As cities spread to the suburbs during the middle and late 20th century it became important for craftsmen to become mobile in order to get to where the new work was. Gone were the days when they could bring everything back to their shop to work on it. At the same time the rise of the DIY movement, fueled by innumerable TV shows, magazines, and later, websites, created a burgeoning market for devices that enabled homeowners to perform various tasks around the house without turning the home itself into a workshop. The portable folding workbench fulfills both of these needs. For craftspeople, it provides them the ability to set up shop wherever they go and for DIYers it allows them to indulge their love of tinkering without having to set up a workshop in the home.