We signed up for a class sort of at random and ended up making beautiful panels like the ones you see in the pictures. Attached them to handmade "washi" paper and made a lamp screen as a housewarming gift for my sibling.

I sometimes think that the "hypergrowth" segment of the population will efficiency-hack everything until either they all, or perhaps the rest of us, have left our meatspace bodies behind and simply exist as a series of Docker containers

Mass producing these would be like hiring a print shop to send a “I love you” note to a million random humans. It misses the point.

You can buy kits of thin sheets of metal that are intricately die-cut, and assemble into little sculptures of trains and buildings and bugs and whatnot.

But who can afford to buy anything any more?

That is up to you. I have it in my life. Lots of others do to. Most of us here are fairly privileged and get to choose how we spend multiple hours each day.

And young kids will emulate their parents. Want your kids to read? Read. Want you kids to go outside? Go outside. Want your kids to make art? Make art.

https://rainfordrestorations.com/category/woodworking-techni...

>Students may never pick up a tool again, but they will forever have the knowledge of how to make and evaluate things with your hand and your eye and appreciate the labor of others

That said, the problem is much the same as for Lego bricks:

- warehousing is expensive

- sorting and kitting and packaging add up

with the added problem of assembly can't be off-loaded to the purchaser, and shipping an assembled panel ramps up the packaging and shipping costs, to say nothing of the need for insurance to cover damage when shipping.

[1] https://www.feltonbrushes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/F23...

[2] https://media.diy.com/is/image/KingfisherDigital/spares2go-2...

It's so gratifying. It hurt my fingers at first (maybe I'm doing something wrong) but as you build callus it gets easier. It's such a nice way to spend a weekend morning.

I bought various angled jigs for cutting with my chisels, but I realized in retrospect that I could have saved a lot of money by 3d printing jigs. If you have a printer and want to give this a shot, that could be a useful way to get going.

Lee Valley also sells a good book about this: https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/books-and-dvds/11...

I'm realizing now would be a great time to start making some projects as Christmas gifts. I should bring my tools on camping trips over summer, have some nice kumiko and coffee mornings, and get myself ahead for holiday gifts.