Making It - General Discussion

[biakbiak]

7 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

He's married to Jonathan Adler the designer who was one of the hosts of Top Design.  They had Simon on as a guest more than once.

Fun fact, I was having my birthday dinner when they were having their pre wedding dinner (they were married in SF) at Chez Panisse and because Alice Waters is their friend she went all out on the menu, the downstairs restaurant everyone has the same meal, and also gave champagne to everyone! 

Edited August 3, 2018 by biakbiak

[Mumbles]

Quote

The funeral wreath was horrific—who does that to their son?!?) I

Gosh that was brutal. I teared up thinking of the pain that poor guy must have felt.

I love Simon Doonan, especially his writing. His autobiography about growing up poor and with Irish parents in northern England is delightful and inspiring. His worldview is that all people (rich, poor, old, young) with their *own* sense of style - even if it’s not in the pages of Vogue - are the true fashionistas. So I can see him loving these folks for following their own arrow.

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 I loved him respectfully disagreeing with the judges to appreciate the work the one contestant had done with the wood’s grain.

I liked that too. He was quiet but respectful and I actually think he was right.

Quote

thought a lot of the humor from the hosts was labored and silly, and too much of the show was about them and not what the contestants were doing.

I too thought it was a little corny too but as many of you point out, I begrudgingly accept it because they’re trying to hook viewers who may have stumbled on it and stayed for them.

[7-Zark-7]

When Jeff said he was sent that black funeral wreath for being a “dead son”, I screamed “holy shit!” like something leapt out of nowhere in a horror film. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

11 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I've knew I'd seen Simon Doonan on TV before. His Wikipedia page tells me he appeared on the very early seasons of America's Next Top Model, which I'm ashamed to admit I watched in the beginning.

I remember him from the VH1 I Love the 80s/90s series. He was one of the bazillion celebrity commentators. If you can find it, I also recommend watching Beautiful People, a BBC2 tv series based on his memoir (note: there is another tv series with the same name starring Daphne Zuniga and they're totally different). He doesn't appear on the show, but it's about his adolescence. It's funny and sweet.

13 hours ago, Grumpbump said:

As I do when I watch Project Runway, I always wish there was a competitive reality show for knitters and crocheters (both of which are my favorite hobbies).  Alas, needlework by hand is not suited for time constraints, or (if I'm being honest) viewership interest.  

 

7 hours ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

 Have I got a show for you!!  The Norwegian Knitting Show -- Slow TV.  It's the new craze ... it's even on Netflix!!!

https://www.netflix.com/title/80119436

 

7 hours ago, leighdear said:

OMG!  Thanks SO much for this.  I'm a knitter & can't wait to dive into this.  I DVR all our local PBS craft-type shows, so it's tailor-made for me.  *LOL*

If you love knitting, there's also a Danish show called Den Store Strikkedyst (The Great Knit Off). It's like GBBO but for knitting. SYD, the channel that airs the show, has all three seasons on their youtube channel. Only a few of them have English subtitles so unless you speak Danish, you won't get to hear all the judges' feedback but you may understand the gist of it. This is one of the episodes with English subtitles (S2.E2) if you want to check it out!

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 8/1/2018 at 12:57 AM, suebee12 said:

And Jeffrey's bee and sunflower in the first round was awesome

I thought he was unlikely to win that challenge because the sunflower, although creative and beautiful, was by far the focus of his project instead of the bee, which seemed like an afterthought.  If you didn't know what the theme was, your first guess would not have been "animal" or "insect."  He really wanted to make a flower.

[Mumbles]

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

If you can find it, I also recommend watching Beautiful People, a BBC2 tv series based on his memoir (note: there is another tv series with the same name starring Daphne Zuniga and they're totally different). He doesn't appear on the show, but it's about his adolescence. It's funny and sweet.

