5 Years And Counting

Hello friends, enemies and randoms that accidentally clicked the wrong link on a wild google search! Going strong-ish since March 16th of 2016, Lazy Guy DIY is entering it’s 5th year of existence, which is appropriately the “wood” anniversary. This isn’t so much a tutorial, as it is a check in for you guys (and gals), the readers. It’s also, coincidentally, the one year mark since our daily life as we know it drastically changed. So what I want to do is give you guys some updates you’ve been asking for and get you geared up for 2021 and beyond… in true Lazy Guy DIY character… 3 months into the year.

First off, let’s address the elephant in the room. 2020 was a doozy of a year for everyone and it’s continuing on into 2021. My family is not unique in the circumstances and we have definitely been more fortunate than others. Daddy duty is pretty much a full-time gig for me right now in addition to my day job and running Lazy Guy DIY and my various ventures in the maker community (more on that in a minute). So if you’ve noticed a significant cut back in content… It’s because my daughter and I have started playing Minecraft together and building villages and slaying zombies is a lot of fun… maybe a YouTube video game channel should be next? Ha! Ain’t nobody got time for that.

It’s been exactly a year since they closed in person-learning at our daughter’s (Intern Tilly) school and we’ve been rocking some virtual learning and launched a pod group for some normalcy. You might have caught the virtual learning desks and the rolling chalkboard dividers I built for our pod. So while the school days are shorter, I still work a full-time day job (albeit virtually) and let’s not forget, there’s the bruiser of a Toddler Intern Teddy here too, so free time for projects and reviews has been a challenge. Oh, did I mention baby (intern) #3 arrives in May? Let’s just say, time management and caffeine have been my very good friends.

What about the new house and all of the projects related to that? Plus the new shop?? Whelp… that’s all on hold for a bit longer. We’ve bought land outside of the city for some country living… but then… well you know what happened. So we’ll get back to it hopefully soon after the new intern arrives in May.

One of the other big questions you all ask about is “what’s happening with Maker Media Co”? In case you forgot, I officially announced I would be starting an agency back in February 2020 specifically for the maker community. Part agent for negotiating contracts for makers with brands and part coach for helping you nail that pitch and strategy. The timing was… regrettable, but also lucky in that I didn’t have a bunch of clients counting on me in a time when brands were slashing budgets. Maker Media Co. is very much alive, in a case by case and word of mouth capacity until we can really let its freak flag fly. There are big plans for 2021 including a live webcast called “Breaking Down The Brand” where we’ll be interviewing makers talking branding decisions and next steps. Stay tuned!

What about Lazy Guy DIY? Honestly, no change if you know where to look. The Lazy Guy DIY YouTube Channel is getting a lot more attention from me with several new videos a month. So if you’re not subscribed… DO IT NOW! My Lazy Guy DIY Instagram is getting a little less content mainly because I have half a dozen accounts that I manage including a new brand that you should check out! HangTime Store is a company that is customizing those awesome metal Wall Control Pegboards I always share with graphics, logos and custom art.

Even cooler, I’ve been recruiting artists to be part of an “artist series” where we’ve been taking their art and slapping them on these pegboards so you can take their work home, to the shop or to a craftroom ready to be organized near you. So if you have an artist (like my friend Sarah from She Paints All Night shown above) that you could see their pieces look awesome in a series, let me know! But in terms of MY website, content is still rolling out and I have a ton lined up for the year, just weekly new posts aren’t happening right now.

But let’s not forget about The Builders Challenge! That’s the biggest open Woodworking competition on the web that Raechal (from DesertWoodwrks) and I run. Season 11 (holy crap!) kicks off this May (2021) with one of the biggest prize packs we’ve ever given away with season 12 launching in October. But just for fun… we added two new spinoffs last year which gives you 4 more opportunities to make and win. The Artists challenges (July & November) are themed mini challenges with an art medium (like epoxy!) and are a little less intimidating than the woodworking challenge.

Then we also kicked off the Furniture Flip challenge (Season 2 March, Season 3 September) where we’ve partnered with Do It Yourself Magazine to bring you an “at home” version of a Flea Market Flip of sorts with themed furniture flipping challenges. If you want more details or want to participant in any of these make sure you sign up for the email updates on The Builders Challenge website I linked above. And absolutely check out our weekly Happy Hour Recap I’m hosting right now during the challenge in the video above!

Are you still here? Other than that… I think you’re all caught up except for the little nugget that I’ll be filming a TV show here in April (what??)! Details to come but it’s a multi-episode renovation show I’m on the crew for. I’m stoked!

On that note, I just want to say thanks to all my readers and supporters. The website and Lazy Guy DIY community is continuing to grow and will be getting a lot more attention here soon. Thanks for being part of my journey and happy 5 years and counting for Lazy Guy DIY this month!

~Lazy Guy