ReadyMade: How to Make [Almost] Everything: A Do-It-Yourself Primer

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ReadyMade: How to Make [Almost] Everything: A Do-It-Yourself Primer

by Shoshana Berger (Illustrations), Kate Francis (Illustrator), Jeffery Cross (Photographer), Grace Hawthorne

3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 · rating details · 394 ratings · 62 reviews

HOW TO MAKE {ALMOST} EVERYTHING

A Do-It-Yourself Primer

You need this book. As the stuff of life piles up and things spin out of control, we could all use a little help. These never-before-seen designs and how-tos are full of surprise and wonder. Learn how to turn everyday objects into spellbinding inventions to give away to friends or keep for yourself. Our simple self-impr...more

Hardcover, 208 pages

Published December 6th 2005 by Potter Style

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Aug 23, 2008 Janice (Janicu) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Made by the same people who created ReadyMade magazine, this is a book with several projects divided into sections according to the main material used to make them (Metal, Fabric, Plastic, Wood, Paper). Each section has an introduction with some history of the material and its use to mankind followed by projects and some small articles sort of related to the material (The fabric section devotes some pages to "fabrication" - telling lies, storytelling. The metal section tells you about "mettle" a...more

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Feb 19, 2008 Hayden rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, diy

I want to like ReadyMade (the magazine and this book) a little bit more than I do. For one thing, I find them kind of smug.

More annoyingly, though, Readymade purports to be all about reducing waste by recycling garbage into awesomeness. Which is great! But several of the projects in the book have introdutions like, "Do you have a lamp that needs a makeover? Even last year's Ikea lampshades look SO dated to us now!" So you're supposed to throw away your year-old Ikea lamp, go buy a new Ikea lamp,...more

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Apr 29, 2009 Tarlen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: perpustakaan-art-craft-tobucil

Dydy (http://dydy.multiply.com) yang pertama meminjamkan buku ini waktu kami sama-sama berkunjung ke Mid Manhattan Public Library. Aku langsung jatuh cinta berat sama buku ini. Beruntungnya aku karena aku bisa mendapatkannya di Strand Bookstore (toko buku second terbesar di NYC) dengan harga 15 dollar saja (harga asli 25 dollar).

Buku ini diawali dengan sebuah mini manifesto (with appologies to William Blake). Aku kutip sesuai aslinya:
1. I will in some way redifine space, material, functionality,...more Dydy (http://dydy.multiply.com) yang pertama meminjamkan buku ini waktu kami sama-sama berkunjung ke Mid Manhattan Public Library. Aku langsung jatuh cinta berat sama buku ini. Beruntungnya aku karena aku bisa mendapatkannya di Strand Bookstore (toko buku second terbesar di NYC) dengan harga 15 dollar saja (harga asli 25 dollar).

Buku ini diawali dengan sebuah mini manifesto (with appologies to William Blake). Aku kutip sesuai aslinya:
1. I will in some way redifine space, material, functionality, or context.
2. I understand that the phrase "home decor" ist verboten.
3. With each priject, I will disclose the means of production, invite collaboration, and generally debunk the marker as auteur theory.
4. I acknowledge that common, everyday object are precious gems.
5. I will attempt to keep all consumer goods in circulation, and out of the big Wall-Mart in the sky, by reusing them.
6. Excess of simplicity laughs, excess of complexity weeps!
7. All creative endeavors are a balancing act of Newtonian physics, kitchen table logic, and snafu. We ask that you forgive what you do not approve and love us for this energetic exertion of our talent.
And... Furthermore, I swear as a ReadyMade reader to refrain from creating "finished work," as a heightened awareness of process is the whole point. I will share this book with friend and foe alike with the understanding that it is meant to be enjoyed family style, like Chinese food. I pledge to do so at the expense of my desire to keep these ideas and their off spring all to myself. Thus I make my VOW OF VIRTUE.

Seperti ulasanku tentang majalahnya pada postingan sebelumnya, craft menjadi bukan sekedar kerajinan tangan, namun ada sesuatu yang dinyatakan. Sebuah misi besar memaknai keseharian, menemukan makna baru dari ruang, benda-benda yang ada di sekeliling kita dan lebih jauh lagi mengurangi konsumerisme. Craft menjadi sebuah gerakan sosial. Sesuai dengan judulnya, buku ini mencoba memberikan solusi-solusi alternatif dalam mendaur ulang benda-benda sehari-hari. Di mulai dari kertas, plastik, kayu, logam, gelas, dan kain. Menariknya, buku ini tidak hanya memberi olahan alternatif bahan-bahan tadi melalui kegiatan craft, namun buku ini juga memberi gambaran persoalan mengapa benda-benda tadi perlu kita manfaatkan kembali, lengkap dengan karakter dari bahan-bahan tersebut.