I loved that show and second the recommendation. I am annoyed they set it in the 1990s rather than the era he grew up in (late 1960s/early 1970s), but it captured his family dynamics and his worldview as described in his autobiography (also called Beautiful People, although I think in the UK it was published with the title "Nasty.")

I will say that the guy who has his own YouTube channel seems to be somewhat of a quasi-"professional crafter" if there are such things. 

[bioprof]

I do wish they would clarify how the challenges are structured. I have no doubt the contestants are aware ahead of time what they will be asked to do....no problem with that. In the GBBO two of the three challenges are structured this way....the contestants know it and we, as viewers, know it. They can ( and are expected to ) practice.  The third challenge is the surprise. But here, I think we are led to believe that all the challenges are a “surprise” . No way I believe that....just come clean and explain how it really is. It takes nothing away from the show or the contestants. But the fact that they don’t clarify this seems a bit shady and that DOES take away from the show. Be honest, people....we can take it....and embrace it as we do with the GBBO.

[carrps]

I enjoyed it. The elimination was completely expected. Poor lady. She really struggled with something that wasn't terribly complicated. I'm glad they were sharing a glass a wine with her at the end. That was a really nice touch.

I loved the Japanese wooden quilt. Creative and so cool. I could see what they were saying about the winning woman's "quilt," and I could see how it could have gone so wrong, but it didn't seem creative enough. Plus it seemed a little "mommy"-centric which I found somewhat off-putting. Amber looks like she could be next to go. I didn't see much in either of her two works that I hadn't seen a billion times before, and they seemed a little juvenile.

I'm a Simon Doonan fan, and I like his reticence. The Etsy lady was o.k., but I'm not sure why we need a trends person. If this is just about the crafts themselves, do we care about what's trendy and will sell (on Etsy)?

Jeff's story was heart-breaking. I've heard some bad coming-out stories, but that one...shudder...who does that????

I read a short piece (Vanity Fair?) with Amy and Nick, and they said there was a comedian off-screen feeding them jokes. I think I'd rather have their (what they called) lame jokes, than some professional jokester's contributions.

We decided that as long as they've decided to copy to GBBO physical format, they must be copying the competition format, as well. Otherwise, how would they have known to bring personal photos with them? Doesn't bother me too much. It's really difficult for most people to be creative on demand and under pressure. I'd rather see some good results, even if they had a chance to "practice" ahead of time.

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, carrps said:

read a short piece (Vanity Fair?) with Amy and Nick, and they said there was a comedian off-screen feeding them jokes. I think I'd rather have their (what they called) lame jokes, than some professional jokester's contributions.

It’s a combo of their jokes and Neil Casey pitching them jokes when they don’t have anything. 

[PepperMonkey]

I really loved almost everything about this except the Etsy trends lady. I'm sure she's a perfectly nice, maybe even lovely, person, but I don't think she adds much at all, if anything, to the festivities.

I love Simon Doonan.

I'm sad it's such a limited run, with only six episodes, but it's better than not finding out about it at all.

[spankydoll]

Please join me in sending positive vibes that Amy Sedaris is a guest judge on one of the episodes. 

The photo albums were so interesting and unique. Love this show already. 

[rhys]

1 hour ago, spankydoll said:

Please join me in sending positive vibes that Amy Sedaris is a guest judge on one of the episodes. 

 

Oh man that would be brilliant. She would be so much more fun than the Etsy judge.

[ABay]

I really liked it. I appreciated the many nods to GBBO, especially the lack of manufactured drama. It's just so great watching people make things, whether it's food or objects, and helping each other out.

My only complaint is that the lack of eye contact between Nick & Amy, and both of them looking to the side of the camera, were weird.  Maybe because those sorts of moments on GBBO are often between 2 people having a conversation with each other who look at each other, and then either include the camera (and us) by looking into it or totally ignore it?

[tennisgurl]

I've been looking forward to this for awhile, and I thought it was delightful. You have Amy and Nick, you have crafts, and you have a pretty outdoor setting. Thats just a perfect summer watch, like the light pink wine of television shows. 

