Some people think an old T-shirt belongs in the trash. Members of the Ohio University Do It Yourself Club see it as something more. With scissors and some creativity, it can become a halter-top or a skirt.

Do-It-Yourself, or DIY, projects are not limited to home improvement or recycling old clothes. For some, DIY culture is a way of life.

The OU DIY Club formed last fall with the mission to promote the ethics of DIY culture, said Mike Ludwig, president of the club. DIY culture has its roots in punk ideologies and anti-consumerism but has since become a subculture anyone can join.

“There’s definitely a critique of consumerism in our modern society,” he said. “A lot of people want to be able to live without dependence on things like large corporations, which may not have their best interests in mind.”

DIY culture stresses making possessions instead of buying them from a store. The 12 members of the OU DIY Club, both OU students and Athens residents, try to teach people how to make things themselves through workshops and skill shares.

So far this year the club has held workshops about alternative contraception and fertility awareness and bicycle repair. Members are preparing to host a DIY conference this spring with workshops including screen-printing, bookbinding, gardening, car repair and bike cart building.

The club has a partnership with The Wire, 21 Kern St., and uses the community resource center for meetings and events. In true DIY fashion, the club is non-hierarchical and consensus-based, said Erika Hedin, club treasurer. Every member has an equal voice in the decision-making process.

While some ideas for the workshops come from group members, others are inspired by outside resources. The club’s upcoming workshop on Tuesday at The Wire, “101 Things to do with a T-shirt,” was inspired by the book Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt by Megan Nicolay.

Hedin, an OU student and Athens resident, said her parents helped to spark her interest in DIY culture. Her father, Eric, founded the Athens Do-It-Yourself Shop, 6 Euclid Dr., five years ago. The shop offers an opportunity for people to brew their own beer and wine at a low price. Eric began making his own frozen yogurt and beer at home before opening the shop to share his skills with others.

But owning a business or having a college degree to share DIY skills is not necessary, said Jaylynne Hutchinson, an associate professor of education and faculty advisor for the DIY club. Everyone has a passion that they can share with others.

The Internet can be a great way to exchange information and DIY ideas, said Sam Garfield, proprietor of www.diyhappy.com. Garfield, a resident of Provo, Utah, became interested in DIY projects when he and his friends made their own electrocardiogram, or EKG. When he couldn’t find sources with DIY projects that appealed to everyone, he created the Web site with instructions for hundreds of DIY projects.Garfield said DIY projects can start as a fun hobby and become part of a person’s identity.

“People like making things with their hands,” he said. “(They) get satisfaction out of creating something and seeing it work.”

Besides being rewarding, a DIY lifestyle can be better for the environment, Hedin said. American culture is very disposable; when something breaks or gets old, people throw it away instead of recycling or fixing it. The OU DIY Club hopes to change this attitude by showing students alternatives.

“Athens as a community is not very wasteful, but the student population can be,” Ludwig said. “Our hope is that our organization can help smooth that out.”

Get started doing it yourself

Grow your own vegetables in a community garden

There are more than seven community gardens in the Athens County area. Check out www.acenetworks.org for more information.

Stop by the Athens Do-It-Yourself Shop

Learn how to make your own homemade brew.

Take a cooking class at The Wire

The resource center offers classes and a free kitchen space to anyone who wants to use it.

Ride a bike

It's transportation that you power.

Source: Post Research