Maker Movement: A Definition
The “maker movement” is an umbrella term for independent inventors, designers, tinkerers and artisans. It comprises traditional craftspeople, high-tech innovators and everyone in between, but mostly it defines a dreamer who has both an idea and access to powerful personal technology to create something unique and new and personal.
What those dreamers make is the exact opposite of the generic, mass-produced stuff that fills our homes and landfills. Most of all, they are the ones who truly know what a community needs even before a community itself realizes it.
What is at the heart of “the economy”? On the one hand, we have modern innovations that add convenience but remove connection from our lives. On the other, we have community — real people and real-life interactions involving trade, commerce and making things.
The origin story of every human settlement on Earth revolves around these elements, from the mountain communities of the Gold Rush to the grain-rich Prairie towns that became centres for mechanics, grocers, barbers and household goods retailers.
And at the heart of all of those communities are the people who make the stuff we need. Unique and vibrant local economies — the farmers, authentic cafés, walkable streets buzzing with energy — deliver connection.
But what happens if you take the community connection away from what gets made locally in favour of mass-produced goods, centrally managed chain stores and commodification of everything from cake mix to razor blades to fast fashion?
In short: A globalized economy disconnects us from the human and place-centric elements that were fundamental to community economies since the dawn of human civilization.
The Case for Local
I’m writing this article to highlight how valuable makers are to our local communities, and what we can do to nurture them.
Why do I care about this? The short answer is that it’s my job. I’m an economic developer who helped create the South Island Prosperity Partnership, which launched in 2016 as a region-wide alliance. I get paid to think about the local economy, and to develop interventions that improve it. And I love this job.
The longer answer is that it’s in my blood. I grew up in a multi-generational family business in rural Saskatchewan. In the early 1950s, my grandfather bought a furnishing and home appliance business from his employers. My dad started working in the business when he was 12 years old. As I grew up, he was always ready to fix a customer’s broken fridge or stove. But as time went on, those customers started looking for better deals elsewhere. The business went through different owners and eventually merged with a chain store that just closed it down.
What was lost wasn’t just a local business, but its community. Yet the trend of small, local businesses being swallowed by large multinationals is a trend that just keeps growing.
Now let’s add another trend from the last few decades: the outsourcing of manufacturing from developed countries. That doesn’t just mean the loss of local businesses — it also puts at risk our capacity for making stuff, creating and retaining wealth in our communities.
By “wealth” I don’t mean appreciating real-estate values. I actually mean the ability of our local economy to bring in money from the outside world through exporting something of value. And, more importantly, the ability to circulate that wealth in such a way that more people benefit from it through supplier relationships and limiting the amount of wealth that leaks out of the economy through imports.
A great example of this here in Victoria is Phillips Brewing’s recent transition toward employee ownership. It would have been easier for Matt Phillips to fuel the growth and transition of the business through a private equity transaction; instead, the shift toward employee ownership will mean that these people have a direct stake in the future success — and wealth creation — of the business.
According to the Conference Board of Canada, an estimated $7.2 billion of retail spending will occur in Greater Victoria in 2024. Now, that’s a lot of potential for local businesses and local spending. How much of that will be spent on locally made goods or locally grown food? The answer is: not nearly enough.
Yet, according to research conducted by the non-profit LOCO BC in 2019, independent businesses recirculate up to 4.6 times more revenue than multinationals, keeping up to 63 per cent of revenue in B.C., compared to just 14 per cent. Independent businesses also produce 8.4 times more jobs per square foot of operational space.
LOCO BC also found that local businesses donate 24 times more money per dollar of revenue to charities and local causes than multinationals.
Human Connections
We might cruise by Forest Technology Systems in Langford, Crust Bakery in Victoria or Titan Boats in Sidney without ever knowing the origin story or the people behind those businesses. These three companies have unique stories: The first was founded by a Canadian Forest Services employee and has gone on to install over 5,000 forest-monitoring stations globally. The second was started by an Australian immigrant and now serves lineups of satisfied customers that often stretch across the entryways of neighbouring businesses. And the third is a multi-generational family business whose aluminum boats, made in their expanded 28,000-square-foot facility, are sold around the world.
One of my favourite examples of “the person behind the brand” is the first time I met Sean Hoyne, founder of Hoyne Brewing. I had an appointment to interview him for a project and when I walked in I found him up on a platform, stirring a large, shiny container full of hops. (This was several years before Hoyne invested in the automated equipment they use today.) He told me he’d have to do the interview while stirring because the special hop soup had to be moved into another container at a precise time. (Quality control!) So we did exactly that. He stirred, I asked questions.