Definitely see the GBBO influence, but I love that show, so I dont mind. I like it for similar reasons. I just love watching people be passionate about creating something and sharing that passion with others, and while its a competition, everyone is kind and warm and are excited to share their passions with others, instead of being hyper competitive, in a pastoral setting. 

Sad to see the older lady go, but it was the right call. I liked all of the projects, but I think my favorite was Jeffrey's photo album. The pictures of the skies were beautiful, and I just love a nice sky pic. His story was so heartbreaking, what awful people his parents much be. 

I love crafting, but I cant say I am super great at it. I love watching people who are. 

[Bethanne]

I thought Nick’s canoe/paddle at the beginning was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve seen on TV this year, and that includes Gabriel Macht in an Italian suit. 

Do we think Amy is really that uncreative and craft-challenged? I didn’t get why they played her so dumb. 

[Mystery]

Like someone  else (sorry, my quotes didn't work) I got Great British Bake-Off vibes as soon as the contestants started walking toward the tent structure. Loved it. I like Amy and Nick together, and loved his deadpan answers. I'm reading a book about New York, and beavers WERE hunted for the pelts for felt for hats. 

I agree that Amy should lose the overalls. The thing is, if you have any kind of chest at all, they're not the most comfortable things to wear. So I don't think that's why she's wearing them. And they're not flattering unless you're really slender. But she looks great when someone *else* does her makeup and her hair is gold instead of that bleached blond she had on SNL. Nick looks like he's lost weight since P&R. 

I would have tried to split the final patch; half for the Japanese guy's "quilt" (loved the concept and execution) and half for, I think, the winner's photo album that opened up. I do think it's hard to judge when contestants are doing such different things. 

Having Jemma with them at the end was great. 

 

eta: I got someone coasters from Nick's store, and he loved them. https://offermanwoodshop.com/

Edited August 5, 2018 by Mystery
shameless other-person promotion

[FoundTime]

I'll double-post this in the Media thread, since no one's posted there and I don't want it to be lonely...

Nice essay by the great Linda Holmes (fka Miss Alli on the late and also great predecessor of PTV, TWoP -- ?‍♀️ to my fellow TWoPpers!). Addresses the GBBS comparisons and provides her usual strong analysis.

Crafts Get The Competitive Treatment In NBC's 'Making It'

Edited August 5, 2018 by FoundTime
Capitalization matters.

[FoundTime]

Double-posted from the Season One Talk thread, since that seems to be where folks are...
Nice essay by the great Linda Holmes (fka Miss Alli on the late and also great predecessor of PTV, TWop -- ?‍♀️ to my fellow TWoPpers!). Addresses the GBBS comparisons and provides her usual strong analysis.

Crafts Get The Competitive Treatment In NBC's 'Making It'

[Psychobunny]

Before reading the thread I’ll post my unbiased opinion. I kind of like this show. Sure it has too much cheesy commentary but I like to see creative people make crap I would never have in my home. And sure it takes a few episodes of Tiny House Hunters to remind myself that I do not need or want crap like this in my home, but I will watch any show where creative people show off their skills (I even watched the dog grooming one) so I am in so far. I like paper guy and woodworking girl and the right person went home.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Amy on Seth Meyers- she talks about the show, how she met Nick, and her lack of craft skills, etc.:

[magdalene]

I guess GBBS should feel flattered to be imitated such.  But I like the hosts and it's fun  to watch and I admire people who can create and craft. Sadly I don't have the crafting gene. Especially I don't have the gene that helps you finish projects once started.

[Eliza422]

I'm glad that the show isn't all woodworking which for some reason was my original thought. It's too bad that you could only include certain types of crafters because of the time constraints. I'm a knitter and a crocheter and I could only finish the tiniest of things in such short time frames.

