Do it yourself
Encyclopedia
Home improvement
Home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home.-Types of home improvement:...
projects which people might choose to complete independently.
In recent years, the term DIY has taken on a broader meaning that covers a wide range of skill sets. DIY is associated with the international alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
music scenes; indymedia networks, pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
stations, and the zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
community. In this context, DIY is related to the Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
, in that it offers an alternative to modern consumer culture's emphasis on relying on others to satisfy needs.
Home improvement
The DIY movement is a re-introduction (often to urban and suburban dwellers) of the old pattern of personal involvement and use of skills in upkeep of a house or apartment, making clothes; maintenance of cars, computers, websites; or any material aspect of living. The philosopher Alan WattsAlan Watts
Alan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York...
(from the "Houseboat Summit" panel discussion in a 1967 edition of the San Francisco Oracle
San Francisco Oracle
The Oracle of the City of San Francisco, also known as the San Francisco Oracle, was an underground newspaper published in 12 issues from September 20, 1966, to February 1968 in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of that city...
) reflected a growing sentiment:
Our educational system, in its entirety, does nothing to give us any kind of material competence. In other words, we don't learn how to cook, how to make clothes, how to build houses, how to make love, or to do any of the absolutely fundamental things of life. The whole education that we get for our children in school is entirely in terms of abstractions. It trains you to be an insurance salesman or a bureaucrat, or some kind of cerebral character.
In the 1970s, DIY spread through the North American population of college- and recent-college-graduate age groups. In part, this movement involved the renovation of affordable, rundown older homes. But it also related to various projects expressing the social and environmental vision of the 1960s and early 1970s. The young visionary Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand
Stewart Brand is an American writer, best known as editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. He founded a number of organizations including The WELL, the Global Business Network, and the Long Now Foundation...
, working with friends and family, and initially using the most basic of typesetting and page-layout tools, published the first edition of The Whole Earth Catalog
Whole Earth Catalog
The Whole Earth Catalog was an American counterculture catalog published by Stewart Brand between 1968 and 1972, and occasionally thereafter, until 1998...
(subtitled Access to Tools) in late 1968.
The first Catalog, and its successors, used a broad definition of the term "tools". There were informational tools, such as books (often technical in nature), professional journals, courses, classes, and the like. There were specialized, designed items, such as carpenters' and masons' tools, garden tools, welding equipment, chainsaws, fiberglass materials and so on; even early personal computers. The designer J. Baldwin
J. Baldwin
James Tennant Baldwin is an American industrial designer and writer...
acted as editor to include such items, writing many of the reviews. The Catalogs publication both emerged from and spurred the great wave of experimentalism, convention-breaking, and do-it-yourself attitude of the late 1960s. Often copied, the Catalog appealed to a wide cross-section of people in North America and had a broad influence.
For decades, magazines such as Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
and Mechanix Illustrated
Mechanix Illustrated
Mechanix Illustrated was an American magazine founded in the first half of the 20th century to compete against the older Popular Science and Popular Mechanics...
offered a way for readers to keep current on useful practical skills and techniques. DIY home improvement books began to flourish in the 1970s, first created as collections of magazine articles. An early, extensive line of DIY how-to books was created by Sunset Books
Sunset Books
Sunset Books is a book publishing company that operates as a part of Southern Progress Corporation's Oxmoor House book publishing division. The Sunset Books division was created in 1946 when Sunset Magazine created a separate book division to publish content from its magazines...
, based upon previously published articles from their magazine, Sunset, based in California. Time-Life, Better Homes & Gardens, and other publishers soon followed suit.
In the mid-1990s, DIY home-improvement content began to find its way onto the World Wide Web. HouseNet was the earliest bulletin-board style site where users could share information. HomeTips.com, established in early 1995, was among the first Web-based sites to deliver free extensive DIY home-improvement content created by expert authors. Since the late 1990s, DIY has exploded on the Web through thousands of sites.
In the 1970s, when home video (VCRs) came along, DIY instructors quickly grasped its potential for demonstrating processes by audio-visual means. In 1979, This Old House
This Old House
This Old House is an American home improvement magazine and television series aired on the American television station Public Broadcasting Service which follows remodeling projects of houses over a number of weeks.-Overview:...
