Craftzine.com blog: Maker Faire Archives

Archive: Maker Faire

February 3, 2010

Apply Now: Bazaar Bizarre for Maker Faire Bay Area

Bazaar Bizarre at Maker Faire is now accepting vendor applications! If you'd like to sell your handcrafted wares at the Faire, head over and apply!

January 26, 2010

Detroit Maker Faire Updates, Gwen Frostic Developments

Here's a wee roundup of some crafty news I've been paying attention to (and so should you!) from the Mitten.

From Motor City to Maker City
In case you haven't heard yet, Michigan is hosting its very first Maker Faire this summer (July 31- Aug. 1, to be exact) in Dearborn at the Henry Ford. As plans progress here in Michigan, I'll be reporting back on the latest and greatest with the event. (To say the crew around here is excited is an understatement.) We had an introduction meeting late last year, but this past Sunday was our very first committee meeting and I was there, representing the crafty contingent.

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January 21, 2010

Maker Faire 2010: Call for Makers!

It's here! We're 17 weeks away from Maker Faire Bay Area 2010! Our Call for Makers is now open; we want to see your projects at the Faire! If you've come to Maker Faire before as an attendee, consider getting more involved! Show off your projects to tens of thousands of hungry makers! It's all of our favorite time of the year, and we're so thrilled to be ramping up for it again this year. So head on over and submit your entry for participating in Maker Faire. The deadline for submissions is March 31st, and space is limited.

Organized by the staff of Make magazine, Make: Online and CRAFT, Maker Faire is a newfangled fair that brings together science, art, craft and engineering plus music in a fun, energized, and exciting public forum. The aim is to inspire people of all ages to roll up their sleeves and become makers. This family-friendly event showcases the amazing work of all kinds of makers - anyone who is embracing DIY and wants to share their accomplishments with an appreciative audience.

We encourage you to join the fun and enter a project to exhibit.

Get more info and enter at the Maker Faire site. They also announced the dates for this summer's Maker Faire Detroit (July 31 and August 1) and this fall's Maker Faire New York (September 25 and 26), so exciting! If you're not convinced, we have plenty to share from past Maker Faires in our Maker Faire archives on Make: Online and CRAFT, where we share the videos photos, and more from onsite and around the web.

January 11, 2010

Stand Up and Tell 'em You're from Detroit

My name is Lish and I love Detroit, Michigan. I'm proud of it, but it wasn't so long ago that a statement like that got me a lot of questions along the lines of, "Ugh, why?"

I'm a lifelong Michigander. I grew up here, I went to college here, and I've chosen to make my career, but crafty and non-crafty, here. A few years ago I wasn't so sure if Michigan was going to keep me around. (And this was before recessions, before corporate bankruptcies, before holding the nation's highest unemployment rate.) What kept me here? Crafting and the innovative spirit that rings true in Detroit.

I don't know about you, but it definitely seems like the nation's eyes are on my favorite city these days. Some for good reasons (Did you see "Youth in Revolt" this weekend? That's Michigan!), some for not-so-good reasons (Thanks, underwear bomber). Living in the heart of the world's automotive hub, the attention wasn't so hot in 2009. But somewhere around the holidays and new year I noticed more positive blog posts and TV reports about the little guy trying to make a difference in Detroit.

The TIME Detroit blog is focusing on all aspects of Detroit
Just this past weekend The New York Times wrote about small-business owners making a difference in our tough economy

Slowly but surely, it's starting to feel like the rest of the country is realizing, or at least listening to, what us Michigan folks have known for years: Detroit won't be defeated, creative community included.

Crafting definitely kept me here five years ago when I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I met a group of people looking to give crafters and artists a voice in Detroit and across our state. A few meetings lead to an idea, and that idea lead to bigger ideas. Slowly but surely a craft group formed (Handmade Detroit) and a series of regular craft fairs, along with renewed crafty mindsets, were born.

I think it's safe to say crafters think Detroit and Michigan are pretty crafty. But to those unfamiliar with with our shared passions, people usually assume that craft fairs and successful crafters are reserved only for the east and west coasts. I'm here to say, "Not so fast!" Whether it's picking up crafty supplies or wanting to support local businesses, Detroit is on track to be a bigger and better crafty city.

As a new blogger here at CRAFT, I'll report in on all-things DIY, but I'll give you a firsthand look at what's going on here in the Motor City. We've got Maker Faire Detroit on the calendar for this summer in Dearborn (wahoo!) and I couldn't be more excited. Michigan houses some of the most innovative minds around, so I can't wait to see what the Maker weekend brings to the Mitten.

Remember, Detroit, and especially its crafters, won't be defeated.

...But if you ask any of us here, we already knew that.

December 8, 2009

Maker Faire Detroit 2010

Dale (publisher of MAKE and CRAFT) has an exciting announcement about Maker Faire Detroit 2010!

Last summer, after our Maker Faire in the Bay Area, I had a couple of speaking engagements in the Detroit area. One was at a Go Tech meeting in Ann Arbor, at the A2 MechShop. I had many people asking about a Maker Faire in Detroit and insisting that it would mean a lot to a region that was going through hard times. On the same trip, I met with curators at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn and they too were interested in seeing a Maker Faire happen. Walking through the museum, I saw not just the creations of American makers, but the workshops of people like Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers, not to mention Henry Ford. I couldn't help but think what inspiration today's makers would find in the 100-year old legacy of the Model T, along with so many other important examples of how technology has changed our lives.

I'm happy to announce today that we have partnered with The Henry Ford Museum to create a Maker Faire in 2010 in the Detroit area. The dates will be July 31-August 1, 2010.