 

However, I don't care for the Etsy "trend" person. I don't mind her if she was just a normal judge, but trying to shoe horn in trends stinks. I think the best crafts are really timeless, and if you are just chasing the latest trend then you'll never really settle in and get good at something.

 

I am really liking this show.

[carrps]

On 8/3/2018 at 8:28 PM, spankydoll said:

Please join me in sending positive vibes that Amy Sedaris is a guest judge on one of the episodes. 

The photo albums were so interesting and unique. Love this show already. 

Did you see the episode of her show with Michael Shannon?

Man, I think I seriously injured myself laughing too hard.

[Sharpie66]

More time was sent with the crafters this week, yay! The interstitials seemed to flow better, too. I loved Nick’s delivery of the line, “You have to expand your horizons, Amy.” 

I was surprised by the elimination. I thought that they loved his terrarium enough to offset the lack of wow factor on the fort. The taco truck was awesome and definitely deserved the win. 

(BTW, Nick couldn’t have written that line about Minooka and its grocery chains—there are only two stores there now, and one only opened relatively recently. When I lived there in the early ‘90s, there was just the one small store. It was a small enough town back then that, while getting food, I was recognized as the Library Lady by kids since I was the library clerk. If you watch Stephen Colbert and Nick doing the Community Calendar for Minooka, the library is referenced, which cracks me up even more than the rest of the segment.)

[LittleIggy]

I thought the felt tacos were adorable, but the artwork for the truck was sloppy, the menu board especially. I guess it was supposed to be, but I didn’t like it. The judge lady was right that the windshield should have been cut out. I would have chosen the geodesic dome as the winner. It was beautiful not brutalist! Did you see Nick hanging from the bars? That is craftsmanship. The puzzle pieces to match the images on the tent was inspired too.

[suebee12]

I watched the show while I was sewing on binding to a tablerunner so it was an all out craft night! I loved, loved, loved the San Francisco terrarium! That was some really nice work on the bridge itself and she even included the painted ladies in the foreground. I also like the Taco Truck but did think his printing was messy...it could have been better. Maybe he should have drawn  very light lines so his printing was at least level. The felt food was great though and kids love things like that! I was a bit surprised that everyone sorta' questioned what a tangram puzzle was....my kids loved them when they were little. I am going to miss Jeffery but I knew he was doomed when he started over so late in the game.

14 hours ago, Eliza422 said:

I think the best crafts are really timeless, and if you are just chasing the latest trend then you'll never really settle in and get good at something.

After tonight's show, I have decided I really dislike the Etsy judge. Pom poms, trending? I have used pom poms on projects since I first started crafting all those many years ago! She seems to actually be a waste.

[Brookside]

I'm still not sure about the programme because the skills are so disparate so I'm not sure how the judging works.  Maybe have a child or two to come in to try the finished product?  Except I think the projects would have all fallen down if any child played in/on it.

But yes, at least everyone is nice to each other.  (Does anyone know if there is a commercial tie-in to GBBO?)

[mertensia]

I don't get the whole butterfly infatuation thing but that play house was cool. 

Terrariums! That was a cool task.

I had a magnetic tangrams set years ago. I loved that thing. 

 

[Sharpie66]

What I loved about the taco truck was the way he knew it would appeal to a kid’s love of playing store and pretending to cook as well as giving a Spanish lesson as well. I would have made a bookmobile just because, well, librarian! 

[EtheltoTillie]

I was surprised Jeff took such a dive.  He just collapsed. I guess timed competitions aren't for him. I'm a bit tired of the Amy/Nick banter. I really liked the winning taco truck. 

Edited August 8, 2018 by GussieK

[Eliza422]

I disagreed with the judges a lot during the terrarium judging. I loved the abandoned highway one especially.

[biakbiak]

I hated 90% of the taco truck, I only appreciated the tacos but his terrarium was straight up garbage.

