simonegiertz posts
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My friend Mohammad
Want to see one of the most embarrassing photos ever taken of me? Buckle up your eyeballs and cue the self-deprecating drum roll.The competition is tough, but no, it's not this one:Or any of these:Or any freeze frame from when I was in that Chinese sitcom.The photo that I'm more embarrassed about than all the ones above, is this one:Why? Let me tell you the backstory.Six Swedish students painting a door in Nairobi - the backstoryIt's 2008 and I have just finished a year as an exchang...
Hi from Adam Savage
Three things:1. Hi! Long time no see. How have you been? Did you know that possums have 13 nipples with one bulls eye in the middle? (I'm sitting next to my friend Alie Ward and asked her for a random fact, and she gave me that one without skipping a beat.)1.5. Apologies in advance for the amount of name dropping that this post is going to have.2. The reason I'm sitting next to Alie is because I'm in Huntsville Alabama at a science communicator event. Imagine a bunch of YouTubers and...
Letters to my future self
A couple of weeks ago, I found a letter. It was in a sealed envelope with “DON’T OPEN UNTIL 2022” written in big, angry letters. I opened it, and got transported back to 2014. I was 24 years old, working at a startup in San Francisco. It was right before the Queen of Shitty Robot YouTube era started, and I was writing to my future self. Here’s an excerpt:Hi Simone. I don’t know if you’ll remember when I wrote this. To jog your memory: I’m in a bar called Revolution in San Francisco...
Entering the wallpaper stage of life
There is so much to write about that I'm instead going to just tell you one tiny thing: my mom is in town, and we put wallpaper up in my dining room. We did a very good job and I think it looks very nice.Ok since I've broken the ice, holy hell I've had a couple of months. I should probably tone down the melodrama, but no, we're leaning right into its sticky arms:Yetch.store is kicking my butt. This video I'm working on is kicking my butt. Scraps is kicking my butt. Tomorrow I...
Flying with a dog, mushrooms and blacksmithing
Hope you've had a good summer!
hi quick update on the YETCH Store
I should have prepared a proper post for this but I ran out of time! But the YETCH Store just launched, and I made a discount code for Patreon supporters. So in case you were planning on buying something, use PATREON15 for 15% off! Just didn't want you to go off and buy things at full price because I took to long to write a proper update here. Big day! I'm off!
The problem with bubble wrap
I don't know if you remember this (or if you'd prefer to forget) but a while back, I made an instrument out of teeth.I was very happy with the outcome, and stoked for my new career as a novel instrument maker. But to my dismay, I was met with complete silence from the music industry, which is surprising considering that their whole schtick is making noise.It's been 2 years, and I'm ready to give instrument-inventing another shot. And this is a real good one.Imagine a music box, b...
1 uninteresting, mildly interesting & very interesting thing
One uninteresting thingI got an extra ball in my dishwasher tablet. This means that there is a ball-less dishwasher tablet out there somewhere, which is a cause for pointless concern that I think we should all partake in.One mildly interesting thingI finally got my green card and I am now officially a permanent resident of the United States of America! Guns! Eagles! Poorly functioning democratic institutions! I'm here for all of it!One very interesting thingLast week, Monthly opened up enrol...
Two project ideas
Hi! I just want to apologize in advance for this upcoming joke. Apology accepted? Great. And no, I do not accept refunds. Ok, here we go:Coming up with ideas is like popping pimples: the harder you squeeze, the worse the results are going to be.So after weeks of struggling with creative constipation, I took a break and traveled to San Francisco. I think I've been suffering from social scurvy, because seeing my friends made me feel more alive than I have in a long time.With that said, I final...
Why I've been feeling down (don't worry it's not very dramatic)
My New Year's Resolution is to make more friends and try to build more community! I think that would help a lot.PS. I've been thinking of starting a Patreon Discord, is that something you'd be in to?
Scraps' Big Trip
Hi Past Self!Future Self here. I know you're super nervous about flying to Sweden with Scraps because she tends to bark - no, war cry - at random strangers. But you know what? You can cancel that near-panic attack you're going to have the day before the flight. Because as it turns out Scraps is, indeed, a very good girl.POV: you haven't peed in 9 hours because you don't want to wake up your dogScraps and I spent two weeks in Sweden, and seeing my family and friends made me happy ...