Menurutku, penting untuk mengenali karakter bahan sehingga kita bisa melahirkan bentukan-bentukan baru sesuai dengan karakternya. Misalnya saja, ketika hendak mengolah bahan-bahan plastik, untuk tidak mengubah unsur kimianya, kita tidak dapat mengubah bentuk dengan metode pembakaran, karena teknik itu akan mengubah struktur kimianya. Sehingga untuk mengubah bentuk plastik yang perlu dilakukan adalah dengan memanaskannya dengan menggunakan udara/uap panas (hot gun atau hair dryer dapat digunakan). Dasar pengetahuan seperti ini yang ku kira perlu dikuasai oleh para crafter untuk bisa mengeksplorasi dan memadupadankan bahan.

Kelebihan buku ini yang menurutku jarang ku jumpai pada buku-buku craft lainnya adalah, buku ini memberikan bekal kepada pembacanya, bukan sekedar bagaimana membuatnya, tapi pengetahuan yang sangat mendasar untuk menciptakan bentukan-bentukan kita sendiri.

Penasaran kan? bukunya ada di perpustakaan Art & Craft, tobucil & klabs. http://craftbookdrive.org/(less)

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Sep 18, 2007 Darcie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Mostly flash, which is a weird thing to say about something from ReadyMade. I didn't find many of the projects to be compelling enough to try, and I didn't like all of the strange articles peppered throughout. There were whole sections devoted to things like "how to bluff your way through anything," and "the history of fabric." In a book called How to Make [Almost] Anything, I expect less filler and more projects. Wouldn't you? Subscribe to the magazine, but skip this book.

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Jul 03, 2012 Jien rated it 1 of 5 stars

Some of the page layout demonstrated good design. Everything else...

Problem: Hypocrisy. The authors go on about environmental concerns and how not enough things are recycled and throwing things away creates more problems yet the projects take items that could be recycled and make them un-recyclable. Example: Covering a piece of lace in epoxy turns the lace from an organic material with recycling potential into non-biodegradable trash. Repurposing old laundry containers into a coat rack might see...more Some of the page layout demonstrated good design. Everything else...

Problem: Hypocrisy. The authors go on about environmental concerns and how not enough things are recycled and throwing things away creates more problems yet the projects take items that could be recycled and make them un-recyclable. Example: Covering a piece of lace in epoxy turns the lace from an organic material with recycling potential into non-biodegradable trash. Repurposing old laundry containers into a coat rack might seem cool, but the modifications wind up causing the containers to become trash at the end of the coat rack's life. At best, this book just delays the inevitable and at worst it actually generates more waste.

Problem: Religious overtones. There are multiple references to both the bible and god and even at one point gives tips on teaching the book of genesis to children. As I am morally against the religious indoctrination of children I find this deplorable. And why is god even mentioned in a book about how to turn soda bottle into plant pots?

Problem: Off topic. Most of the writing in the book is actually not about the projects but about random other topics that have nothing to do with the book whatsoever. It even has several pages dedicated to instructing the reader how to lie, which is not a good trait in any collaborative environment.

Problem: Mostly useless projects. The projects which supposedly have great practical applications don't really solve the problems they set out to fix.

Problem: Incorrect information. Even the conversion tables in the back include wrong numbers. I learned in middle school that there were 2.54 centimeters to an inch, yet they get even this basic fact wrong.

Problem: Encourages credit dodging and bankruptcy. One of the first off-topic sections gives detailed advice on how to use one credit card to pay off another in order to avoid paying off debt and more easily spend more money than one has. And then, they claim that bankruptcy is an okay option. The authors' rationale that "why not screw the people who are screwing you" is a complete misunderstanding of the problem. Adding more debt isn't going to solve a problem of too much debt. Spending money we don't have is the entire reason the economy (US, British, Euro) is in such a horrible condition. This is not something that should be encouraged.(less)

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Aug 11, 2011 Joe.bell added it

This book is a good example of the old saw about not judging a book by its cover. I first saw it a few years ago. We were on our way to Japan and got laid over in San Francisco. That automatically means a 24 hour delay and a stay at some cheesy hotel, so, to compensate, we got on the DART and rode downtown. We walked around for a while and found this interesting museum about the design in the 20th century. The museum was very good and they had this book in their gift shop. The look of it, cardbo...more

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May 03, 2011 Sara Habein rated it 2 of 5 stars

