About the Book
Kyle Bravo has assembled a comprehensive book along with dozens of other instructional articles that tell you how to do just about everything. Topics include getting active, direct action, gardening, how to make wine, homeschooling, fixing a toilet, audio phone patch, how to make envelopes, shoe repair, making rubber stamps, how to juggle, composting, DIY toothpaste, getting rid of fruit flies, greywater systems, composting toliets, making hanging and floating tents, saving money at the post office, making posters and stencils, fixing a harmonica, DIY flowerpots, avoiding dangerous household chemicals, preventing ear infections, how women can pee standing up, menstrual massages, and a few pieces for inspiration. I'm sure you can see by now why this is essential.
About the Author :
Kyle Bravo is a cofounder of the printmaking studio Hot Iron Press, teaches high school visual art, and manages the print shop at Louisiana Artworks, a center for visual art in New Orleans. He is a founding member of the Front, an artist-run exhibition space in New Orleans, and his work has been shown in a multitude of exhibitions both nationally and internationally. He is the former organizer of the NOLA Bookfair, an annual event in celebration of independent publishing and alternative media. He lives in New Orleans.
Kyle Bravo is a cofounder of the printmaking studio Hot Iron Press, teaches high school visual art, and manages the print shop at Louisiana Artworks, a center for visual art in New Orleans. He is a founding member of the Front, an artist-run exhibition space in New Orleans, and his work has been shown in a multitude of exhibitions both nationally and internationally. He is the former organizer of the NOLA Bookfair, an annual event in celebration of independent publishing and alternative media. He lives in New Orleans.
Review :
""Making Stuff & Doing Things," the DIY book compiled by Kyle Bravo fell into my lap last summer. I was enraptured by the book, with its guides to doing just about everything under the sun - from playing guitar to making toothpaste - and by the use of the original layouts. I learnt about Hot Iron Press through the book. Unfortunately Hot Iron Press was in an area of New Orleans badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina - and the collapsing levees - during the Summer of 2005. I emailed Kyle to see if he would be willing to answer some questions about how Katrina had affected them, their reaction to Hot Iron Press being badly damaged and what the future held after the damage."--"Last Hours" #13 Interview Introduction
"Quite some time ago, Kyle Bravo put together a couple of issues of a zine called "How2Zine." These zines were so thick they couldn't even be stapled; I think my copies are bound with rubber bands. They overflowed with DIY tips on many, many different subjects. Now these zines have been compiled into a book representing the collective knowledge of a wide array of clever contributors. Just a sampling of topics: self-education, self-publishing, bookbinding and screenprinting, shoe repair, juggling, stenciling, gardening, insulative cooking, solar box cooking, wine and beer making, sex and health, pet care, creative recycling, home repair, and transportation. Yes, that's a lot, and it's only the beginning. This book belongs on the bookshelves of those who don't want to just drive to the nearest box store for what they need. Highly recommended." --Sean Stewart, "Newpages"
""Making Stuff & Doing Things", the DIY book compiled by Kyle Bravo fell into my lap last summer. I was enraptured by the book, with its guides to doing just about everything under the sun - from playing guitar to making toothpaste - and by the use of the original layouts. I learnt about Hot Iron Press through the book. Unfortunately Hot Iron Press was in an area of New Orleans badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina - and the collapsing levees - during the Summer of 2005. I emailed Kyle to see if he would be willing to answer some questions about how Katrina had affected them, their reaction to Hot Iron Press being badly damaged and what the future held after the damage."--"Last Hours" #13 Interview Introduction
"Perhaps the best known, general-purpose, Do-it-Yourself guide around, Bravo's comprehensive compilation of his legendary "HOW2" zines includes information on projects as prosaic as bike-cart building and homebrewing and as potentially controversial as billboard liberation and birth control. An indispensable resource for the DIY 'lifestyle' no matter what your level of commitment to it might be." --"Lime"
"If there is a book you get this year this is it. That is, of course, if you are interested in learning to do just about everything on your own. There is no fiction or folklore in here. It is all how-to actions. This massive compilation is split into various sections based upon the subject matter. For instance, there are sections on home improvement (like fixing a toilet or sink), transportation (like fixing a bike or car), mischief (wheatpasting or stenciling), health (herbal medicines and remedies), as well as guides on composting properly and on your own, building your own home, eating, drinking (making your own root beer!), and about everything that could possibly be a part of your life. It s like the Time-Life series for punks all in one volume, for one low-low price! Seriously though, this is really a great resource for so many things, I want to try them all. This will be my survival guide for the Winter more or less. Essential if you are at all interested in doing things on your own and without the assistance of a repairman, mechanic, interior decorator, chef, etc." "Hanging Like a Hex"
