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Imperfect Dad

Men In The Arts

How Hinkle Ukulele Turned from a Passion Into A Successful Artisan Business

Raising Nerd’s Men In The Arts Revisits
The Art of Music with Musician and Ukulele Maker, Larry Hinkle

 

 


“I had no idea that I would be making ukuleles and playing today! It still seems a bit fantastical.”


Hinkle Ukulele

When we did our Nerd Profile of Larry Hinkle, founder of Hinkle Ukulele, back in October 2016, we described him as “a musician, woodworking craftsman, and entrepreneur.” Larry’s broad expertise in music, woodcraft and design makes him a perfect fit for our Raising Nerd celebration of Men in the Arts! So, we went back to him to not READ MORE

Importance of Play

The Importance of Play With Famed Pop-Up Book Artist Matthew Reinhart

Matthew Reinhart

 


“I remember enjoying making up stories, building unique Star Wars environments, and filling them with all my toys, much more than actually playing with my friends within them.”

Matthew Reinhart
New York Times Best Seller


 

If you want to talk about how play can lead to a successful career, just ask our good friend, author and pop-up book magician Matthew Reinhart. From Frozen to Game of Thrones, Matthew makes stories and paper come to life with equal parts engineering and imagination.

Matthew Reinhart

Matthew recently helped Disney Pixar pay homage to its iconic character universe with PIXAR: READ MORE

Nerds In Real Life

How Jeremy Fryer-Biggs’ Evaptainers Aims To Save The World (pt. 2)

 


We wanted to develop a technology that allowed hardworking rural farmers to earn more from their labor and allowed families without a refrigerator in their homes to lose less money on wasted food.”


 

In part one of our series, we learned that Jeremy Fryer-Biggs’ path to Evaptainers has been one heavily influenced not only by his creativity, curiosity, altruism, and entrepreneurial spirit, but also dyslexia. He’s overcome the challenges of a learning “disorder” to succeed as an inventor, designer, maker, engineer, artist, and sustainability champion, not to mention a certified Mythbuster!

We hope Jeremy’s story offers … READ MORE

Nerds In Real Life

How Jeremy Fryer-Biggs Overcame Dyslexia to Find His Creativity And Help Save The World

JEREMY FRYER-BIGGS

 

My middle school Shop class, aka Industrial Arts, was recess for me. It was the one place could get out from behind my desk, get my hands dirty, and come away having created something tangibly cool. Something that was useful, made with care, and could be displayed proudly for everyone to see. Something that said, “I made this for you with love, mom/dad.”

In Mr. Adamusko’s (7th grade) and Mr. Scheib’s (8th grade) classes, I learned just how broad the industrial arts spectrum was: electrical wiring, welding, drawing, silk screening, staining, painting, woodworking, designing, injection molding, sculpting, manufacturing, and … READ MORE

Importance of Play Men In The Arts

How Justin Roberts Celebrates the Wonder of Being A Kid … And Maybe Even A Monster

Justin Roberts
3-Time Grammy-Nominated Musician, Songwriter, Family Entertainer and Author

Justin Roberts’ music has been the soundtrack to my kids’ lives since before either of them could walk. When you’re a work-at-home-dad of toddlers, you quickly become acutely aware of how long the work day is and the need to fill it with fun, creative activities for the little ones – and for your own sanity.

So, to make our days at home more enjoyable, not long after RocketteGirl was born in 2007, I scoured iTunes and loaded our pre-Alexa iPod with music that would feed her childlike wonder, nurture … READ MORE

Women In Science

How to Make Ordinary Materials Stand for Something Big (Like Science!)

Science ArtThe Visionary Paper Technician: Kelli Anderson

 

 

Artist, designer, coder, author, and tinkering science enthusiast Kelli Anderson’s gallery exhibits encourage visitors to touch, tinker, poke, spin, and otherwise interact with her art! You may have seen the paper technician’s pop-up work This Book Is A Camera displayed at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), or spotted Kelli in the pages of National Geographic KIDS’ By the Numbers, which features people who use math in unusual ways in their professions. You may even have caught her surrealistic 2015 music video for the band They Might Be … READ MORE