On my previous visit to SP Road (I had mentioned SP Road in this post), I had bought a large aluminium mug, hoping to use that as a lamp shade. I bought some castor wheels at a local hardware store, to try and add a swivel feature to the lamp shade, which I hoped to…
Most of the desk lamps that I have come across are made of metal and are called ‘balanced arm lamps’. These lamps use springs to balance the weight of the arms (using certain proportions), which allows the user to position the shade at the desired height. I experimented with this while making my first floor…
Around mid-2017, I was looking online for some more woodworking workshops or training programs that I could attend. I came across a maker space called THE (short for Think Happy Everyday), which was offering a weekend woodworking workshop conducted by a French master craftsman named Bram Rouws. This one was priced a bit lower than…
During my early explorations into woodworking, I came across the Bengaluru-based Bent. I visited their workshop and met one of the founders. I found him to be down-to-earth, practical and passionate about woodworking. At the time, I was learning about basic joints and trying them out on pieces of waste wood. He suggested that I…
In order to use my balcony as a make-shift workshop, I needed some protection from rain water, and even more important, an effective way to tackle the mosquitos. Since I was doing this in a rented apartment, I wanted to spend as little money as possible and achieve the best results I could without making…
When I started on my journey, I watched several woodworking videos online, usually posted by highly skilled woodworkers in the US or UK. Almost always, it was a very confident white man in a large, well-equipped workshop, with a massive workbench and an impressive array of hand tools neatly arranged on shelves behind him. I…
I have often felt that I should have attended design school when I was younger. Unfortunately, I didn’t have this clarity when I finished school, or even college. But as I write this, my mind wanders back to an even earlier time in my childhood and the warm afternoons we spent at home with my…
My last day at work was a Friday. It hit me only that evening as I said my goodbyes that I was done for the day and heading home for the very last time. I wondered how it would be not to come back on Monday as usual. I knew that I would miss my…
While still on my notice period at work, I came across a Basic Carpentry Workshop that was being offered at a maker space in Koramangala, Bengaluru. It was a two-day weekend workshop, but I felt it was a bit expensive. After some back and-forth, I decided to attend it anyway, because I couldn’t find other…
I had been in a steady job for nearly five years. I had settled in and begun making plans for the future: buying a house, getting a new car, travelling. But it all ended quite suddenly. Unexpected circumstances forced me to put in my papers. Staying on was not an option, and I had to…