below that, miscellaneous tools
A knife!
I love a good utility knife, so I opened this one up immediately and started cutting with it! I have a few junky old box knives that have gotten more terrible with age, so this was a welcome gift! This seems to be the same solid Olfa quality as my rotary cutters, and the snap-off blades seem super convenient. It'll be nice to have a decent knife with a sharp blade again!
Pencils and erasers and measuring tools!!!
Ok, honestly, I have a million mechanical pencils and erasers already, and several little retractable measuring tapes like this, so this was like, the socks and underwear and random candy in the Christmas stocking element of the box. But I'll still take it! And the ruler is a unique format that I don't already have. It's divided into 1/2" x 1/8" grids, instead of the standard broken lines you see on most rulers. And it counts up and down from a center point, which I've never seen before! I love the big bold numbers and lines of my clear quilting rulers, but I'm really excited about the format of this one!
A sketchbook!
The pages are unlined on one side and gridded on the other! LOVE!!!!! I usually default to a graph paper composition book, and I rarely use fancy sketchbooks, but I totally love this one!
A zipper pouch!
This is just a standard (although large) zipper pouch, but I love the big bold lettering and the high contrast print. I actually used this bag all weekend at the craft show to hold all my small items. It's just a little smaller than a gallon ziploc bag (which I use all the time for everything), but well constructed of a mid-weight canvas, and I can see myself using it for travel and temporary small-item carrying quite often.
Adam's sketchbook!
This was the item they used to promote the box. I haven't looked that closely at it yet (again, I had Star Wars and a craft show this weekend), but according to the promotional materials, this is a reprint of a selection of Adam's project sketches, spanning his entire life as a maker. I'm excited to look through it, learn how to improve on my own design sketches, and get inspired!
Adam's toolbox poster
I maintained a Tested premium membership for a few years, so I already have this in a larger format on better quality paper, but it's a fun sketch nonetheless and a nice addition to this box :)
A cutting mat!
I have a bazillion cutting mats that range in size from 8x11 inches all the way up to 3x6 feet, but this one is different! It's significantly thicker than my other ones, it has a centimeter side, which I love because sometimes I prefer to work in metric, and a centered measuring line just like on the ruler! I love that so much!!! And I love the thickness of it. Sometimes I cut heavy items on my standard mats and I have to cut so hard I'm afraid I'll damage the mat. This thing looks like it can take some real abuse!
And that's it! All in all I'd say it was well worth the price! It's filled with things I actually wanted and will use! And with books and papers written by one of my favorite, most inspiring people! I don't know if I'm interested in any of Quarterly's other offerings, but I do know that Adam is going to curate another box in the future, which I will be first in line to purchase!
