''ReadyMade'' (or ''Ready Made'') was a California, United States, bimonthly

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

which focused on do-it-yourself (DIY) projects involving

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

, making

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

, home improvement, sewing,

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

, woodworking and other disciplines. It also focused on

sustainable design Environmentally sustainable design (also called environmentally conscious design, eco-design, etc.) is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of ecological sustainability ...

independent music Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a DIY ethic, do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties aff ...

and DIY culture. The magazine was marketed to people who enjoy creating unique items to have at home and wear and featured projects which could often be completed with everyday materials, such as household items.

History

''ReadyMade'' was founded by chief editor Shoshana Berger and publisher Grace Hawthorne in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. The inaugural issue was published in Winter 2002, with quarterly issues produced until the magazine moved to bimonthly issues with the March/April 2004 publication. In 2006, the

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned newspapers, magazines, television stations, and websites. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more than ...

purchased the magazine. In January 2009, Meredith announced it was relocating the magazine's creative staff to

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

due to company-wide budgetary concerns (though the ''ReadyMade'' title itself was reportedly successful). None of the editorial staff chose to relocate, and '' Better Homes and Gardens'' executive editor Kitty Morgan assumed editorial duties for ''ReadyMade'' on an interim basis. On June 16, 2011, ''ReadyMade'' announced on its blog that Meredith had discontinued the magazine.

Subjects

Unlike more traditional home improvement magazines and

how-to How to or how-to (among other spellings) may refer to: * A user guide ** An owner's manual, more narrowly * A tutorial ** Especially, instructional material created for the do it yourself market In titles of specific works * How to... (film serie ...

books, ''ReadyMades projects were aimed at a younger (21–39) audience. Projects in their issues included: * making a lamp out of a cd spindle * altering a car stereo to accept an

iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...

input jack * instructions on how to run for local office in the United States * recycling broken speakers to become light fixtures, coffee tables, or bookcases and similar projects with an emphasis on creating an urban indie aesthetic.

Demographic

''ReadyMade'' was aimed at the emerging DIY culture in North America that enjoys not only the fashion of handmade items and

, but also the philosophy and politics inherent in recycling, DIY attire, and

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

. The ads featured in the magazine targeted a largely liberal readership interested in locally produced, handmade, ecological, and organic goods, but also featured ads from companies such as PF Flyers shoes,

Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland, the United Arab Em ...

, and similar corporations looking to appeal to a young hipster audience. The music featured in the articles was generally independent rock, featuring such artists' own DIY projects, such as an article where

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...

showed how to make a mock space station out of junkyard parts.

References

{{Reflist * Susan Fornoff (June 2006)
AT HOME WITH THE READYMADES / Reuse. Recycle. Reinvent. DIY magazine founders Shoshana Berger and Grace Hawthorne share a lifestyle philosophy. But their day-to-days are vastly different.
SF Chronicle. * IIT Institute (August 2015)
Article on ReadyMade and the maker movement - Interview with Grace Hawthorne

External links

At Home with the ReadyMades in the SF Chronicle

2001 establishments in California 2011 disestablishments in Iowa Bimonthly magazines published in the United States Defunct hobby magazines published in the United States DIY culture Magazines established in 2001 Magazines disestablished in 2011 Magazines published in California Magazines published in Iowa Mass media in Des Moines, Iowa Defunct Meredith Corporation magazines Mass media in Berkeley, California