YETCH Photoshoot BTS
Launching a product company is a like snail marathon: slow, exhausting, and you might get run over by a car at any point. But we're making incremental progress, and this week was a big one! We finally had a photoshoot where we took pictures of our first five products for the website.Every step of the way, I've always looked for someone professional to do the job. Logo? We need a designer. Website layout? We need a UX expert. Puzzle box? We need an illustrator. Photos? We need an art dire...
Just a quick happy Friday!
Well hello, folks! This is Simone’s pal Alie, and I have taken her phone for a few moments because I’m ordering her to make herself a plate for dinner at the moment.She’s been shooting a new project all week — 12 hour days — and I think y’all will love it. But she just came over for dinner, so tired from a long day, and we’re about to eat some noodles and hang out with the dogs. We are thinking of you, dear Patrons, and were just chatting about how much we appreciate Patreon and th...
Meet Campla
Wanna see something that looks really mundane but made me cry? Getting this notification on my phone:It took my mom 16 minutes ("It would have taken 12 if my internet wasn't so slow!") to book a flight to LA and on my birthday, November 1st, I will get to see my mom for the first time in over two years.I am a very experienced crier, but as my mom sent over her flight details I truly made noises I've never made before. Imagine the sound of an animal in distress/child on a rollerco...
Puzzle table update
Here's a photo that sums up my week pretty well! Just a messy pile of random stuff, with a puppy on top.I've just been working on getting this puzzle table across the line, but it has felt a bit like shaving my legs with a lawn mower: slow and really not wanting to fuck up. But I'm aiming to have the video done by next week! The one about the puzzle table, not me opening some garden tool spa.
Five things that have happened
Two of my best friends got marriedTo each other! Very practical. My love language is making gifts, which is a double edged sword because:A. there's no receipt and return policyB. you would probably feel very guilty about throwing it away.A week before their wedding, they joked that if they had a coat of arms, the slogan would be "patience and relentless optimism." So I sneakily wrote it down on my phone, and made this, featuring their dog Gremmie as a griffon:Made using laser cut par...
Product Prototypes and Periods
You know on April 1st when I said I was building a period machine? Well I wasn't joking.A couple of weeks ago, we turned the workshop into a proper (alas very crammed) studio and filmed two projects for Kotex: a period machine and a cramp machine. I'm really proud of how they came out. Combining shitty robots with sex ed may not sound like a great match, but it was.Can I show you something that you pinky-internet-promise will keep a secret? Since you can't actually answer that questi...
My Dark Dog Past
Today, it has been a year since I adopted Scraps. It has been a really difficult year, for obvious reasons. But also for some less obvious ones.WARNING: long, occasionally sad post.As you might know, I am a huge dogsplainer. I will happily give anyone unsolicited dog training advice, or rant about different breeds and their specific health problems. And as much as I want to think that I was brought to this earth to tell you that your dog needs to go on a diet, I know that deep down, it’s a cas...
Pet chairs & plans for the future
The bad news: it's been so long since I posted on Patreon that I've uploaded two (!) YouTube videos since last timeThe good news: I have uploaded two (!) YouTube videos since the last time I posted on Patreon. In case you haven't watched them, here's a bed version of Pimp My Ride and a video where I build a pet compatible office chair for Scraps. It has a small staircase and an extra broad seat so she can lie next to me whenever she wants to.YouTube projects are kind of like one-...
Give A Girl Some Space
Can I just start off with saying that I really miss running into you all. It’s been almost a year of wearing masks, and I can’t remember last time I got a random high five in the streets, or got to stop and chat about tools for a bit. You’re the best and I miss hanging out with you.OK, with that out of the way: last week was an unexpected whirlwind of work and a mudslide of emotions.If you’re on Twitter:I’m really sorry for how much I’ve been spamming about the #Inspiration4contest.I...
