All posts tagged: crafting

Meet the college student crafting vibrant electric guitars from scratch

Meet the college student crafting vibrant electric guitars from scratch

Published by Jenni Sidey

Sign Up For Goods 🛍️ Product news, reviews, and must-have deals. College sophomore Ian Vanveen, 20, got into woodworking as a way of budget management. “I didn’t have a whole lot of money,” he says, “so I decided to build what I wanted myself.” The mostly self-taught craftsman started off making furniture, but was eventually itching to do more.  So Vanveen took a carpentry class to learn about different woods and their properties. There, he discovered things like how different kinds of wood can vary in density, and how wood’s fibers can expand or shrink depending on humidity. He then decided to combine his newfound knowledge with his building skills and start making electric guitars.  “That’s when things got interesting,” he says.  A high schooler makes his first electric guitar, kind of The first electric guitar that Vanveen handled was his dad’s old band guitar: a blue, semi-hollow body, Gibson ES-355. A high schooler at the time, Vanveen immediately felt a connection with the instrument, and got it in his brain to make his own …

‘Beast’ Director on Crafting an MMA Drama, Directing Russell Crowe

‘Beast’ Director on Crafting an MMA Drama, Directing Russell Crowe

Published by Daniella Wilson

In Beast, Australian director Tyler Atkins (Boasch & Rockit, aka Ocean Boy) sets out to do something more ambitious than simply stage bone-crunching fight sequences. His debut feature in the MMA arena is as much about family, identity and masculinity as it is about survival inside the cage. Shot across between Australia and Thailand, Beast pairs visceral action with an emotional core anchored by a working-class fighter torn between who he is and who he’s expected to be. With Russell Crowe lending gravitas as a battle-hardened trainer (Sammy) and Daniel MacPherson embodying the conflicted fighter (Patton James) at its centre, Atkins leans into the human cost of violence — and the strength required to endure it. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter Australia, Atkins reflects on the film’s unconventional production and his personal philosophy that shaped its themes. Beast opens in U.S. theaters on April 10, and at home in Australia on April 23. First of all, congratulations. This was a complex shoot — how long did it actually take? Thank you. It’s a hard one …

ICE and CBP crafting drawdown plan in Minnesota

ICE and CBP crafting drawdown plan in Minnesota

Published by Sam Flores

Border czar Tom Homan speaks during a news conference about ongoing immigration enforcement operations, in Minneapolis, Jan. 29, 2026. Scott Olson | Getty Images U.S. border czar Tom Homan on Thursday said federal immigration enforcement agencies are working on a plan to reduce their massive presence in Minnesota, while broadly acknowledging problems with the Trump administration’s activities there. “I’m not here because the federal government has carried its mission out perfectly,” Homan said at a press conference in Minneapolis, where an aggressive surge in federal deportation efforts has stoked major civil unrest. Homan said he and President Donald Trump, “along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made.” Trump on Monday sent Homan to Minneapolis to manage U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s operations. The announcement came two days after federal agents killed a second U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, in the city during altercations that were caught on camera. Homan on Thursday said he is in conversation with state and local officials, including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor …

Liene redefines home crafting at CES with the PixCut S1 all-in-one sticker machine

Liene redefines home crafting at CES with the PixCut S1 all-in-one sticker machine

Published by skeptic

Personalization is taking over: bag charms, decorative phone cases, customized name labels, DIY screen-printed shirts, custom-printed cards and invitations. It’s rare these days to spot a water bottle without stickers or a bare laptop. With so many DIY tools at our disposal, custom adornments have never been easier to achieve. So, if you want to take your customizations to the next level, the Liene PixCut S1 all-in-one sticker printer and cutter is impressive. It provides professional-grade personalization in one compact unit that designs, prints, and cuts stickers—no steep learning curve and no cutting mat required. The PixCut S1 is the first consumer-focused all-in-one printer and cutter that combines high-quality printing with precision cutting and an AI-powered mobile app workflow—a combination that’s hard to find in home devices. Outsourcing sticker creation can be slow, expensive, and often yields disappointing results or surprise color matches. And other home printers don’t cut for you, making purchasing a separate cutting machine necessary, which is costly and requires additional setup (and storage!). With the PixCut S1, you can do it …

EverNitro is simplifying the process of crafting silky nitro coffee at CES 2026

EverNitro is simplifying the process of crafting silky nitro coffee at CES 2026

Published by skeptic

​XBrew Lab debuted its countertop nitro beverage machine, EverNitro, at CES this week, offering nitro coffee enthusiasts a more accessible way to enjoy the drink — without the waste and expense of traditional cartridge-based machines. If you’re unfamiliar with nitro coffee, it’s cold brew coffee infused with nitrogen gas. This process creates tiny bubbles, resulting in a silky-smooth, naturally sweeter taste — similar to drinking a Guinness. Many people also note that nitro coffee is less bitter. EverNitro is positioning itself against competitors such as NitroBrew as a long-term more affordable all-in-one solution. “We offer the quality of a commercial tap with the footprint of a coffee maker. While others sell you gas, we give you technology to harvest it for free,” founder and CEO Terry Tan said. ​The company claims EverNitro delivers 95% nitrogen purity and highlights its ability to generate nitrogen directly from the surrounding air. By eliminating the need for single-use cartridges, the device provides a less expensive, environmentally friendly solution for home use. Image Credits:XBREW Lab After testing it ourselves, we …