If you’ve been following along with my posts, you will know by now that I wanted to create bikepacking bags for my final project. If you are unfamiliar, bikepacking bags are bags that attach to your bike frame so that you can go camping and riding for days at a time, completely unsupported. That means…

My ideas for this project have mostly focused on making something to use for a very specific activity. Up until I had to stop and think about it, that was really the only constraint. That constraint, however, can be broken down into smaller bits. In order to be appropriate for bikepacking, the bags need several…

In my last post I spoke about wanting to make a bikepacking handlebar bag for my final project. As a reminder, bikepacking is riding a bicycle, usually on trail, for at least one overnight/camp. I have been interested in the sport for some time, but it is quite expensive to get into. To save some…

I’ve always had a hard time picking favorites. If you ask me my favorite food then I’ll ask “what’s the weather?” If you ask me what my favorite color is, I’ll ask about the object in question. I feel like there is always more to these questions than just having a favorite. For example, my…

I have no idea what I want to make for the final project. Well, that’s not totally accurate. What I should say is that I have too many ideas about what I will make, and I don’t like any of them. I am enjoying learning about woodworking (see my upcycle project to learn more about…

  The conservation slogan that I remember most from my childhood is the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. These R’s are supposed to be applied, in order, to all consumable products that people use. So where exactly does Upcycling fit into the R’s? Is it reusing? Recycling? If you make something that you would’ve bought,…

  I feel like I am doing this project a little backwards. In my last post I mostly discussed materials and current status. I have spent most of the last week working on design refinement. I took a detour to explore another style because of a piece of wood that I really liked, but ultimately…

I unknowingly started this upcycle project last summer. I was at work, cleaning up, when my coworker Bo said to me, “Take those pallet toppers out to the trash. We don’t need them any more.” Being the broke college student that I am, I instantly saw them as an opportunity to get some free wood…

Tutor style? Tooter? Wait, it’s Tudor? Okay, I guess I never really knew the right name for those houses with white panels and large dark wooden beams through them, but I always knew that I liked the style. In reality, the specific aesthetic that I enjoy is called half-timbering, and that is what creates the…