Despite the desperately fixed-grinned hand-waving from Downing Street and Washington, signs of economic improvement seem pretty scarce on the ground.

But commercial fabbing company Ponoko seems to be doing fine – so fine, in fact, that they’re trying to draft volunteers to help them keep up with explosive demand at their new San Francisco outlet. [image by tom.arthur]

In response, Fabbaloo asks whether “we hear the sound of the 21st century industry emerging” – and while it’s too early to be sure, I think they may be right.