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If you read my personal blog, you know I’m in the midst of deciding what to do with my kitchen (so I can sell my house). I have a “kitchen file” (read: a boot box overflowing with unorganized pages ripped from magazines, print outs from web sites and sample materials) that I began putting together when I first bought the house more than a decade ago. (I’ve always wanted to redo the kitchen…but there were too many others things that took precedence. If you want to see my plan from 2005 or so, click here.)
But now, instead of adding to my physical idea file, I’ve started a Pinterest page – not only for kitchen ideas, but for the pieces I’ve built for the magazine, as well as pieces I’d like to build. I go back and forth as to whether it’s a good idea to “broadcast” what you might see in the magazine (months if not years from now)…but it’s just so darn handy to “pin” ideas with a mouse click, that I can then see from any Internet-enabled device. (By the by, we also have a Popular Woodworking Pinterest page, which I think is maintained by our social media folk.)
I just wonder if, like my physical file, my Pinterest boards (the kitchen one in particular) will soon become so unwieldy that I can’t find anything on them. At the moment, they’re still small enough to be useful. But I’m an ideas packrat – online and off. (I also worry about pinning something that is undeniably ugly and having folks think I’m crazy – when really, I’ve pinned it just for a piece of hardware or a finish or as inspiration for something else entirely.)
Do you use Pinterest? If so, why (and feel free to share your boards below)? And, if you started a board some time ago, has it stood the test of time? I realize the site has been around for a while – and I know it’s a massive hit among some of the other F+W communities (knitting and sewing, in particular). I’m only sort of sold.
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I use it to save ideas, e.g., http://www.pinterest.com/alanemartin/wood/, but haven’t tried searching the site for anything.
I like Evernote for saving ideas. I can group notes, pictures, downloaded photos, journal all together and organize into groups. I can sync to all my devices and keep private or share. Free or subscription versions. I believe there is a blog diary add-on.
I absolutely use Pinterest. I love the simplicity of it – see a picture, save it to Pinterest. No “friending”, no following, no social headaches. Just pictures.
Shane
I use Pinterest for a very limited area; woodworking ideas. My daughter, who is an interior designer (hint, hint) uses it extensively for her own use but also to show clients various ideas.
btw, she is doing an extensive kitchen remodel in Hyde Park. (Another shameless plug)
If I remember correctly you live in Northside; are you planning to stay in the area? Despite all of it struggles, Nothside is one of my favorite Cincinnati neighborhoods.
I love Pinterest. I’m starting to post content, but what I really use it for are ideas. Search for anything woodworking related (the topic of this post) and you’ll get a wealth of ideas. Pinterest is a great resource for ideas.
Recent searches:
* Built-ins
* Toolcases
* Workbench Design
If it’s not searchable, it won’t work for me. Gimme Excel and digital 3M notes. They’re searchable. If something can be added with a mouse click, that’s too much of a good thing.
Pinterest is okay (somewhat non-intuitive to my brain) but I really like Houz. They send out a weekly email that has ideas from all over the spectrum. You can easily add what you like with one click to an Idea Book for later review. You can have more than one Idea Book- I have one for general stuff, one for landscaping, etc). Check it out here
http://www.houzz.com/
What the heck is Pinterest?
Agree with Dave, it can be very frustrating if looking for something specific, but I do agree with scanning it for inspiration for ideas, crafts or otherwise. I include Etsy stores in this frustration. My wife makes some beautiful quilts and embroidery pieces so I opened a store front for her. Talk about getting lost forever! I’m sure both work for some, I’ll stick with my little blog.
I’m on the fence regarding Pinterest. I like it for what it is, which is to say it’s a digital “junk drawer” but it can make it very difficult to get good tools. Some person will decorate their pallet shelf (Lord help us) with a draw knife, it winds up on Pinterest and all of a sudden it’s a pain in the fantail to get a decent draw knife off an auction site, or at a flea market, for a reasonable price. A minor gripe. Fads burn out rapidly.
Escape to Wisconsin!
Tim
Megan,
I use one of my Pinterest boards to collect and publicly share designs that I find interesting. However, using the platform as a whole (as opposed to looking at one specific user’s board) inefficient at finding inspiration or ideas.
Chris
My wife uses it to track inspiration for just about anything. I think of it as a nice, filtered way to find something; it seems to take advantage of its users’ ability to organize and group things effectively.
It sure can save a lot of time when browsing for specific categories, though I just browse through my wife’s pins.
http://www.pinterest.com/dogtoothviolet
I do use Pintrest and I love it! It’s going to become an even more useful tool as it grows. Right now it’s dominated with wedding and kitchen stuff but as it gets bigger and the user base broadens you will find more ways of using it. Prediction: It’ll be bigger than Facebook in a few years so get on board!
For me, finding anything on Pinterest is an excersize in futility. Could be me, but there’s too much to wade through. Give me a pile of old magazines, books, and Google any day. And a question on woodnet helps, too!
Dave