, starring Bob Vila
Bob Vila
Robert Joseph "Bob" Vila is an American home improvement television show host known for This Old House , Bob Vila's Home Again , and Bob Vila .-Early life:...
, premiered on PBS and started the DIY television revolution. The show was immensely popular, educating people on how to improve their living conditions (and the value of their house) without the expense of paying someone to do it. In 1994, the HGTV
HGTV
HGTV , is a cable-television network operating in the United States and Canada, broadcasting a variety of home and garden improvement, maintenance, renovation, craft and remodeling shows...
Network cable television channel was launched in the United States and Canada, followed in 1999 by the DIY Network
DIY Network
DIY Network is a channel owned by Scripps Networks Interactive that focuses on do it yourself projects at home.Television stations air local versions with local hosts with segments produced by the network. Branded DIY Network programming is also broadcast in Japan and the Philippines...
cable television channel. Both were launched to appeal to the growing percentage of North Americans interested in DIY topics, from home improvement to knitting
Knitting
Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...
. Such channels have multiple shows showing how to stretch one's budget to achieve professional-looking results (Design Cents, Design on a Dime
Design on a Dime
Design on a Dime is a decorating television series on HGTV. It features people who want their living space redesigned. The Design on a Dime team uses a $1,000 budget to remake a room...
, etc.) while doing the work yourself. Toolbelt Diva
Toolbelt diva
Toolbelt Diva was a do-it-yourself television program on Discovery Home in the U.S. from 2004-2008. Hosted by Norma Vally, this half-hour show encouraged and empowered women to take on home improvement projects themselves.-External links:* * *...
specifically caters to female DIYers.
Beyond magazines and television, the scope of home improvement DIY continues to grow online where most mainstream media outlets now have extensive DIY-focused informational websites such as This Old House
This Old House
This Old House is an American home improvement magazine and television series aired on the American television station Public Broadcasting Service which follows remodeling projects of houses over a number of weeks.-Overview:...
, Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart is an American business magnate, author, magazine publisher, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she has gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, and merchandising...
, and the DIY Network
DIY Network
DIY Network is a channel owned by Scripps Networks Interactive that focuses on do it yourself projects at home.Television stations air local versions with local hosts with segments produced by the network. Branded DIY Network programming is also broadcast in Japan and the Philippines...
. These are often extensions of their magazine or television brand. The growth of independent online DIY resources is also spiking. The number of homeowners who blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
about their experiences continues to grow, along with DIY websites from smaller organizations.
Subculture
The terms "DIY" and "do-it-yourself" are also used to describe:- Self-publishingSelf-publishingSelf-publishing is the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. The author is responsible and in control of entire process including design , formats, price, distribution, marketing & PR...
books, zines, and alternative comicsAlternative comicsAlternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry... - Bands or solo artists releasing their music on self-funded record labelRecord labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s - Trading of mixtapes as part of cassette cultureCassette cultureCassette culture, or the cassette underground , refers to the practices surrounding amateur production and distribution of recorded music that emerged in the late 1970s via home-made audio cassettes...
- Crafts such as knittingKnittingKnitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...
, sewingSewingSewing is the craft of fastening or attaching objects using stitches made with a needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era...
, handmade jewelryHandmade jewelryHandmade jewelry is jewelry which has been assembled and formed by hand rather than through the use of machines. According to the guidelines of the FTC, in order to be stamped or called "handmade" the work must be made solely by hand power or hand guidance. This means that jewelry may be made...
, ceramicsCeramic artIn art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
, etc. - Designing business cards, invitations and so on
- Creating punkPunk subcultureThe punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
or indie musical merchandise through the use of recyclingRecyclingRecycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
thrift store or discarded materials, usually decorated with art applied by silk screen. - Independent game development and game moddingMod (computer gaming)Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
- Contemporary roller derbyRoller derbyRoller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track. Game play consists of a series of short matchups in which both teams designate a scoring player who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team...
