By Dallas Gislason, Douglas magazine
Real people who create real things form the heart of our community. In this special guest essay, one of SIPP’s cofounders Dallas Gislason explains why it’s so important to support the local maker movement.
Maker Movement: A Definition
The “maker movement” is an umbrella term for independent inventors, designers, tinkerers and artisans. It comprises traditional craftspeople, high-tech innovators and everyone in between, but mostly it defines a dreamer who has both an idea and access to powerful personal technology to create something unique and new and personal.
What those dreamers make is the exact opposite of the generic, mass-produced stuff that fills our homes and landfills. Most of all, they are the ones who truly know what a community needs even before a community itself realizes it.
What is at the heart of “the economy”? On the one hand, we have modern innovations that add convenience but remove connection from our lives. On the other, we have community — real people and real-life interactions involving trade, commerce and making things.
