Over the last month in Tog Hackerspace, we’ve been in full festive production mode. Between design chats, test cuts, cutting sessions, and the inevitable packing table chaos, we’ve put together around 80 Christmas decorations and cards, and got them into the post as a small thank you to friends and supporters of the space.
A big thanks to Ambrose for this year’s design. It looks great, it cuts beautifully, and it gave us the perfect excuse to properly put our new laser cutter through its paces. Huge credit as well to Jeffrey for putting in serious hours on the cutting and keeping the run moving.
First big run on the new laser cutter
This was the first proper big production run on our new VEVOR 100W CO2 Laser Engraver, and it has worked brilliantly. Clean cuts, consistent results, and a far smoother process than you might expect for a first large batch. For a community workshop tool, reliability matters, and this one has already earned its keep.
Upcycled acrylic, from old shelves to Christmas decorations
One of our favourite parts of this year’s batch is the material story. The acrylic we used is upcycled. It came from a donation of bookshelves that had lived in the space for years. They did their job, but we don’t have a use for them anymore, so instead of sending the material off to waste, we turned it into something small, useful, and festive.
We also took a hint from the internet along the way. After listening to feedback, we’ve been filling up the sheets of material with more little extras to reduce waste. Of course, it’s ducks 🦆
A proper team effort
This run was a whole team effort across the month. From early design chats, to setup and test cuts, to sorting, packing, and getting everything ready for the post, loads of people chipped in. If you helped at any point, thank you. These batches only happen because the community shows up.
Photo gallery
Link: https://www.tog.ie/gallery/nggallery/album/christmas-baubles-2025
