General, Personal Projects, Professional, Texas

Taylor-Made Socials: Bringing People Together in Austin

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Introducing Taylor-Made Socials: Bringing People Together in Austin

Creating opportunities for people to connect in person has always been a passion of mine. Back in 2022-2023, I started hosting social mixer events for the Austin Social Scene Facebook Group. These monthly gatherings quickly gained traction, with anywhere from 40 to 120+ attendees, depending on the event. I organized these mixers at some of Austin’s most popular restaurants, bars, and breweries, including ABGB, Pinthouse Brewery, Still Austin Whiskey, Little Woodrow’s, Oskar Blues, and many more. These events were a great way to build friendships, make acquaintances, and foster a sense of community. (See more here: ASS & AYP Networking Event)

Austin Social Scene Event at Still Austin Whiskey
Austin Social Scene Event at Little Woodrow’s Southpark Meadows
Austin Social Scene Event at Still Austin Whiskey
Austin Social Scene and Austin Young Professionals Networking Partnership Event at Oskar Blues Brewery

After a couple of years of consistent event hosting monthly, I eventually experienced burnout and decided to take a break from organizing socials. However, as 2025 rolled in, I felt a renewed desire to bring people together. Instead of limiting myself to a singular Facebook group, I wanted to create a brand that could expand across multiple communities. Thus, Taylor-Made Socials was born—a monthly social mixer designed to help adults in Austin meet new people in a relaxed, fun, and welcoming environment.

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General, Personal Projects

Space Colony Glamping Business

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After my years in conservation and sustainability, my dream of sharing these passions with others has developed into a more tangible concept. An immersive, edutainment space colony glamping experience! This is a culmination of my passions, my educational experiences, what I’ve seen on my travels, and what I’ve noticed trending in the market.

I wish I could say this concept it unique, however, given our advances in technology and number of people on the planet – others have had similar ideas. Great minds think alike, right?

One such example is “a Turkish town is preparing to set up a touristic “Mars Colony” that will allow earthlings to walk the surface of the Red Planet here on earth…which will also house a scientific theme park and 30 boutique hotels [and] “astronaut food menus” at the Mars Colony [which are] expected to breathe fresh life into gastronomy tourism as well.” – Daily Sabah

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

Benjamin Franklin

Adding onto the concept of an immersive experience is the edutainment (education + entertainment) factor. The edutainment is very important to me so guests can learn aspects of conservation and sustainability while having an enjoyable and entertaining on-site experience!

You can see existing edutainment space experiences at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center® and at the Astronaut Training Experience® at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. There will be several experiential routes at the glamping space colony, which include different skill sets or professions needed for a space colony. Some examples include living-lab scientist, agricultural specialist, space engineer, interstellar soldier, or pioneering colonist.

“Self-professed teenage ‘space nerds’ at Space Camp chase their dreams of traveling to Mars, while experts reflect on NASA’s history and future at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.“
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General, Personal Projects, Professional, Texas

Taylor’s Vermiculture Background

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My vermiculture adventure started in November 2018 a couple months after I returned to Texas from my eco-road trip . Having spent the previous seven months up at an intentional community in Oregon, I wanted to continue my greener living with something easy I could do.

I saw a DIY worm bin class advertised online with the Texas Worm Ranch, and figured it might be interesting. Little did I know how big these little guys would become in my life after I got my first worm bin going!

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General, Personal Projects, Texas

Taylor’s Personal Projects List

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This is a collection of my personal projects, most of which are gardening-related. I also have a few projects related to vermiculture, a hobby I picked up years ago trying to improve my waste practices. Check out each project blog post to see more details and follow my creation process.

Project: The [RE]verse Pitch Competition

I decided to participate in the [RE]verse Pitch Competition through the city of Austin. It’s an entrepreneurial competition like Shark Tank, only the difference is that materials are pitched in reverse to the entrepreneurs. I created vermicomposting bags made from Austin Eastcider’s excess sugar Supersacks. 

Learn more about my experience.

Project: Worm Sifter

I built a worm casting sifter, or a panning trommel, to help better separate my worms from my castings. I found a worm casting sifter DIY video online and recreated it. Overall, I would recommend a different style and have it mechanically powered instead of manual.

Check out my worm casting sifter process.

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General, Personal Projects, Texas

Personal Project: Worm Sifter

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I took on another personal project which was to build a worm casting sifter, or a panning trommel, to better separate my worms and my castings. I found this worm casting sifter DIY video from Planted by Chris, which I followed to build my very own sifter. After I completed my sifter, I would recommend probably a different style with an electric motor. This works better than by hand, but still requires lots of work and sifting for small juveniles/eggs.

I started off by buying the video’s purchase list requirements to make the sifter. This included mesh wiring, PVC pipes and joints, bots and washers, and extra buckets. I cut the pipes using PVC snips and dry-fit the rotation frame together. This was partially done during the snowmagedon. I had to wait post-storm to get certain parts because hardware stores were sold out of PVC for plumbing issues.

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