Hello and welcome to a new series where we introduce our very own Stockholm Makerspace makers and their projects! We hope you enjoy reading about makers and let us know any feedback that you may have.
Our first interviewee is Louis, from France, who works in one of the small businesses in the building and comes to the Makerspace since May 2023 to hang out, socialise and work on a number of projects. We were happy to hear that he has a few projects that he’s working on at the same time, and that they are not all necessarily complete… who else falls into that category and likes to procrastinate?
What do you work on when you’re at the makerspace?
One type of project is making lamps. I wanted to make more lamps because my home was looking a bit sad with lots of naked light bulbs and an old ugly chandelier. So I thought to myself, maybe I can try to make some lamps.
Here is a picture of the first lamp that I designed in 3D and cut in plywood using the laser cutter. I then used some wallpaper that we had left over at home to cover it.
This lamp was designed completely from scratch, first with some scribbles on a piece of paper and then in 3D software. It was like a jigsaw puzzle to put it all together as it used only friction, so without any glue or screws. I had to play and test the kerf of the laser cutter to make sure the tolerance of the friction was just right, which involved a lot of re-cutting.
This second lamp was inspired by my girlfriend, who was looking at lamps on the internet, and she found a design that looked pretty cool and inspired us both. I tried to design it in 3D software and in CAD, using my programming skills, and then again the laser cutter and some testing to get the friction right.
I’ve also made this scary contraption that is based on the concept of a stove top espresso brewer but to steam milk. It makes steam inside the chamber and uses pressure to foam the milk with steam, just like espresso machines foams milk with steam. Coffee is actually one of my hobbies. I made this machine for my girlfriend, as she enjoys milk way more than I do. I’m probably not going to use it as I don’t take milk in my coffee, and also it is easy to burn yourself with the machine. I need to insulate the pipes better. But that’s life, you know, you use something and you make an improvement. And I like reusing stuff and giving it a second life.
Tell me about your journey to becoming a maker
I grew up in a relatively small city in France that did not have something like a maker space, and at university I did join a repair café when they were popular. My real inspiration came from watching YouTube videos of people doing crazy things, like William Osman and Michael Reeves. Those videos are really entertaining, and they tickle your engineering brain to learn how to make things, design crazy contraptions. For a while I was building mostly software, but then at some point I wanted to try to make something that I can physically see and touch.
What are you working on now?
My top 1 project right now is to make a 3D map that shows the mountain range in the French region I come from. In that map, I would like the wood to be different colours to highlight the colours in the actual mountain range, maybe with different types of wood. It’s probably going to take me a while to figure out, including how to use the CNC machine.
I’ve also learned how to use the lathe recently, and I want to do more electronics. One project that I will probably finish in 20 years is to make a Theremin.
Do you have any other learnings or pieces of advice to share with our members?
I think the hard truth is that you should probably spend more time on designing things than you think. It’s better to spend one more hour making sure that your design is right than to spend two or three extra hours trying to fix your mistakes.