ReadyMade is one of those magazines I periodically buy, thinking that if I'm ever overcome with a fit of craftiness, it would help inspire my poor wallet and me to make something interesting out of stuff I already have, or can obtain on the cheap. Some of their projects veer a bit towards the "I'm bored and like making things, soo... behold! This strange and only semi-useful thing!", but others really are small strokes of "Aha! What an idea!" Unfortunately, this book version of ReadyMade is more...more ReadyMade is one of those magazines I periodically buy, thinking that if I'm ever overcome with a fit of craftiness, it would help inspire my poor wallet and me to make something interesting out of stuff I already have, or can obtain on the cheap. Some of their projects veer a bit towards the "I'm bored and like making things, soo... behold! This strange and only semi-useful thing!", but others really are small strokes of "Aha! What an idea!" Unfortunately, this book version of ReadyMade is more like the former. Apart from a couple of projects featured in the book, most of the stuff is not only kind of stupid, but also rather ugly.

What I like about the magazine and its website are the ideas for reusing fabric, decorating ideas that look more spendy than they are, and interesting food/party ideas. The book has no food or party projects, but it does have just a couple of ideas in the fabric/decorating categories that I liked: a doormat made out of doll-head clothespins and a dog bed made out of old jeans. The dog looks so happy!

I'd link to either of these projects, but the website doesn't have them. In fact, I have the suspicion that ReadyMade is a bit embarrassed by their book because it is nowhere to be found on their site. Published in 2006, perhaps they've heard enough flack in the past 5 years to know they really squandered an opportunity. (A lamp cozy? Really?)

Flat-out irresponsible was how they detailed the way in which they first financed the magazine at its inception -- using credit cards, and then using other credit cards to pay those cards, and then assuming they would be able to pay off the balances in X amount of time. While this would work in theory for the responsible, planned business, and it did indeed work for them, 5 years later, we know that not everyone is that financially skilled. I don't know if those pages would have made it through the editorial process were the book published today.

Also wasting space in the book is accounts of semi-failed projects that were previously featured in the magazine, such as a chair made out of plastic bottles. "The noise when sitting on it," was one of the cons associated with the project, as if that even needed saying. "Remake This!" they ask of these projects -- but why in the world would you want to? Surely there are better discard materials with which to craft a chair.

Somewhat interesting, however, was the historical pages on wood, cloth, metal, paper, and plastic. Talking about how these materials came into wide use is probably not interesting to everyone, and it certainly doesn't help with project inspiration, but it makes sense to start the different sections with these introductions.

There's really not much more to say about this book other than don't bother spending full price on it. I checked it out from the library, and I suppose it would be an okay used bookstore purchase if it were under $10, if for directions on the dog bed project and a couple of the wood building projects alone. Still, calling this book a guide on how to make almost everything is really misleading. Rather than {Almost}, it should read {Hardly}.

(This review originally appeared on Glorified Love Letters.)(less)

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Sep 18, 2009 Laurel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Offers instructions and flashy illustrations for a wide range of DIY projects, from the super random chandelier made out of takeout plastic ware to the shelf made out of old drawers. They vary from the doable and inspiring to the "where in the hell will I find 100 phone books" projects?" Some of the "re-use" factor becomes muted if you actually have to go BUY the products you're supposed to be able to find for free. Also, some of them require lots of place to store stuff while you're stocking up...more

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Mar 06, 2011 Meredith rated it 2 of 5 stars

I like the magazine, so I wanted to like the book, too. It was creative, but not ultimately that useful.

The projects purported to be recycling and reusing, but none of them featured things that I own much less that I'm recycling. For example, I don't have an old door lying around, or a shipping pallet, or wooden clothes pins, or several years' worth of phone books.

I tried to take this as an inspiration/aspirational book, but the authors grounded it too much in the specific designs and recipes....more

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Jun 15, 2010 Emily rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: craft-miscellaneous

At first glance, this book is great. But it is a little too...I don't know, offbeat? for me. I like the denim dog bed on page 179, and there is a great mini-project on marking a regular jar as a measuring utensil on page 166. Otherwise, it's fun to look at, but that was about it for me. On that note, though, my boyfriend was absolutely enamored with the "table pants" at the start of the fabric chapter.

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Nov 05, 2009 Stephanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

This is a pretty cool crafty book that shows you how to make things like a coat rack from laundry detergent bottles, a chandelier from glass water-bottles, a denim dog bed, a messenger bag from newspaper subscription plastic bags, and a shelving unit from drawers. It's pretty advanced crafts, so I'll probably never make them, but it was fun to look at :)

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Sep 11, 2009 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: go-green, non-fiction

This book is hilarious! And fabulous, I actually want to make practically everything in this book and use it in my home (unlike most of the crap recycling crafty ideas in most books) like the hardcover book frame, phone-book furniture, poster-tube magazine tree, fedex cd rack, shopping bag rug, cd wall mural, I could go on and on, I love this book!

