Jeffrey McGrew's blog

We proud (and totally jazzed) to be participating in this year's Maker Faire NYC!

We love NYC. And we love Maker Faire. And we really love giant stainless steel globes from the future-past.

How could this not be awesome? Maker Faire NYC is being held in Flushing Meadows, which is where the big world's faire in the 60's was held. There are still some relics left behind, all amazing in their own way.

We'll be giving a talk on going pro as a Maker. It's a revamped, hot-rodded, redone version of the talk we gave at Maker Faire in San Mateo. See you NYC!

The wonderful Mastering Autodesk Revit Architecture series is one of the standard books on Revit. Highly recommended. Put together by this crew of knowledgeable folks, it's currently available from Amazon and soon as a downloadable version.

In additional to all the BIM basics, there are extra chapters on all sorts of great work being done via Revit. The one on Revit in the movie industry for set design is stunning! We got to help out on this one too, in that we wrote the extra chapter on BIM-to-CNC fabrication.

So go and grab your copy today!

We're proud to announce that Jeffrey (finally) got his paper from the state. While I passed my final Oral Exams a while ago, the paperwork took a bit (as always).

So say hello to Architect Number 32623 (a palindrome! Awesome!).

We're giving a repeat of our Maker Faire small business talk "Turning Pro: Becoming a Professional Maker" at The Remake Lounge tonight as part of the monthly SF:Make meetup.

The talk was a hit at Maker Faire, for it's all about basic business lessons we've learned from the perspective of a professional Maker.

Come check it out, and hope to see you tonight!

Please join us for a night of project sharing, summertime story swapping, and some CNC demonstrations!

It's time for our regular 2nd-Thursday-of-the-month open house / project salon / OMGBBQWTF called EatFoodTalkShop! We're going to get these going again from their brief hiatus due to moving. So count on a monthly show-and-tell for Makers! Bring a project, or a story, or just curiosity and questions.

Please drop by and help us eat food, drink libations, and share project stories. We'll be showing off our recently finished projects for Wikipedia and Bookrenter. Frank will strut his stuff as well with a few demos.

We'll have some food and drink, you bring some more and your friends! Kids welcome, but it is a shop and a party. Lots of sharp corners. And they might learn some interesting new words.

Thursday, July 8th 2010

6:30PM - 9:30PM

Please note that we've moved!

2500 Kirkham St

Oakland, CA 94607

(510) 922-8846

Click here for the Google Map.

Hope to see you there!

Lost? Lonely? BWC help line: 510-922-8846

We're giving a repeat of our Maker Faire small business talk "Turning Pro: Becoming a Professional Maker" at Tech Liminal (an Oakland technology salon) tonight as part of the SF:Make meetup.

The talk was a hit at Maker Faire, for it's all about basic business lessons we've learned from the perspective of a professional Maker.

We'll be giving it again later this month in San Francisco as well.

Come check it out, and hope to see you tonight!

We're looking for a local (greater bay area) shop with a Shopbot or better. We've got a number of small cutting runs that we're simply too busy to do and would love to send your way! Contact us at us@becausewecan.org

Woven Twist Coffee Table. Sustainable Maple and Walnut ribs weave together into this modern yet organic base. Another custom piece design for an office interior in San Francisco that we're working on.

The two opposing spirals create a delightful visual tension (and give the form strength) while the frosted top adds mystery to the 'fingers' holding it aloft. Let us know if you'd like something simular!

Eat Food Talk Shop June 18th, 6:30PM-9:30PM. Our first big open house at our new location! Lots to celebrate...

Please join us for our first open house at our new location. We've got lots to celebrate!

From finally finishing up our big move, to our great new fabrication studio & offices, to Jeffrey's passing his orals for his Architect license, to this fine hot summer that seems to finally have arrived... Boy we have so much to celebrate we're bursting at the seams!

So please drop by and help us eat food, drink libations, and share project stories. We'll be showing off our recently finished project: our new digs! Frank's got upgrades, our new office rocks, and the fabrication studio is all setup for fast production.

We'll have food and drink, you bring the friends! Kids welcome, but it is a shop and a party. Lots of sharp corners. And they might learn some interesting new words.

You can find us at our new digs:

Because We Can, LLC
2500 Kirkham St
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 922-8846

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We're in the middle of helping a San Francisco Financial company make their offices awesome. The overall chosen direction is a 'modern victorian' feel, where warm and ornate meets clean and uncluttered.

One idea we developed is this wunderkammer banquette for the lobby. A semi-random assortment (59 in fact!) of properly golden-mean proportioned drawers adorn this modern take on a curio cabinet or card catalog of old. Some of the drawers as also false, instead being doors to A/V equipment cubbies.

Rendered in sustainable walnut and maple, it has a delightful character, enticing waiting guests to explore it's many secrets. Complete with vintage cast-iron styled drawer label / pulls, we're thinking it would be full of various small treasures and surprises, lovingly cataloged away.

We're really happy with how this one turned out. Let us know if you'd be interested in something similar!