[dleighg]

The judges dissed the Vermont scene as "conventional" but wasn't the San Francisco scene equally conventional as "what people think of San Francisco"? I think they should have been more clear in their critique. There must have been a more understandable reason they didn't like it (and I agree the SF one was awesome).

[LouiseIndy]

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

The judges dissed the Vermont scene as "conventional" but wasn't the San Francisco scene equally conventional as "what people think of San Francisco"? I think they should have been more clear in their critique. There must have been a more understandable reason they didn't like it (and I agree the SF one was awesome).

Yes, I agree.  The ETSY lady said that the Vermont scene didn't tell her anything new about Vermont.  The SF scene didn't tell me anything new about that city--bridge, fog.  She was just too much about ETSY for my taste.

[chaifan]

I'm on the fence with this show.  I missed the first episode, but watched episode 2.  I love This Old House, GBBO, and crafts in general, but I was bored.  Same with the hosts - I normally like Amy & Nick, but together I find them rather dull.  Neither judge thrills me, but they don't annoy me, either.  I do think Simon is an odd choice for a craft show.  Despite my criticisms, I can't offer any suggestions for how to make it better (for me). 

[meep.meep]

5 hours ago, GussieK said:

I was surprised Jeff took such a dive.  He just collapsed. I guess timed competitions aren't for him. I'm a bit tired of the Amy/Nick banter. I really liked the winning taco truck. 

He should have used some of the painted levels, maybe 2 ?, along with the white ones.  The paint couldn't have been horrible on all of them.

I would have scored the butterfly, the tangrams, and the rocket ship over the taco truck.  It was a great idea but looked really rough.

The Amy/Nick banter is terrible.  Nick does have a real soft spot for the wood workers.

[FoundTime]

On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 10:40 AM, Eliza422 said:

I'm glad that the show isn't all woodworking which for some reason was my original thought. It's too bad that you could only include certain types of crafters because of the time constraints. I'm a knitter and a crocheter and I could only finish the tiniest of things in such short time frames.

 

However, I don't care for the Etsy "trend" person. I don't mind her if she was just a normal judge, but trying to shoe horn in trends stinks. I think the best crafts are really timeless, and if you are just chasing the latest trend then you'll never really settle in and get good at something.

 

I am really liking this show.

Agree with all of this. Maybe they wanted to get Etsy as a sponsor and wound up with a "judge" too. Not too crazy that "trend-worthy" has more weight than other possible criteria.

Knitting "faster craft" - Make a hotpad!

Knitting "master craft" - Make a scarf (for a child)!

Yes, that's my skill level.

[magdalene]

I don't care for the Etsy lady.  I know Etsy is a sponsor for the show but I find her judging rather dubious.

[pezgirl7]

20 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

(BTW, Nick couldn’t have written that line about Minooka and its grocery chains—there are only two stores there now, and one only opened relatively recently. When I lived there in the early ‘90s, there was just the one small store.

I thought maybe he was being sarcastic, and therefore meant there weren't any grocery chains.

[EllenB]

The taco truck toys were cute, but the actual truck, while built well enough, looked so sloppy.  The geometric one looked very professional and was different and interesting.

Wish I'd kept a blouse I wore in 1964, because it was identical to the one Amy had on.

[magdalene]

I thought the right person was sent  home but I would have chosen the geometric dome crafter as the winner of the episode.  The taco truck was cute and a fun idea but there were some glaring imperfections in the execution of the design.

[Mystery]

I loved the geometric dome the most. I liked the pool noodle one because kids could put that together themselves if they had to take it down for space. Loved the highway-to-nowhere terrarium and Vermont, too. I think I might have picked the NYC one because of its use of the height of the dome. 

I agree with other posters that it's hard to judge such disparate projects. 

