Fab Lab Maker Hub Podcast

In the fifth episode of the Maker Hub Podcast we talk to Orla Spollen from NutJob Design. Orla explains how an early love of arts and crafts led her to become a Design and Technology Teacher and how having her own children gave her the ideas and impetus to start her laser cutting business in 2016.

We hear how a lifelong love of working with wood and natural materials has shaped the products she now develops and sells through her online store and the influence of mindfulness and meditation has had on her range of intricate lasercut Mandala designs.

Lastly we talk about her inspiring lockdown experience of The Free Hug Project, where she designed and distributed for free small lasercut heart hug tokens to send to loved ones who were separated during the lockdown. This local gesture of compassion soon turned into an expression of hope and love for staff and residents of nursing homes province wide.

In the fourth episode of the Maker Hub Podcast we talk to Inventor and Triathlete John Hanley who turned his love for open water swimming into a successful Kickstarter campaign with his unique water safety backpack called Tekrapod.

John's love of invention and problem solving took him from go-karts in the garage to a career in civil engineering and after a rugby injury forced him to reevaluate his sporting life, he found a new passion in competitive Triathlons.

An engineer and maker at heart, he dived into 3D CAD and 3D Printing to produce the prototypes for his Tekrapod invention after attending a Fab Lab workshop on building 3D printers.

In the third episode of the Maker Hub Podcast we talk to Craig French from Bramblewick House Glamping & Handmade Crafts. 

Craig and his wife Amy moved back from England to Amy's childhood home in Co.Longford to start their own craft and tourism business in 2016. Craig was looking for a new angle on producing the handmade soaps and candles they were selling online and at local markets. 

After some research he discovered 3D Printing as the perfect technology to help them blend the handmade aspects of the craft with some unique 3D design elements. Craig explains how with no previous design training he has taught himself 3D CAD and 3D Printing from scratch.

In the second episode of the Maker Hub Podcast we talk to Sound Artist, Music Producer and Instrument Designer - Ed Devane. 

We hear how Ed's love of music and sound inspired him to build his own musical instruments and how his background in art led him to use digital design to create interactive sound sculptures and installations. 

He explains how he has grappled with 3D Printing, Laser Cutting and CAD over the years and the unique workflow he has now developed to start his own audio electronics business called Soniphorm. 

We finish by talking about how the lockdown has allowed him time to work on his biggest project yet - an outdoor rain-powered sound sculpture for Galway 2020 Festival. #hopeitrains

In the first episode of the Maker Hub Podcast we interview Louise Carroll who has her own craft and design studio based in Dromahair, Co.Leitrim. Louise uses a mixture of traditional handcrafting and digital fabrication to produce custom gift products. Her tools of the trade include vinyl cutting stencils, sandblasting slate, and laser engraving on glass. We talk about how her husband encouraged her to leave the safety of working in the insurance industry to follow her dream of running her own craft business.

The Fab Lab Maker Hub Podcast is a new series where each week we talk to designers and makers, artists and inventors who use digital fabrication tools and processes in their work and business.

We explore the stories of how they got started, the pros and cons of using digital tools and how technology has helped them develop their unique products.

Coming up in the first episode on Weds 16th Sept we talk to Louise Carroll who runs her own craft business from her home in Dromahair, County Leitrim and how she combines hand crafted slate with digital fabrication techniques.

Future episodes feature Sound Artist - Ed Devane, Kickstarter Inventor - John Hanley, 3D Printed Crafter - Craig French and other inspirational stories of Northwest of Ireland based makers and designers who have turned their ideas into profitable businesses by using digital fabrication.

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