In the heart of Hamilton, New Zealand, we find Paul Kennedy, a software engineer who's been crafting his workspace for the past eight years. He uses the space every day for various technical pursuits, from electronics design to vintage camera refurbishment.  

How would you best describe your space? And how do you use it?

Paul Kennedy: This is Creation Central. I use it for electronics design, refurbishing vintage cameras, modeling, fabrication, film and digital photography, and bringing life back to long forgotten items and processes.

When you designed your space, what were your requirements and goals?

Paul: It's a small space, so the only requirement was to be able to fit everything in and have everything readily accessible. Each discipline only gets a small amount of space, so I have to manage that carefully. Being an instinctively messy person does not help with this.

Tell us about your technical interests. What sort of projects do you work on in your space?

Paul: I am an electronics engineer, currently in a software (Java) role. I also have a diploma in photography. I get great satisfaction from creating things from scratch and making old things work again. My current project is to build a fully functional pinball machine, so I can introduce the dynamics and physics of motion to my grandchildren. I also have a huge interest in long forgotten photographic processes.

What sort of equipment and tools do you have in your space?

Paul: I don't have much space, so everything pretty much sits on the desk. There are two sets of drawers for the smaller stuff and the rest is in cabinets out in the garage. I really don't need a lot of equipment. The less, the better.
 
Workspace

What do you consider to be your most important or valued piece of equipment or tool? And why?

Paul: My lightbox is the most critical piece of equipment. It was made by me. I get great pleasure from using things that I made myself. It's pretty basic, but it works perfectly and that's all I ask of it.

Is there anything special or unique about your space?

Paul: Floyd (my cat) loves to watch me, so I have a special place on my desk for him to sit. Otherwise, he wanders around and knocks things over.

Tell us about your favorite electronics-related project.

Paul: I used to make plenty of small projects using PICS but now I pretty much just play with the Raspberry Pi because it is so versatile. I haven't made a lot of electronic projects until recently.



Are you currently working on an electronics project?

Paul: I'm currently building a pinball machine that will have all handmade components. I have a small machine shop in the garage to make all the mechanical parts, and the function of the game is managed by a Raspberry Pi. This is a great project because it contains so many disciplines. (software, embedded design, machining, fabrication, welding, wood working, physics, graphic design, sound etc.) There's plenty of things to keep me amused. Currently, considering whether to make or buy the solenoids. The image of my latest project is a camera that I recently refurbished. It had been dropped, so had to be completely rebuilt from the ground up. This took me several months to complete, but I'm happy to say that it is now fully functional and takes great photos.
 

Do you have a dream project or something you'd love to tackle?

Paul: Robotic autonomy has always been interesting to me. I have done several small robotics projects over the years, but they were not that successful, and technology was quite limited at the time. Technology is changing rapidly, so I may at some point revisit this.
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Do you have any advice, tips, or encouragement for other engineers or makers who are thinking of putting together a workspace?

Paul: Just try to have a place for everything and keep everything in its place.
 

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