The Christmas holidays occurred once again, and again I was bored … until a Pinterest project caught my eyes. A 3D printed Bulbasaur plant holder. I smirked and began to plot. A quick google search showed me where the nearest makerspace was, Liverpool. So after a few targeted emails and a train ticket later, I’m stood in a warehouse dripping wet in my ratty patched up hoodie, surrounded by gadget dads. I was greeted by a middle aged man, who looked at me quizzically. The kind of person who wore lyrca and cycled to get away from his family life. “Hi, we spoke on the phone” I uttered cautiously. He smiled a little “ah yes, Matthew wasn’t it.” We discussed how the printer would work and the format of the design, with me producing a memory stick like a villain in a campy 90’s movie.I selected a spool of dark blue wire (the lighter blues/greens didn’t have enough, but it would have been awesome to have it match the original Pokémon) and we tinkered with the design. We measured out the size before a different gadget dad began spooling it through the machine and twisting dials until he was satisfied. I watched the first layer of the blue outline the creatures feet and shade them in hypnotically. 20 hours of making left, so I left the machine to do its job, paid the men for entry, and left.
I decided to shop for a few hours whilst I was in the area, taking a nose into all the chains and the local indie stores. One bookshop stood out to me whilst I was in there, heavily signposted and bright. Something felt different about it but I couldn’t quite place it. I stood there browsing the books as I went, protest signs. I shrugged it off, cities tended to have preachy labour bookshops, especially city shops, and definitely in the north. I continued to browse, flicking through the novels that were available. Academic texts, sociology and politics, again that should have been a warning sign. It was only when my eyes locked onto the face of the stone wall woman on mugs and tee shirts that the penny dropped. I was in a gay bookshop. I turned to see the flag in the window and then realised how much the tired autopilot managed to skim past. The final straw, the straw that broke the camels back, was the use of the word “Women’s Herstory” instead of history. I could understand exploring women in history, but the pun was too far. I left and continued browsing the ragtag array of vintage clothes shops and student-y art shops, before leaving the glossy rain of the city until the next day.
I returned to the makerspace the next day. I knew I should have posted the design in during the guest day, but I was working that day, and my wallet had already taken the damage. As I made my way up the attic-like wooden stairs and past the slightly ominous mannequins that stared past me as I entered the room. The first thing I notice is the lack of Bulbasaur plant pot. The minimalist Pokémon design was not obediently in the glass box where I had imagined him. it took me a few seconds to spot him perched on a set of kitchen weighing scales in his uniform navy. I grinned, it was a handsome design and the machine had done it real justice. Clean edges and smooth sides. All he needed now was a small plant to fulfil the prophesy.
I continued to shop around in Liverpool before checking in with my phone. A direct message. what where you doing in my shop in Liverpool? … sent from the drag queen/DJ of Chester. I arched an eyebrow. You’re shop? I blasted back before getting lost in the labyrinth sized Waterstones. I didn’t know Warren/Wanda knew my name, I thought back, puzzled. I’d been on autopilot all morning and I’d had my headphones in for the whole trip. I thought back, the bookshop maybe? No! there was a woman behind the counter, and it certainly wasn’t Wanda. I thought back to Debenhams and the androgynous make up stall guy I walked past looking for the aftershave. Same hair, but I thought Wanda chose a wig. The reply I received was a curveball and a half. Hawkins Bizarre.
I was so zombified when I visited Hawkins bizarre that the only thing I could recall was the collection of neon signs and retro lava lamps. What do you say to that? Hi you know that one drag queen you vaguely know exists because she DJs downstairs … well she knows you and she’s currently here in her dude-persona. Should I have gone back and said hi? My brain couldn’t grapple the idea of Warren, off duty. I continued to the plant shop, purchased a succulent/cacti hybrid thing (think pointy but not too desert-y) and received a free festive red glitter succulent (glam Bulbasaur?) which finally finished Milo the Bulbasaur off. He now sits proud, guarding my bedside near the lamp and marking the beginning of a possible obsession/fascination with 3D printing and the community around it.
(LINK TO BLUEPRINTS I BORROWED)
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:381599
