Tahoe native and industrial designer Adam Kingman has been crowned as the Master Maker of NBC’s third season of the hit show “Making It!”

His unique take on recycled materials and sustainability through creation earned him the crown and a $100,000 prize. The self described “Macgyver of Crafts” said that winning was an incredible feeling.

“I was so stoked,” said Kingman. “It was just very affirming … I usually don’t share my crafts, I don’t really showcase my makings. So it was just really nice to be cheered on.”

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In the finale, tasked with creating a personal happy place Shed Hack, Kingman was able to create his comfy and functional cabin in the woods, which was mostly created from items in the scrap pile used on the show. One commonality between all of Kingman’s work on the show was sustainability and his ability to bring new life into otherwise useless items.

“Adam is the guy that cares so much about function,” said co-host of the show Amy Poehler. “How something is going to be used.”

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In his favorite challenge, Kingman repurposed water skis into chairs and furniture to be used.

“We’ve all seen the snow ski chairs, but I had never seen a water ski chair. So it was fun to execute these summer variants,” said Kingman.

Even on the challenges that Kingman didn’t feel he was in his element, he saw every opportunity as one to learn.

“You have a niche, and your favorite ones fall within your niche,” said Kingman. “And then the ones that are a little more unexpected, or where you don’t quite have that ‘aha’ right away, you kind of just have to keep looking at it from a different perspective.”

Now that Kingman has earned the crown and gotten the chance to show America his amazing upcycling skills, he’s ready to take his tips and tricks to the smaller screen; YouTube.

“Every craft is just as important as the outcome itself,” said Kingman. “I just really wanted to show how much you can create with very few items. Really whatever you have around the house, whatever you can find in the woods, whatever you have in the garage. You can make really remarkable and personal things with what you already have.”

The season saw Kingman use a variety of climbing gear and other everyday household items that almost everyone may have, including rope and knickknacks that are able to be transformed into stunning focal decoration pieces.

His YouTube channel will be a place for viewers to continue to learn how to be functional and creative at the same time, even when it might not seem like the item can’t be used, or the idea might be too big.

“I think it’s just important that if you have an idea, it’s an opportunity,” said Kingman. “That’s an invitation for you to act on it and see where it goes. And you never know where it’ll go until you take that first step of sketching it out and shedding some light on it.”

While it may seem impossible to see the creations on the screen and try them out yourself, Kingman said that anything is possible once the idea has been made.

“Trust your gut,” said Kingman. “Stick to your guns. Your first idea is often your best idea. Just let it out, let your ideas fly.”

Miranda Jacobson is a staff writer with the Tahoe Daily Tribune, a sister publication of the Sierra Sun