Thirteen years after launching Hoyne Brewing, Hoyne offers some new insights on how their brand operates as a person-centric enterprise.
“I really wanted to create a business that I would want to work for,” he says. “Doing this effectively has had cascading effects. A team that trusts each other, has fun together, genuinely enjoys each others’ company and holds no hostility, even when there’s conflict, has contributed to our common goals while also maintaining a remarkably low employee turnover rate.”
He also explained that their key to success has been about living by well-articulated values.
“For us, it’s about keeping the customer at the heart of everything,” he adds. “Every bottle or can must go out the door with the expectation that the person who consumes it will not only recognize it as a quality product, but they’ll get the same experience each time. It comes down to trust. When they make the decision to spend their hard earned money on one of [Hoyne’s] beers, we want them to feel like it was a good decision. Every time.”
Nurturing Makers
What about other types of makers? How do we nurture them? One answer might be through the Victoria Makerspace.
“There are various types of maker spaces in the world,” says founder Derek Jacoby. “Our Victoria Makerspace is a 500-square-metre workshop facility located at the Vancouver Island Technology Park that encompasses everything from woodworking to robot building to synthetic biology, all under the same roof.”
According to Jacoby, the benefits of working in such an environment are plentiful.
“Innovation happens best when you work on things together. Our constrained spaces in the city make this difficult, so having a place where people can congregate and collaborate brings value. We have members who can help you learn how the machines work or help you experiment with a new idea.”
“Innovation happens best when you work on things together. Our constrained spaces in the city make this difficult, so having a place where people can congregate and collaborate brings value.”
— Derek Jacoby
He adds: “We’re also a foundational node in MIT’s How to Grow Almost Anything synthetic biology course. So the values are multifaceted: people pursuing passions and projects that mix learning, business development and hobbies in equal measure.”
On a more personal level, Jacoby says that it’s simply rewarding to be able to build something or solve a problem using your own ingenuity. He notes an example where members ran workshops on how to assemble 3D-printed LipSync devices, enabling paraplegic computer users to operate a mouse with just their mouths.
Is this community model catching on? Well, in 2013, they had just 50 members. Today they have 250.
“We are once again grappling with the question of how we balance growth with a focus on our existing members,” Jacoby explains, “but we are still welcoming new members and encouraging folks to join our community.”
What comes to mind when you read these phrases to yourself:
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- Amazon’s two-day delivery
- A.I.-produced art available in seconds
- Every album ever recorded, downloadable through Spotify
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Now let’s try again:
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- A farmer’s market vendor tells you how wildflowers make his honey taste better
- Wood chips gather slowly around the feet of an Indigenous artist as he carves a mask
- “Cheers!” Your friend smiles back at you as you both take a sip of local craft ale
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What came to mind for you this time? Something quite different, I bet.
The purpose of this word association is to prompt our thinking about what is at the heart of “the economy.” On the one hand, we have modern innovations that add convenience but remove connection from our lives. On the other, we have community — real people and real-life interactions involving trade, commerce and making things.
A Stronger Future
A few days ago while en route to pick up a friend from the airport, I sat at the red light at Island View Road beside Michell’s Farm, facing north. Across the way the vehicles waited for their green light, facing south. It was there in that lineup of vehicles that I noticed something I’d seen a hundred times, but had never given a second thought.
This time I decided to count: six, seven, eight … nine! Nine Amazon delivery trucks waiting at one red light!
Quite the contrast: On one side of the road, Michell’s Farm. A local, multigenerational family business. And on the other, Amazon. A global multinational, owned by one of the wealthiest people in the history of the world, here to ensure rapid delivery of household goods — everything from toilet paper to flat-screen TVs — available at our fingertips.
Both of these businesses may be deemed essential to our 21st-century way of life: one providing access to quality, locally grown food; the other, bringing us household goods that make our daily lives easier and more convenient.
It’s with this observation at that red light that I offer this challenge: How can we embrace the modern-day conveniences of 21st-century technologies and services — things such as A.I., digital streaming and Amazon Prime delivery — while also preserving the health, vibrancy and unique character of our local economies?
I don’t pretend to have all the solutions, but one thing is for certain: We must nurture and support the local makers. Our cities, towns and neighbourhoods will be stronger for it.
Local Makers, Global Markets