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Feb 04, 2010 Starr Phoenix rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book's very cool. Lots of do-able art/craft projects - and lots of built in inspiration to think of ways to recycle materials into groovy gifts and decor.

This is a pick up/put down kind of book. More like a manual. You won't read it straight thru. In fact, it's meant to be shared and discussed and turned into a creative workshop of sorts.

My favorite part of the book so far, though, is an odd little section about facial exercises you can do to eliminate the aging face's inclination to "wat...more

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Mar 01, 2013 Alyssa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: architecture-design

So, I didn't love this book. While I appreciate the idea of using recycled materials, I found that the projects featured are not projects I would choose to take on.

But I did appreciate the fun facts featured throughout, i.e.: "A Brief History of Paper/Plastic/Wood/Metal/Glass/Fabric," how different cultures use chop sticks, & 16 alternate uses for sock were my favorite.

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Feb 02, 2010 Kristyn Redahan rated it 2 of 5 stars

A couple of good ideas. Mostly, if you make stuff in this book on a regular basis your house will look like its covered in garbage because well, it will be. If it doesn't look nice in book, its going to look worse in real life.

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Apr 29, 2009 Wikupedia rated it 5 of 5 stars

adalah kreativitas yang bisa menjamid manusia untuk bertahan hidup. dan buku ini adalah salah satu dari sekian banyak buku yang menjawab pertanyaan, bagaimana kita bisa hidup?

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Jan 02, 2009 Possiblymaybe rated it 2 of 5 stars

Well written, entertaining, and beautifully laid-out, but not, in fact, very useful, since the projects are very time-consuming and/or relatively ugly looking.

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Jun 30, 2010 Becky marked it as to-read

Shelves: age-adult-books, nonfiction, home-and-money

Spotted at Borders. The print is small and the book seems kind of full of its own uber-hipness, but I like that it focuses on reusing/repurposing materials.

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Mar 20, 2013 Jared Jeffers rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: any one who is a creative designer and belives in making some thing new out of some thing old

Recommended to Jared by: Sister

good ideas in this creative book of remaking products that appear to be left to one side for many years or either thrown away

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Nov 22, 2011 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

What a fun book~! It has great projects and humors content. Super fun to go through in the middle or from cover to cover.

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Jan 30, 2010 Katherine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: art-and-crafts

Worth the flip-through and worth picking up again for inspiration and/ or to read parts more thoroughly. Kooky and informative.

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Dec 25, 2009 Jessietaylortanner rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, craft

I wouldn't actually make anything in this book, but I enjoy the typeset, layout and writing. Innovative, just not my style.

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Jun 22, 2008 Lesley rated it 3 of 5 stars

clothespin doormats, saran wrap chair, comb and ruler mail slot, phone book furniture, plastic bag messenger bag. and more!
the only thing bad i could say about the book is i wished there were more projects that were simpler. many of them required buying various random things. or having trash that was like old doors or plexiglass boards, which i speak for myself, but that is not common to be something i am throwing out. i think i would love to come back to this book when/if i eventually move int...more

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Jul 19, 2010 Jillian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: art, design, self-help-how-to-s

A couple fun little projects in here. I especially liked, "How to Make a Denim Dog Bed."

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Oct 26, 2009 Leslee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: professional

So many skills to learn, so little time. Fabulous reference for ideas and techniques.

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May 18, 2009 Sherry rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not as thorough as they claim, but inspiring in it's own Do-It-Yourself way.

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May 12, 2011 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

Some interesting ideas, but not particularly catching for me.

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Aug 12, 2009 Lindsay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: z2009, craft

Some fantastic inspiration in this book and scope to create your own projects using the instructions and ideas.

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Jun 10, 2009 Cnester rated it 5 of 5 stars

Some impractical projects, but some amazing ones!!!

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Oct 18, 2007 Eric James rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hobby-design-etc

While, as some people have said, the magazine may be more engaging, that's the nature of the beast when it comes to re-purposing and craft projects in particular.

Still, whatever it loses in comparison, it still has tons of great projects, for all sorts of media, as well as a good deal of articles and statistics regarding waste. I guess what makes it so great is that, unlike the magazine, even the projects too difficult or just generally not applicable to me, in this format, it's just fun to rea...more

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