YouTube maker channels

While I am not much of a social media user, I would say that YouTube is my favourite sharing platform. Not only do I post my own content for students - unlisted - I also follow a number of different content creators. I realised recently that I am subscribed to 62 channels, and - while I am reasonably ruthless in unsubscribing when I realise I have a pattern of no longer watching new content on that channel - I enjoy seeing what others are doing, and how they and their content evolves over time.

The creators I follow are diverse, but fall into roughly three categories: makers; interest; and academics. My interests include art, technology, business, and architecture. The academics I follow mostly talk about research, research methods, theorists, new trends, career development, teaching, and learning. But the makers: ah, the makers are people who 'do', and they are awesome.

The maker channels I follow, in rough order of enjoyment, are:

• Chateau de Theil, a family of renovator makers in d'Ussel en Corrèze France. Posts as progress allows. https://www.youtube.com/@chateaudutheil
• Scott Brown Carpentry, a carpenter and maker from Auckland NZ, now living in Nelson NZ. Posts weekly on a Saturday morning, NZT. https://www.youtube.com/@ScottBrownCarpentry
• Colin Furze, an inventor maker from Lincolnshire UK. Posts as projects are completed. https://www.youtube.com/@colinfurze
• Laura Kampf, a largely found-materials maker from Koln in Germany, and now in LA, USA. Posts weekly on a Monday morning, NZT. https://www.youtube.com/@laurakampf
• Foil Arms and Hog, comedy makers in Dublin Ireland. Posts each Friday NZT. https://www.youtube.com/@foilarmsandhog
• Flipping Drawers, a largely found-materials furniture maker in Bristol UK. Posts as projects are completed. https://www.youtube.com/@Flippingdrawers
• Hahns Atelier, a leather goods pattern designer and maker in Korea. Posts as projects are completed. https://www.youtube.com/@HahnsAtelier
• Renovacile, amateur renovator makers from Normandy in France. Post generally weekly on a Monday morning, NZT. https://www.youtube.com/@Renovacile
• Martijn Doolaard, a renovator maker from the Netherlands, now living in the Italian Alps. Posts roughly weekly. https://www.youtube.com/@MartijnDoolaard
• The Juice Media, a satirical advertising and political commentary maker in Melbourne Australia. Posts as projects are completed. https://www.youtube.com/@thejuicemedia
• The Dead South, a group of blue grass music makers in Canada. Post as projects are completed. https://www.youtube.com/@TheDeadSouth
• Rescue & Restore, a wonderful content maker in the USA, who has sadly been posting very little content since Covid-19. I hope that there are more projects coming from this very meticulous maker, but I suspect not. https://www.youtube.com/@RescueRestore

I find it fascinating to watch makers with skills so different to my own. I like watching the development of creative process, and how the solutions found differ from those I would have sought. These makers provide me with a breath of fresh air.

I tend to use YouTube content as a short break from work. I have a Chrome extension which allows me to stream content up to seven times faster than normal speed (this is the Video Speed Controller extension which works via a small transparent overlay in the top left-hand corner of the video play screen). This allows me to take 20 minute maker video and whiz through the slower elements during my work breaks.

I hope that this list may introduce you to some new content to try :-)

Sam