Cool Tools

Our guest this week is Donald Bell. Donald is the creator and host of the weekly video series Maker Update. He’s a writer for Autodesk. And you’ve probably seen him on the Cool Tools YouTube channel, where he’s been creating tool review videos for us since 2017. You can find Donald on Instagram and Twitter @makerprojectlab. For show notes and transcript visit:

For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/alana-aamodt-toy-designer/ Our guest this week is Alana Aamodt. Alana is a toy designer and educator from Denver, Colorado. She has a background in physics and art, and a love of Rube Goldberg machines. The combination of the three serve as the inspiration for her company, Momentix Toys, which uses chain reactions to teach design skills through joyful experimentation and hands-on play. You can find Momentix Toys on Instagram @momentix_toys and on Facebook @MomentixToys.

For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/mike-senese-executive-editor-of-make/ Our guest this week is Mike Senese. Mike is the executive editor of Make: magazine. He’s worked as a DIY journalist and TV host throughout his career, with roles at Wired and ReadyMade magazines, and on Discovery and Science channels. You can find Mike on Twitter and Instagram @msenese.

For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/seth-raphael-hi-tech-magician/ Seth Raphael is a modern day Robert Houdin, combining cutting edge technology with age-old magic techniques to push what’s possible and elicit wonder. He studied magic and technology at MIT and companies like Disney and Google hire him to help envision the future. You can find Seth on Twitter and Patreon @magicseth.

For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/rusty-blazenhoff-social-artist/ Our guest this week is Rusty Blazenhoff. Rusty is a social artist who aims to bring surprise and delight to everything she does. She publishes an inbox zine (a term she coined), blogs for Boing Boing, and makes magic for Pee-wee Herman, Children's Fairyland and Burning Man. You can find Rusty on Twitter @Blazenhoff.

For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/paul-boswell-educational-toy-maker/ Our guest this week is Paul Boswell. Paul is co-founder of Turing Tumble. He’s been an analytical chemist, a software engineer, a professor at the University of Minnesota, and a healthcare researcher. Four years ago, he progressed to the next obvious step in his career: becoming a toymaker. His Kickstarter for Spintronics, a puzzle game where players discover electronics in a tangible way, using the first physical representation of electronic circuits, launches on May 20 here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/upperstory/spintronics-build-mechanical-circuits

For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/dug-north-maker/ Our guest this week is Dug North. Dug is a maker, best known for his mechanical wooden sculptures. He spent five years running an antique clock restoration business. These days he enjoys outdoor bushcraft activities. He is the founder of Whiz-bang Projects —an online source for inspiring vintage project plans. You can find Dug on YouTube @dugnorth, and on Instagram @dug.north, and on Facebook @DugNorthCreations.

For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/randy-regier-artist/ Our guest this week is Randy Regier. Randy is an artist living and working in Kansas City, Kansas. Randy has lived on both coasts over his life but has settled in the middle because it’s a good place to live on the least amount of money in order to make the most amount of things. You can find Randy on Instagram @rand.regier, @tipo_american_art, and @the_gongfarmer_cartoon

Our guest this week is Lawrence Lazare. After a 25-year career as an ecommerce product leader, Lawrence recently retired due to the loss of his central vision from a genetic eye disease. In his retirement, Lawrence is concentrating on his infrared landscape photography practice, as well as launching a podcast about maintaining a life-long creative practice. For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/lawrence-lazare-photographer/

Our guest this week is Nicole Harkin. Nicole’s an award-winning writer and photographer based in Washington, D.C. Her first book, Tilting, A Memoir was released in 2017 and since then she’s been working on a true-life novel about her grandmother. In addition to writing, Nicole is also the founder of the DC Family Biking Facebook page. For show notes and transcript visit: https://kk.org/cooltools/nicole-harkin-writer-and-photographer-2/