“You made this?” These words are music to the ears of Erin Kaiser, a 29-year-old Arlington Heights resident who recently has been on a creative roll at the library’s Makerplace. Kaiser submitted some of her completed projects to our Creator Spotlight—each more fabulous than the next: personalized gift tags, an engraved cutting board, a beautiful slate charcuterie board and topping them all - 20 personalized ID badge lanyards Kaiser made for her colleagues at Riley Elementary School in District 21.
“I took one essentials class last fall, the intro to laser cutting,” said Kaiser. “I wanted to get my feet wet, and the class was really well done. We learned about Adobe Illustrator and how to download images and make them into cut-able files. At the end of the class, I left super excited.”
Since then, Kaiser has returned to the Makerplace more than a dozen times to use the laser cutter and associated tools and materials to make one-of-a-kind gifts. A self-described creative at heart, (Kaiser photographed her projects using the library’s light box from our Library of Things collection), she is quick to share tips and encouragement on what it takes to make.
“By far the easiest project,” said Kaiser when asked to describe the piece of slate she personalized at the Makerplace. “In less than a half-hour I was done. The longest or hardest part was picking out the font. It’s that easy.”
She added the cost can’t be beaten either. Kaiser estimated that it cost about $10 in materials to create her “favorite project”- the 20 ID lanyards she gave as holiday gifts to coworkers.
“To be able to affordably create and give really nice, unique gifts that people love feels really good,” said Kaiser. “One teacher liked hers so much, she has it hanging on her wall as art.”
What advice does Kaiser have for others who are interested in getting started making gifts that wow?
“First, take a class to get yourself in the door,” said Kaiser, “and then throw something at the wall and see what sticks. Part of making is failing and experimenting. I’ve made things, I would never have had the opportunity to create and that’s why I love the Makerplace!”