About CustomMade

CustomMade is an online matchmaker connecting Buyers who want one-of-a-kind Creations with professional and passionate Makers.

Custom Furniture Design and the Slow Furniture Movement

Posted by Pedro in For Customers, For Makers, The Wide World of Custom Making on June 13, 2012

Are you concerned that cheap retail furniture, in price and quality, is eroding support for custom furniture design and traditional craftsmanship? If you’re familiar with CustomMade, you’re likely aware of CustomMade’s mission: spreading the custom word and bringing together artisans and consumers who understand the value of fine craftsmanship.  When we hear about others who [...]

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“Thank You Recession” — How Two Artists from Michigan Revitalized their Community

Posted by Marcie in For Customers, For Makers, The Wide World of Custom Making on June 7, 2012

Written by CustomMade’s Maker Success team member Tammy Kingan.

It could be the plot of a Hollywood movie: A young couple struggling to start their lives together get hit by a massive recession, come up with a new idea, and follow their dreams to New York City… except this tale doesn’t stop there and this [...]

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A Mac, a CT Scanner, a Custom CNC Machine, and a Stradivarius

Posted by Pedro in For Customers, For Makers, The Wide World of Custom Making on February 26, 2012

“If Stradivari was working today, I wonder what he would do with an Apple Mac computer, a CT scanner, and a CNC machine.”

One amazing violin.

Violin maker John Waddle asks this question from a special perspective.  He and fellow violin maker Steve Rossow and radiologist Steven Sirr have reproduced a celebrated Stradivarius violin, the [...]

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A Tutorial: What to Know Before Making a Custom Jewelry Request

Posted by Marcie in For Customers, The Wide World of Custom Making on February 9, 2012

This was originally written on CustomMade’s discussion board by maker Paul Michael Bierker, designer, goldsmith and technologist at Paul Michael Design in Pittsburgh, PA. Paul’s work and commentary has ben featured in Vogue, Fortune, People Magazine, InStyle, AJM, Professional Jeweler, Modern Jeweler, and National Jeweler Magazineas-well-as numerous international publications.

So you’ve decided [...]

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The Dolls of Japan Are Not Just Child’s Play

Posted by Pedro in For Customers, For Makers, The Wide World of Custom Making on December 18, 2011

What do you get for the man who has everything?

How about a doll?  An inanimate doll.  Ok, let’s try again.

You have a wide range of choices for the grown-up boy such as action figures, models, toy soldiers, and miniatures.  But there is a stigma attached to men playing with dolls … or collecting, [...]

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Art to Lunch: Japanese Character Bento

Posted by Pedro in For Customers, For Makers, The Wide World of Custom Making on December 11, 2011

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found in your lunch box? Pudding? Fruit cup? Candy?

How about Indiana Jones?

Beyond the artistry of food preparation itself, we’ve all seen art made from the medium of food, from cookies and cakes created in special shapes or decorated for particular themes to sculptures and mixed media creations [...]

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Mass Customization and Custom Artisans

Posted by Pedro in For Customers, For Makers, The Wide World of Custom Making on December 4, 2011

How disruptive is the following statement to your way of thinking about business?

“Customers don’t want a choice; they want exactly what they want.”

If your business model is based on a 20th century mass production paradigm, this observation about 21st century consumers by acclaimed author and business coach Joe Pine might spell trouble.

But [...]

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Catching the Building Bug: The Girls at Work Program

Posted by Pedro in For Customers, For Makers, The Wide World of Custom Making on November 25, 2011

What do young people need from their elders in order to join the burgeoning maker movement?  They need training to learn to use the right tools and encouragement that they can succeed.

For many young girls, finding both is a challenge.

On the CustomMade blog we’ve previously highlighted efforts to change attitudes towards manufacturing and [...]

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Custom Lapidaries

Posted by Pedro in For Customers, For Makers, The Wide World of Custom Making on November 5, 2011

Lapidaries are masters of the art of turning rough gemstones into dazzling multifaceted pieces or other forms.  Professional jewelry makers as well as the general jewelry buying public may turn to these artisans for precisely cut gems for use in custom jewelry design.  While expert jewelers like those you will find in our CustomMade galleries [...]

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