DIY as a subculture could be said to have begun with the punk movement of the 1970s. Instead of traditional means of bands reaching their audiences through large music labels, bands began recording, manufacturing albums and merchandise, booking their own tours, and creating opportunities for smaller bands to get wider recognition and gain cult status through repetitive low-cost DIY touring. The burgeoning zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
movement took up coverage of and promotion of the underground
Underground music
Underground music comprises a range of different musical genres that operate outside of mainstream culture. Such music can typically share common values, such as the valuing of sincerity and intimacy; an emphasis on freedom of creative expression; an appreciation of artistic creativity...
punk scenes, and significantly altered the way fans interacted with musicians. Zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
s quickly branched off from being hand-made music magazines to become more personal; they quickly became one of the youth culture's gateways to DIY culture. This led to tutorial zines showing others how to make their own shirts, posters, zines, books, food, etc.
Groups and publications
Publications that regularly feature DIY and/or crafting content include--- Bazaar BizarreBazaar BizarreBazaar Bizarre is both a 2005 craft how-to book by Greg Der Ananian and a craft fair of the same name organized by him which happens once every December in cities such as San Francisco, Boston, Cleveland, and Los Angeles.-History:...
- CraftCraft (magazine)Craft: was a quarterly magazine published by O'Reilly Media which focused on do it yourself projects involving knitting, sewing, jewelry, metalworking, woodworking and other disciplines...
- CraftsterCraftsterCraftster is an online community for crafting and do it yourself enthusiasts. Users post pictures of craft projects they have made and others comment and ask questions about how it was made....
- CrimethInc.CrimethInc.CrimethInc., also known as CWC , is a decentralized anarchist collective of autonomous cells. CrimethInc. emerged in the mid-1990s, initially as the hardcore zine Inside Front, and began operating as a collective in 1996...
- Make
- Microcosm PublishingMicrocosm PublishingMicrocosm Publishing is an independent publisher and distributor based in Portland, Oregon and Leavenworth, Kansas. They distribute ideas through zines, books, pamphlets, stickers, buttons, patches, t-shirts, posters, videos, and more. They publish zine and book works by others in the hopes that it...
- Popular MechanicsPopular MechanicsPopular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
- ReadyMade (magazine)ReadyMade MagazineReadyMade was a bimonthly magazine which focused on do it yourself projects involving interior design, making furniture, home improvement, sewing, metalworking, woodworking and other disciplines. It also focused on sustainable design, independent music and DIY culture...
- TechShopTechShopTechShop is a chain of member-based workshops that lets people of all skill levels come in and use industrial tools and equipment to build their own projects...
See also
- BricolageBricolageBricolage is a term used in several disciplines, among them the visual arts, to refer to the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work created by such a process...
- DoItYourself.comDoItYourself.comDoItYourself.com is a leading website for do it yourself information and an active online community for do it yourself enthusiasts, or "DIYers," to exchange information, tips and advice.-History:...
- HackerspaceHackerspaceA hackerspace or hackspace is a location where people with common interests, often in computers, technology, science, or digital or electronic art can meet, socialise and/or collaborate...
- HandymanHandymanA handyman is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, both interior and exterior, and are sometimes described as "odd jobs", "fix-up tasks", and include light plumbing jobs such as fixing a leaky toilet...
- InstructablesInstructablesInstructables is a website specializing in user-created and uploaded do-it-yourself projects, which other users can comment on and rate for quality. It was created by Eric Wilhelm, a mechanical engineer, and launched in August 2005. Instructables is dedicated to step-by-step collaboration among...
- Junk boxJunk boxJunk box is a term used by amateur radio operators to describe a collection of spare parts and old equipment kept to assist in building and repairing their station.-Description and uses:...
- Number 8 wireNumber 8 wireNumber 8 wire is a gauge of wire on the British Standard wire gauge that has entered into the cultural lexicon of New Zealand.It has not been sold under that name for three decades, since it was replaced with the equivalent 4.0 mm wire in the metric system. As such it is still widely used in...
- Open DesignOpen designOpen design is the development of physical products, machines and systems through use of publicly shared design information. The process is generally facilitated by the Internet and often performed without monetary compensation...
- ProsumerProsumerProsumer is a portmanteau formed by contracting either the word professional or less often, producer with the word consumer. For example, a prosumer grade digital camera is a "cross" between consumer grade and professional grade...