"From making clothes, to making out, from taking care of your pet, to dealing with the problem of fruit flies, from binding a book to brewing some beer, this book has got everything covered. I was actually stunned by how many topics had something written about, the DIY solution to almost any problem you might have is contained within this book. There are - one hundred and fifteen articles on how to turn a quandary into a DIY success. Punk rock! The majority of the DIY guides have been reprinted directly from the fanzine that they were originally housed in. On the plus side, it adds some dynamism to the publication. It feels strange having these cut and paste pages printed on really nice offset printed paper. This is still an awesome book. There are some great DIY guides; especially where they delve into the author's personal experience to highlight how well it works, it's just a shame that not all the guides were of as high caliber from a design point of view. There's information here for both young and old, naive kids who only just discovered DIY and cynics who've supposedly been and done everything there is to do, everyone will find a bunch of useful stuff written about, and considering how hard some of information is to find, it's great having it in one easy to digest book, rather than 50 different zines." Last Hours
"You probably need this book. Dozens of underground zinesters compile their essays, diagrams, and comix about how to do things and how things work that will explain how to compost, fix a toilet, make toothpaste, clothes, and root beer, take care of sick animals, understand how your penis works, organize your day, or create your own buttplug. Plus about a thousand more hints Heloise never gave out." "Rocktober"
"This is not some DIY guide that comes with a subscription to Men's Health or Home and Garden. This is about becoming independent of others' agendas and living life as far out of the system as possible. This book comes off as a mix of Crimethinc literature, The Anarchist Cookbook, and punk rock cut and paste zines, with a dash of inspirational rants thrown in for good measure. Where else can you learn how to make puppets, find the g-spot, and relieve menstrual cramps? Build a silkscreen and then make toothpaste? Homebrew root beer and then learn how to play guitar? This book is clearly useful and inspiring to anyone living life outside of what is conventional in today's society. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to think outside of the box. There is seriously something for everyone in here (yes, even those who want to compost their own fecal matter)." "Wonkavision Magazine"
"So you think you're pretty handy around the house? Think D, I and Y are your middle initials? Betcha don't make your own toothpaste. Learn how in "Making Stuff and Doing Things: A collection of DIY guides to doing just about everything."" "Williamette Week"
""Making Stuff and Doing Things" is a collection of DIY guides gathered by Kyle Bravo. Based on Bravo s How2 Zine and the Tree of Knowledge s collection of DIY articles, this book is a meaty volume. A lot of the stuff you expect to find in a DIY guide appears in here, including bookbinding, gardening, silk screening, sewing, making stencils, wheat pasting, composting, dumpster diving, etc. There are also a load of articles on topics you wouldn t expect to find, however, like juggling, fixing toilets, basic electrical wiring, making a quill pen, DIY lice treatment, and more. There s definitely something for everyone in this book. For instance, I m into natural health care for my cats right now, so two of my favorite pieces were those focusing on making cat food and holistic treatments for pet ailments. The categories on the table of contents can be a bit confusing when looking for something specific, but the index in the back of the book makes up for it. And, since the articles are culled and reprinted from various sources, there is no consistency in style or usefulness of directions, but the variety adds to the overall DIY appeal. There are also twenty blank pages in the back for notes, so readers can add their own DIY tips or alter directions published within. Definitely a worthwhile and useful read!" Altar Magazine
"Well, quite frankly this book is filled with awesome DIY solutions, projects, etc. for a ton of shit. This book is thick and full of excellent ideas. My dad was even sitting around reading it and was caught scratching his head saying "Wow, that's cool." Any self respecting punk and anyone else should have this book handy on the shelf. Get this book. It's more important than the Bible." "HeartattaCk"
"The most extensive DIY guide I've seen." "Clamor Magazine""
