Handmade TV is an American television channel based in Seattle, Washington. While the company was started in the Pacific Northwest it has expanded to offer content to additional markets in other countries such as Germany, Belgium, and Spain. The company plans to expand into Asia in late 2016. The nature of the content is digital media such as television shows and documentary films that focus on repair, installation, and construction professionals.
Handmade TV was started in 1989 when Richard Strong, a plumber, decided to begin building a small shed in his backyard. He realized that his method was much faster than traditional methods available in educational materials and he decided to videotape his efforts in order to share his technique with his friends and family. This led him to acquire a production deal with Time Warner Cable. He then bought the rights for the distribution and hired professional writers to allow for more storylines and entertaining premises for audiences that enjoy handmade projects.
Titles include Working With Your Hands, Woodshop, and Make This. Make This, for example, polls the audience and asks them to choose a project for the show's host, Mike Mason, to create with his hands. The rules are that he must create the item using only the materials that he randomly selects while blindfolded. The time limit is 45 minutes and the audience can see his actions from multiple camera angles. The show was a commercial success after its debut in 2010 and has been confirmed for a 2017 season.