Welcome To

Nerds&Makers

The intersection of nerd and maker culture

Build cool stuff, nerd out.

Core Values

There are four guiding principles at Nerds&Makers...

Learn

Ravenous curiosity is more like it. We believe that not knowing something is the greatest call to action there is. Stay curious, learn every day.

Teach

Break down the walls of knowledge gatekeeping and "trade secrets". We want to promote the sharing of tools, techniques, materials and methods.  

Make

Makers look at a void in the world, wherever it may be, and fill it. They are not satisfied with the status quo and are willing make something from nothing. Objects, written word, art, baked goods, music, truly anything.

Share

Getting the fruits of our labor into the hands, hearts and minds of others. There really is no greater feeling than having something that was once an idea to a real thing now in the world, and it's even better to share it with others to enjoy.

Instagram

Most of the action is on Instagram. While we'e also on Facebook, YouTube, Bluesky, Doobly, KnockKnock and many others (we may have made a couple of those up) Instagram is where we've gained the largest following and have the most traction. Head on over to check out the content, and give a follow if you're so inclined.

Who we are

The "we" in use here is pretty loose, right now it's mostly one dork, the founder Tommy Williamson, but occasionally some help is brought it. Tommy is a visual effects artist in the motion picture industry and a lifelong maker of things. You've seen his work in such films and series as Dune: Prophecy, Stranger Things, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pan's Labyrinth, Sin City, The Mist, Army of Darkness and many more. Check out his IMDB page to see what other projects you might have seen, and certainly a few you haven't. You can also shame him for working on both the Carrot Top and Barney movies (they can't all be winners).

The main reason Nerds&Makers is plural is because the previous website Tommy founded, BrickNerd, was singular, and eventually Tommy became known as the "BrickNerd". Tommy has always been happy to be a brick nerd, just not the brick nerd. Tommy also wants to build a community, despite the fact that he has always found himself a bit of an island creatively (a downside to living and working in a small town) it's harder to find your people. But the online community of Nerds&Makers has been growing slowly and steadily for years. Tommy also finds it a little unnerving to write about himself in the third person.