Evolution TV Episode 4 | Learning To Upcycle | Visiting Maker’s Central | Interview With Popular Creator

Real People. Real Places. Real Stories. 

You never know when the inspiration to create strikes. Whether you are building something from scratch or looking to upcycle something outdated, we could all use great ideas and tips to jog our creativity. And that's what we intend to do with our amazing lineup for this week's episode. Speaking with ingenious creators, attending events, guiding you on our newest launches, and giving you the latest tips and tricks in the woodworking world are just some of the things that await you in this packed episode.  

With another thrilling interview with a master wood maker and video maker, J Makes, and plenty of gifts and giveaways, there's much to take away from this episode!  

Here's everything that you will discover in this episode's recap: 

Time to jump in. 

Meeting Kayleigh Higgs - The "DIY Mum"  

Kayleigh Higgs has built a successful career out of general DIY with over 39,000 followers on Instagram and a devoted following. She wants to empower women and motivate them to have a go and do it themselves.  

Her first-ever project was to make a sandpit for her two children. The process made her fall in love with creating and upcycling. As a bonus, the sense of achievement that she unlocked by making something for her boys was great. Also, having something that her kids know she made from scratch was a pretty sweet feeling.  

Higgs really took to DIY during the pandemic, and when the lockdown was enforced a second time, it became a means for her to escape. One apparent thing in her creations is the use of reclaimed wood. She soon made a dining table from scaffolding boards; from then on, it was love!  

Gushing about the project that she is most proud of, she reveals that she made a storage bench from scaffolding boards and loved it. It was one of the rare creations in which only a few do-overs were needed. She was able to try out new techniques and use them in future creations. 

Speaking about what's in the future for DIY mum, she reveals that her head's swarming with ideas at any given time. At some point, she would like to sell her creations too.  

Next, she showed us where the DIY magic happens around her workshop. She appreciates having a separate space where she can work and adores that she now has a dedicated workspace that she repurposed from an old dining table. The place also allows her to dry the boards before working.  

She then took us to a toy box that she had made from scratch. Great for organisation and having all the toys in one place, she wanted more natural storage that went with all her creations. Previously, they were making do with plastic boxes.  

One of her most used tools is the Evolution Circular Saw. Providing a mini-review, she tells us that it is really easy to use, and when she was a beginner, it was also effortless to navigate. She mainly uses it to cut her wood and was kind enough to demonstrate how to use it.  

If you are interested in making your own toy box with reclaimed pallet wood, DIY Mum shows you the easy way. You can follow a step-by-step tutorial here. If you want to know more about Kayleigh Higgs and her humble beginnings, you can check out our interview with her.  

Evolution Power Tools In Action

Our sole purpose for creating quality and premium-feeling power tools is to help our customers. Seeing our tools being utilised in wood making and listening to their honest feedback makes our day. Here are some of our favourites: 

Hailey built a sideboard using Evolution Power Tools cordless products. She loved how working without the cords allowed her to work in the sunshine and soak up the good weather.  

Tim recently joined the growing fan base of Evolution's newest launch - the cordless mitre saw.  

We saw Barry using the cordless circular saw to cut railway sleepers for flower beds. He has reported that he is really pleased with how the cuts look.  

Lou has been using our tools for DIY shelves that she has been building.  

If you want to be featured in our episodes and have something to show us, tag us on Instagram at @evolutionpowertools_uk, and you can stand a chance to be featured.  

Reporting Live From Weekender Maker Central 

With our entire team crazy enthusiastic over anything woodworking, Weekender Maker Central is one of our most awaited times of the year. It is an event where fellow creators, makers, brands, and aficionados gather under one roof worldwide. And we couldn't miss it.  

Held at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham, the event was bustling with an excitable crowd and myriad booths. It is a privilege to gather together and share their love and passion for creative things. We first caught up with MAKE Gosport - a community of makers and thinkers who regularly organise wood workshops. According to them, the best thing about the event was that everyone here was visiting for one reason - their love for creating. Next, we ran into one of our favourite YouTubers, Colin Furze, who was attending as a "general visitor" and didn't get a booth. Admittedly, his efforts to blend in and be incognito were instantly thwarted as people recognised him immediately. Nevertheless, he was enjoying his time looking around, seeing what people were up to.  

While walking around, a colourful van caught our fancy, and we walked over to take a look. Steve Twydell was kind enough to talk us through what they did in the Creator Van. He smiled and said, "What we don't do would be a better question!" They did pyrography, wood turning, and pottery. In his opinion, doing arts and crafts brings families together. Also, witnessing that old techniques like woodturning are still alive and flourishing is a nice sight. Getting an end product, even if it isn't perfect, is quite rewarding, especially when the process of making it is so memorable.  

We also talked with Chris Fisher, also known as "The Blind Woodturner." Asking the question everyone has on their minds when they meet this inspirational gentleman is how does he manage so well? He explains that he does it all by touch and the vision in his mind. It was his third time here, and he absolutely loved coming to this event.  

 The founder of this event, Nick Zametti, found time for us, and we were able to get a small interview. He was happy about how buzzing the event was and how everything was going. In his opinion, there was nothing like this where you get all of this combined. Influencers, makers, creators, YouTubers, brands, everyone comes together to partake in what they love doing.  

