I’m Jer Schmidt, a 26-year-old maker living in Seattle. I enjoy engineering, designing, and making the stuff that I need, often tools & jigs for my shop. In December 2014, I started a YouTube Channel to share what I do. The channel grew and I started selling plans for my projects. I now do this full-time.

I value simple design where form follows function, and try to build my projects to last long, be repairable, and be modular or adaptable so they can change as my needs change. My main motive is to reduce consumption. By making projects that are simple with no frills, I reduce material waste. By building projects well, I make them last longer than most items I could buy. My projects are inherently repairable since I made them myself, unlike many products on the market that are meant to be disposable. And by making projects adaptable, I won’t need to replace them if my needs change, plus I can sell/give them to someone else who will be able to adapt my project to their needs. I hope to pass on these values to others, so together we can reduce waste and create a more sustainable future.

I have no preference of material, so I work with wood or metal, or whatever material seems to make the most sense for the application. I’m working on integrating more used/upcycled materials into my projects where possible. I rarely use the “right tool for the job”, because I think it’s better to be creative and make do with what I have, rather than spend money & resources on a new, specialty tool that will rarely get used.