[tennisgurl]

I loved the San Francisco terrarium, it was so detailed! And I loved all of the forts, but my favorites were probably the circus, and the pool noodles. However, I liked all of them, for different reasons. The butterfly fort looked less easy for kids to play in, but was super beautiful, and the geometric dome was amazingly built. The taco truck was a bit sloppy, but a super fun concept that I think kids would love. 

This show really makes me want to hit up a craft store. 

[Pete Martell]

I've watched GBBO here and there (talented as they are, if you've seen one Mel and Sue sex joke you've seen them all), but I don't mind if this show is in a similar vein. There are so many interchangeable reality shows on that overdose in conflict, misery, and trashiness, and for years even competition shows like this desperately tried to be the same way. (did anyone else watch "The Cut," that Tommy Hilfiger design competition from about 13-14 years ago? That show was a guilty pleasure of mine, but it was a mess!). I enjoyed seeing a calmer, more positive approach. The only thing is I felt like the judges (moreso the Etsy woman) seemed to be more at home on a more competitive program.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about so much of Amy and Nick, mostly because I thought that Parks and Rec relied too much on the chemistry between them, but I enjoyed that too, especially the "pun-off" they had in the first episode. 

[Johnny Dollar]

Etsy sponsors the show, so I’m afraid their “Trend Expert” is here to stay. I’m sure all of the crafters have stores on Etsy and Etsy probably had a big part in selecting the contestants based on their popularity on the site. 

I thought that Billy’s godawful terrarium was much worse than Jeff’s just plain awful fort idea. Every aspect of Billy’s terrarium looked like it was done by a child. 

[leighdear]

Everybody is just so happy & supportive.  It's nice to hear so much positivity in a competition, even when a big wad of cash is ultimately at stake. 

I'm a knitter with crochet tendencies, so I know how challenging it can be for a show like this to come up with challenges that put everybody on a fairly equal playing field.  

Of course I knit while watching the show, but have to do something mindless, so I don't miss anything on the screen.  It's motivating & so gratifying to see crafts treated with such respect!

[rhys]

Was Jeff the only one to use outside help? I should have been paying better attention or something should have been explained better--like each contestant has access to a carpenter for x hours for example. I loved the dome.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Article with video about how the barn set was built in House Beautiful. The production designer gives a tour of the set, talks about the research and inspiration behind everything, and even reveals some Parks & Rec stuff on the set!

Edited August 10, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

In the terrarium challenge, my favorites were Amber's Golden Gate Bridge, Khiem's abandoned highways, and Jeff's NYC skyline. I would have been fine with any of them winning. All three of them were such standouts - they all had interesting concepts and were executed very well. Jeff got bonus points for thinking about how terrariums can get soggy inside and coming up with an inventive solution.

Side note: I did have to laugh a little at Amber creating a San Francisco terrarium for a hometown challenge after she said that she's from "the Bay Area" and that she would go to San Francisco with her mom (which means she didn't actually live in SF). Usually when people say they're from the Bay Area, that means they are from somewhere that is not San Francisco, Oakland, or Berkeley aka the cities in the Bay Area that people have actually heard of. People who say they're from the Bay Area usually live 40-60 minutes from SF. Does it really count as your hometown if you don't actually live there? Just imagine someone telling you that they're from your hometown and when pressed for specifics, they admit that they actually grew up an hour away from your hometown. That's what happens about 80% of the time when people say they're from San Francisco. I remember when Mr. EB met someone who said he was from SF and then it turned out he was actually from a city 40 miles from SF. I don't know why people are so uncomfortable saying that they're from NEAR San Francisco or just outside of San Francisco. [/Bay Area specific rant].

Billy's Green Monster story was both funny and terrible. Who dumps a beer on a little kid on crutches?! Red Sox fans, that's who! I liked the giant green monster interpretation, but all of the other elements were really amateurish. I can't decide if it was brave or stupid to work with a new medium instead of his felt specialty. I agreed with the judges that Nicole's Vermont scene was well executed but very impersonal. I liked the glass etching on Robert's fireworks terrarium but I didn't like the giant balsa version of himself inside.

