The Space Is Growing Fast, too Fast?

Something remarkable is happening in home manufacturing.

Tools that once lived behind factory walls now sit on desks, workbenches, and hobby tables. This isn't new to you guys. 3D printers, laser engravers, CNC machines, resin casting, electronics, and fabrication tools that once felt industrial now live in homes, studios, and garages.

Someone can imagine an object in the morning and be holding it by that evening. That is insane, especially to anyone who lived through the 80s and 90s, when the world was driven by merchandising and fandom.

It changes who gets to make things. It changes how quickly ideas can move. It changes what kinds of products, stories, props, collectibles, and experiences can come into existence at all. It also opens the door wider for storytellers who otherwise might have been silenced.

But this space is still young. So so young.

And when something grows this quickly, the tools evolve fast, the audience evolves fast, and the culture around it evolves fast too. Not always in healthy ways or with intention.

That means the way this space develops is still being decided in real time, and right in front of us.

And I think that leaves us with a hard question we should probably be asking more often. What kind of culture do we actually want around these tools? Which, I know, seems like a vague question, but I want multiple perspectives here. So specifically, focus on yourself, what you use this tech/hobby/community for, and how it helps you in your life. I have my perspective, Fotis has his, Matt has his. All of the designers in Discord have their own as well.

It would genuinely help to hear how other people in this space see it, designers, makers, admirers, and dreamers, the like. I will be listening on all channels, join in anywhere.