 With this, it was time to call it a day. If you would like to check out detailed coverage of the event, you can check it out here.  

Readers' Most Trusted 5 DIY Tips 

Here is a roundup of the top DIY tips that our viewers sent in:  

• Make sure to plan ahead because there's nothing worse than starting on a project and realising too late that you are short on tools or resources, wasting additional time and energy to fill in the missing gaps.  

• Making a habit of keeping a tape measure and pencil goes a long way. It gets annoying when you will need these many times, and you won't have it on you.  

• How to stop a breakout from happening when you have drilled through a piece of wood? Get the second piece of wood, put it on the back, secure it firmly with clamps, and re-drill. Remove the bottom layer, and you will find that you will be left with a piece of wood with a clean edge.  

• It's always best to have a chop saw, or a mitre saw on hand. The amount of cutting required while being on the job could be alarming.   

• You can use pieces of styrofoam in the workshop as a flat surface that you can cut through. It will also help in keeping your materials steady. It comes in handy when you don't have a big surface area and need to cut down big sheets.  

If you have some tips to share yourself, we are very interested to hear them. All you need to do is send us a video of yourself explaining the tip, and you could be featured in our next episode. Here's a little incentive: We will send over a brand new Evolution Mitre Saw if you get featured!  

Cordless Evolution Power Tools In Action! 

Matt, a father and DIYer, shows us how to make a toy kitchen with the cordless range of Evolution Power Tools, using the circular saw to cut up ply, the mitre saw to cut up other pieces of wood, and the drill to put all pieces together. It took a day to put together, and his children were thrilled to play with it! Matt loves how easy it was to use the tools, especially considering that one battery can be interchanged with other tools.   

The different options available for batteries and the fact that the saws work with so much power meant that he was able to get precise cuts that made all the difference.  

Being a dad means all you want to do is make your kids happy; even if it means building a project in the gardens all day, the surprise on their faces is well worth it.  

Catching Up With Jacob Marks (JMakes) 

Our guest in this episode completed an art foundation at Manchester School of Arts and is currently studying product and furniture design at Kingston University. In 2016, he founded his own website and started a YouTube Channel. His creations include tables, chairs, shelves, cabinets, and much more. With many dedicated followers interested in what he makes and how he makes, we welcome Jacob Marks, a.k.a. JMakes, into the studio.  

 Going straight in, we asked him if he could tell in his own words for our audiences about what he did. He replied, "My background is that of a furniture maker, and those are the projects that I like to do. On the channel, I have made benches, desks, cabinets, and tables, and I also make videos on how I have designed them. What I think I do differently is that I am not just concentrating on the making process but also exploring concepts and techniques and how the pieces ended up being the way they were. I am really passionate about DIY, and it has great benefits. You can make exactly what you need and know what went into it so that repairs are easy. But there are still many barriers - it's expensive, you need the space to make things, and you also need the skills to go about it. Many projects that I do are about breaking those barriers." 

It was amazing what Jacob was trying to do - encouraging people to think differently, just using resources they may find and finding the cheapest yet the best way to do it. Agreeing, he says, "Yes, so I always try to use ubiquitous materials that are always around us, such as pallet wood and how you can elevate them and turn them into something people would like to have in their home. That's quite important to me." 

Something that we really liked about his channel is that he is passionate and puts the work in. We particularly loved how he made bowls out of paper and showed different types. He chimes in, "Yes, I try to have an even variety of how to take these things and make something worthwhile out of it." 

Now that he has over 100 videos on YouTube, we asked him which one is the most popular one. He said, "The videos that catch people's attention the most are the transition ones. So like the palette of wood wall art, it is taking a common material and turning it into something unexpected. Viewers also enjoy watching renovations, and I did a series of renovating my bedroom, which went over well." 

Asking about his highs also meant asking about his lows, so we enquired about the most challenging video yet. He answered, "The videos that are the most difficult aren't about the ones that are about making but just me going out and about my daily life. I did a film about Maker's Central and about meeting fellow YouTube, those I would say." 

What's one project that you are most proud of? "The drywall series. It was about what I wanted to do - break down the barriers that people experience and that end product can be made with tools that most already possess." 

Now that he is a graduate and has the time to think about the future, we asked him about what was next for JMakes. He said, "I really want to get back to making videos and working out a new format that would aid me in being more creative, carrying on and trying new things. I also want to try and exhibit my work and do new projects." 

It was lovely hosting Jacob, and we wished him the best in all his endeavours. You can click here if you want to see the extended cut of his interview.  

Competitions & Winners 

With every episode release, we at Evolution TV feel generous and give away tons of free gifts, including spa vouchers, hotel stays, Apple and Amazon products, Evolution goodies, and so much more. There are many different ways to enter yourself into the competition and stand a good chance of winning a great prize.  

The best way to seize the opportunity is by subscribing to our YouTube Channel, clicking the Bell icon to turn on all notifications, and keeping an eye on Evolution TV episodes. In the description below of each video, there will be some links that will allow you to enter.  

Evolution Power Tools  

That was it for episode 4 - we hope that you learned something new and it was enjoyable!  

At Evolution Power Tools, we are always toiling away to ensure that our customers get the best service and creatively-designed products. We guarantee that we will become your first preference once you start using Evolution power tools. Our products and dedication are just that good.  

Please browse our store to see our entire range.