The fort challenge was fun. I liked that they had to make something big this time!

Jeff's octogon fort was a fun idea and I liked the use of the shapes. I totally understand why he was unhappy with the way the spray paint looked, so I give him credit for recognizing that it wasn't working and trying to come up with a solution. The white cloud version was okay but it would have looked so much better with colors. Loved the marshmallow shooter! I'm not sure how much parents would love it (I'm imagining an adult cleaning squashed marshmallows off the floor).

Billy's taco truck fort was SO fun! This is exactly the kind of thing that kids would love, even before you add in the taco toys The etsy judge's critique about cutting a hole where the windshield was - eh. It wasn't necessary in my opinion. Most of the other forts only had one entry point so the other contestants could have been told that they missed an opportunity by not creating more doors/windows too.

I liked that Amber put so much thought into making her circus tent and side show wagon practical and kid friendly with the easy to wipe clean vinyl floor and the removable tent cover. It was bright and colorful. Kids would love playing in that! Loved that the wagon train also doubled as a place to put toys. The lights on the sign were a great addition. My one concern was that the structure (was it PVC pipes?) looked really light and I would be ea little worried that if there was more than one kid playing inside, they would end up knocking the structure over.

Khiem's space ship was a fun idea that kids would definitely love. I thought the entrance should be a little wider to let in more light and make it easier for parents to get in and out when they inevitably have to clean up inside. Bummer he didn't have time to make the key toy for the ladder, but I totally cracked up when he tried to pass off the control panel as the toy. Dude, you already told them what your toy was going to be so THEY KNOW you didn't make it!

Jo's pool noodle rainbow was a great idea for kids: colorful, lightweight, fun, AND safe. Her matching stamp kit was simple but effective. I don't have much to say, but only because it was so great.

Nicole's butterfly fort was an interesting concept but, as Simon said, it seemed too small. The cut outs where her niece was supposed to crawl in were very small and low to the ground. I don't think it looked rickety or anything but I also don't think I would want a kid who's small enough to squeeze in there in such an enclosed space that has no windows or other openings to keep an eye on what they're doing. If she had made the wings bigger to begin with, widened the angle where they met, cut larger holes for entrance/exit points, and used some kind of transparent material (like lighting gels) over the spaces instead of fabric, this would have been a much better fort. On top of that a kid that's small enough to crawl into the fort that she made would not have the fine motor skills to put together that butterfly puzzle.

Robert's geodesic dome was an interesting idea but I found myself wondering what materials he used to build it. Was the metal strong and heavy enough to handle the weight of multiple kids hanging from the beams? I later saw Nick hanging from it which answered that question! Was it lightweight enough for kids to push over? I couldn't believe that none of the judges knew what tangrams were! Loved that his toy encouraged kids to be proud of being smart. - and how clever to paint some of the possible tangrams onto the dome as inspiration! The execution on both the dome and the tangrams was impeccable.

Billy, Jo, and Amber made my favorite forts. Billy and Robert made my favorite toys.

I am sad that Jeffrey was eliminated. Last week it was obvious who was going home and why but Jeffrey has done so well in all of the other challenges and I would have loved to see what else he could create in the upcoming weeks.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

don't know why people are so uncomfortable saying that they're from NEAR San Francisco or just outside of San Francisco. [/Bay Area specific rant].

 

It’s the same with most suburbs. People say they live in the city because most people asking don’t actually care so it’s an easy touchstone, if someone is actually familiar with the area they tend to say the actual place but it’s just easier than them having to clarify that it’s a town some distance in miles and on the compass than the larger place that everyone knows. I grew up in Seattle proper and have lived in SF for 20 years (Russian Hill to be specific) and it doesn’t bother me. 

Why Amber bio says her hometown is Miami is a question that probably won’t be answered.

Edited August 10, 2018 by biakbiak