I look at it as a wonderful opportunity to showcase the technical and creative talent of the region, which was once the most productive city in America. Detroit needs to retool and rethink its opportunities, and quite frankly, I find this an exciting opportunity to be part of. If the manufacturing skills and design prowess of Detroit can be married to the tools for communication and expression that the Internet provides, something big will come of it. Already today, you can see the seeds growing. There's the emergence of hackerspaces like I3 Detroit and All Hands Active, co-working spaces like A2 MechShop and the Tech Brewery, and a thriving craft scene around Handmade Detroit. Add to that initiatives such as the tech incubator known as TechTown at Wayne State University and the excellent higher education system in Michigan.

We have come up with a tagline for Maker Faire Detroit -- From Motor City to Maker City. (Thanks, Diana). We hope as part of this process of organizing Maker Faire to create a Maker City that is a year-round guide to the amazing resources and talents to be found in this region. In short, stay tuned for more.

To keep track of developments for Maker Faire Detroit, check out makerfaire.com. You can send mail to detroit@makerfaire.com to be added to our mailing list and to receive notices about our Call for Makers and other event details. Please let me know if you have suggestions and ideas for Maker Faire Detroit (dale at oreilly dot com). We'll need lots of help and support but I'm sure that makers across the Midwest will participate and we'll be able to create an amazing event.

Whether you live in Detroit or not, Detroit's problems are our problems and Detroit's opportunities are ours as well.

September 22, 2009

Maker Faire on the Travel Channel Tomorrow!

Set your DVRs for this awesome segment on the Travel Channel, filmed at Maker Faire Bay Area 2009.

Extreme Conventions, Travel Channel, "This ain't no Dental Convention!"

Wednesday, September 23rd at 8PM Eastern time (check local listings for your area)

September 17, 2009

Today! Maker Faire on CBS's "Eye on the Bay"

If you're in the SF Bay area, don't miss the segment on Maker Faire tonight at 7 p.m. on CBS 5's Eye on the Bay!

August 15, 2009

Crafty Chica, Fellow Makers Profiled in airTran Magazine

During Maker Faire Bay Area back in May, we had the pleasure of having the Craftzine area situated right across from the ILoveToCreate booth, where Crafty Chica, Kathy Cano-Murillo spent the weekend demoing glitter-filled crafts. It wasn't unusual to visit her booth and come back trailing glitter on our shoes or clothes, but we were still blown away when Kathy came over to visit and was - quite literally - covered in glitter. She explained that she had just been photographed for an article in go magazine from airTran, and that the photographer had decided to dump an entire bottle of Crafty Chica Bollywood Blue glitter over her head for the picture. I can't think of a more perfect setting for her! The article is now available on the magazine's web site, and also profiles several other Makers at the Bay Area Maker Faire. I only wish there was a larger version of Kathy's picture, so the glitter could be in full effect!

July 17, 2009

Vote for Swap-O-Rama-Rama in the Grant for Change

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Maker Fair's own Swap-O-Rama-Rama has been nominated for a grant in the Grant for Change program. Your vote for it is needed! The founder of Swap-O-Rama-Rama, Wendy Tremayne is also a writer for Craft and Make. Please cast a vote today!The way you vote is to log in, and rate it by clicking the stars at the bottom right. Five stars is the highest rating.

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As you may well know Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a creative commons, non-profit that offers cities around the world assistance in producing Swap-O-Rama-Rama events in which communities are engaged in artist lead workshops, silk screening and sewing as they repurpose used clothing into new goods. The essence of the event is the transformation of consumers into creators through experiential play. The event, now in over 60 cities world wide, has recycled hundreds of thousands of pounds of clothing.

July 6, 2009

Maker Faire: Crafting with Sylvia

Makerfaire Sylvia
On the Sunday morning of Maker Faire, I was armed with paper and glue sticks to start my paper bead jewelry crafts with the kids. One of them was this adorable girl named Sylvia who wanted to make a paper bead necklace. Sylvia worked on her necklace while her mom helped her cut strips. She quietly planned her design while coloring and glueing her strips of paper. In the end, she wasn't satisfied with just paper beads around an elastic band. She started to cut out a small piece of paper and gathered scraps that were on the table. It turns out that the final touch to her design piece was a triangle pendant embellished with pieces of glittery elastic which she attached to the necklace with piece of ribbon. I loved how she whipped up her own touch to the project in a matter of minutes. Her mom took a picture of us to capture her finished necklace and then she adorably asked for my autograph.

Sylvia recently did a blog post (with special help from her dad) recapping our morning at Maker Faire. It turns out today is Sylvia's 8th birthday so I wanted to wish this little crafter a Happy Birthday! I can't wait to see you again at the next Maker Faire!

You can see more photos of us crafting in my flickr set. She also got meet with our fellow MAKE peeps, Kip Kay and John Park.

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June 26, 2009

Mini Maker Faires at Copperfield's Starting This Weekend

Starting this weekend, Copperfield's books in CA is hosting a series of mini Maker Faires, we hope you can join us for a fun afternoon this summer! Download this PDF for more information.

Mini Maker Faires at Copperfield's:

6/26 - Sebastopol (11am - 1pm)

7/11 - Petaluma (11am - 1pm)

7/18 - Montgomery Village (11am - 1pm)

7/25 - Healdsburg (11am - 1pm)

8/1 - Petaluma (11am - 1pm)

8/8 - Montgomery Village (11am - 1pm)

June 20, 2009

CraftyPod at Maker Faire: Why Do You Make Things?

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Diane of CraftyPod launches her first of several podcasts she recorded at Maker Faire. This CraftyPod episode asks "Why Do You Make Things?" to a bunch of crafters such as Crafty Chica, Nicole Vasbinder, and Kristin Roach.

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