Futz Friday: the most sacred of made-up traditions
Let’s face it: all traditions are made up. Everything from easter to honking in tunnels to making out are just ideas pulled out of some random person’s ass. So why couldn’t ideas pulled out of my ass couldn’t just as well become sacred tradition?When I was 7, I wrote a new birthday song for my family. So every birthday, we don’t sing the standard Swedish version of happy birthday, but the immortal lines of a 7 year old:The clock is tickingThe clock is tickingAnd what happens?And what h...
Worst client I've ever worked for
I need your help.The last couple of months, I've been working with a really difficult client. I've been hired to come up with a brand name and a logo, but every draft I've made has been received with a "not quite what we're looking for" or a "do you need us to point out the mark again? Because you keep missing it."The client is relentless and ruthless and is currently trying to figure out how to get out of writing about herself in third person.The Contractor: MeTh...
My 2 month bed project
Was about to title this post "Beds and Performance Anxiety" which is indeed a great title, but might have given you the wrong idea.I juuuuuust glued in the last piece of this madhouse of a bed I've built. I love it SO MUCH. Doesn't matter that it's only 5pm here in LA, I want to go to bed NOW.Out of focus sneak peek.I've been working on a video about building and designing this bed, and earlier today we started filming the final assembly. We hit record, and as I carried t...
Let's hang out this afternoon!
I'm going live today at 1pm PST, so in an hour and a half-something! I'm just going to be sanding some wood for my next project and answering your questions. Looking forward to seeing all 3 of you who are going to watch!XOXOSimone
Coat hangers and the slow death of my YouTube channel (?)
Me, after six years of building stuff: wow, I'm starting to get the hang of this.Also me, trying to draw a straight line:Hi! Happy 2021! What a rocky start. This last week has been like the final season of Game Of Thrones we all deserved, except that it's real life and we don't have any dragon glass.Anyway. There's something that's been on my mind, and that I can't stop thinking about . And that thing is... coat hangers. I so wish that was a joke, but it's not. I have...
Meet my new friend CNCelia
If don't care for machines: this post is probably not going to be interesting for you.If you do care for machines: this post might still not be interesting for you. Feel free to skip this one. Just like when Scraps gave a kiss to this friendly neighbor corgi and then moved on like nothing ever happened. Sorry corgi. Scraps just isn't ready to settle down yet.I've been dreaming about getting a CNC machine for a long time but I never felt like I had enough space for one. Honestly I was...
Things to yell at people from a dark bush
A couple of weeks ago I went on an evening dog walk with my friend Alie. There's nothing unusual about this: Alie is one of my best friends, and we both have dogs.Alie spent majority of the walk talking about how excited she was to have found a walnut tree by her house. There's nothing unusual about this either: Alie is a very excitable person and has an entire podcast dedicated to jumping into science-related rabbit holes.Scraps and Gremmie in TrucklaAfter the walk, we go back to my hou...
Hi can I harvest your ideas
First of all: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE BIRTHDAY WISHES AND CARDS AND GIFTS. You're the best.I'll tell you more about it later, but I had such a good birthday. I slept in a bubble in the desert, and spent the night squinting at the moon.Speaking of moons, you know how once in a blue moon, I post a video on YouTube? I'm trying to find ways to make more videos and upload a bit more frequently.The problem is that the kind of content I'm making now takes soooooo long for me to make. I ca...
Don't put me in a box (just let me build one instead)
Hi! It's me, your local workshop gnome. I've spent the week trying to get the new workshop under control, and looking back, I realize all I've really done is build a bunch of boxes. I turn 30 in two days, maybe this is indicative of that. Gone are the fun creative 20's. Here is the age of boxes.BOX 1: my two printer 3D printer farmFirst out, we have my least favorite box I've built this week. I made it so that I could stack my two 3D printers on top of each other. It saves be...
2020 in an error message
I just got this error message when I tried to update my password manager:Yes LastPass, we know. 2020 has been challenging for all of us.With that said: I am fully moved down to LA and I love this house so much. I will catch myself sitting in a random corner, just looking around and smiling. You should find someone who looks at you like I look at this house, AKA like they're thinking "I can't wait to install a 220V outlet in you so I can use you to charge my car."Other reasons I&#...
