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On Saturday, the Hardware Unconference took place at the offices of O’Reilly AlphTech (OATV) in SF The organizers of the unconference were Rachel Kalmar who runs the Facebook group, Sensored; Nick Pinkston who has put together Hardware Startup Meetups in SF, and Renee DiResta who works for OATV and has been following the hardware development community in SF and elsewhere. It’s interesting to me to see such enthusiasm and interest among makers in learning from each other and sharing their challenges and their aspirations. -
At the #HWUncon ! http://pic.twitter.com/bWr3gKsH Sat, May 12 2012 12:40:25 -
. @fitbit kicks off the first Hardware Unconference at the @OATV offices! Excited by the awesome turnout, looking fwd to sessions #HWUncon Sat, May 12 2012 13:13:31 -
#Hwuncon we are ready to begin http://pic.twitter.com/8IiRpmkf Sat, May 12 2012 13:11:59 -
Great discussion on maker culture on this sat morning #HWUncon Sat, May 12 2012 14:30:01 -
At the #hwuncon great session on distribution and retail sales channels Sat, May 12 2012 14:31:08 -
 .@merrill of @sifteo speaking at hardware unconference about distribution and channel strategy http://pic.twitter.com/K1NYyMRj Sat, May 12 2012 14:26:36 -
A session on raising capital ended up focusing mostly on the role of Kickstarter. Eric Klein of Klein Venture Partners said that VC’s now consider that when you are going up on Kickstarter, it’s a product launch and they’re watching the numbers. So, take it very seriously, he said. Don’t just throw something up. It’s says a lot about your ideas, your product and your team. It’s becoming more than a dress rehearsal – it’s the show. -
What makes a Maker? Positive naïveté and a desire to understand the physical world. #HWUncon Sat, May 12 2012 15:32:22 -
A group led by Jeremy of Blossom Coffee shared a list in answer to the question, What Makes Us Makers? I wrote them down with some interpretation (2 and 6 may be the same idea but there are some different nuances.) 1. Interest in interdisciplinary projects 2. Naive pursuit of solving big problems. Naive meant as a positive. 3. Ability or desire to visualize and understand physical world. 4. A mindset of playfulness. 5. Share in open source communities. 6. Sense that world can be improved, problems can be solved, and things can be changed. -
Hearing the hardware war stories at #hwuncon – great experiences freely shared #goodstuff Sat, May 12 2012 17:14:22 -
Would you use an open-source pacemaker? #HWUncon Sat, May 12 2012 16:39:05 -
.@jeanrintoul rocking the #DIYbio session at the #HWUncon http://pic.twitter.com/cjxH6irE Sat, May 12 2012 17:14:44 -
Who is doing work on fertility sensors? It’s a huge market and involves so many quantifiable markers, but I never hear ab it. #HWUncon Sat, May 12 2012 17:38:53 -
I enjoyed talking to Shannon Kennedy, a product designer. She and I talked about the need for a researcher to study a group of Kickstarter hardware projects Eric Klein of Klein Venture Partners said that there are some VCs interested in hardware because there are investors who are makers themselves and they want to follow this area. That was a “Wow” for me. I met Cameron and Greg from LockItron whose product is a door lock that can be set and opened via iPhone. Jeremy Conrad of Lemnos Labs and Ben Einstein of Bolt were both there, and they will be on the closing panel about hardware accelerators/incubators at Make’s Hardware Innovation Workshop this week. I also met Aymerik Renard of PCH International, who has set up a new accelerator in SF. -
Is 3D printing & digital fabrication the third Industrial Revolution? http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/may/13/3d-printing-digital-manufacturing-industry #HWUncon Sun, May 13 2012 05:10:21 -
One of my favorite sessions was so because I knew so little about about the subject. The session was led by by Brent Polishak, a materials chemist and engineer. I wanted to learn more about “dielectric polymers.” -
Nick Pinkston led a discussion on how makers find the manufacturing resources they need, especially for small-to medium-scale manufacturing. Many times, it requires a personal introduction to a job shop. Others commented that they do protect their sources as a kind of trade secret but also to prevent them from being inundated by people who don’t know what they’re doing. Nonetheless, the discussion centered around ways that technology or information might improve the discovery of resources and perhaps provide more automated interfaces. Dan M. of the Ninja Standing Desk talked about contacting 9 businesses that do sewing in the Bay Area but had trouble getting them to respond. He finally just walked in the door of one of them and he said even then he had to sit down at a machine and show them what he needed done. The owner said if you know how to sew it, why don’t you do it yourself? He told them that needs hundreds done and can’t do them all himself. Justin Smith said he’s looking for a shop that can do larger runs on a laser cutter. He’s a TechShop member but can only do so much there.Mike Wirth, whose area is assistive technology, mentioned design2part, which is a trade show for job shops. d2p.com.Jon Thomas is with Pocobor, an industrial design shop. Jon said he used to work at the Stanford Product Realization Lab and said it was such fun helping students build a product they had designed. “It was magic” for students to realize an idea. Jon seemed to know where to get things made in the Bay Area. Ben Einstein knew a lot about the choices and processes available to makers. Hearing him answer questions demonstrated that there’s a big role for mentoring makers. -
#hwuncon Are makers taking over the world? Is world bigger than SF? Good answers. Sat, May 12 2012 15:32:48 -
RT @grapealope: Thanks all (esp. @nickpinkston @noupside @davidtlang) for an awesome #HWUncon today! Such a great hardware/maker/sensor community here. Sat, May 12 2012 23:28:11 -
There were a lot of people I didn’t get to talk to. What an excellent opportunity for everyone to share what they’re doing and connect with others who are doing similar things.          
Yesterday was 5/12. It’s a date that corresponds with Austin’s 512 area code, I am told, only by auspicious accident. Dozens of makers and hundreds of attendees gathered at the old Pine Street Station and celebrated the first ever Austin Mini Maker Faire. Thanks to organizers Kami Wilt and the Austin Tinkering School, and to all the sponsors, makers, and volunteers for showing Austin a great time.  For a journalist, evoking the experience of even a “mini” Maker Faire is daunting. Every exhibit seems cooler than the last, and every time you turn around, there’s someone else that really ought to be photographed, filmed, recorded, or interviewed. Instead of a single “impressions” post, I’m going with a short series covering some of my personal favorite projects, more or less in the order that I encountered them at the Faire.
Diving right in, first, with artist Carrin Welch’s Four Rocking Horses of The Apocalypse, of which one (Pestilence) is still incomplete. Shown here are War, Famine, and Death. They were built from timber and laminated CNC-machined plywood sections, then hand-finished and painted. Carrin’s website, linked below, has more information about the project, and her Flickr stream has some cool work-in-progress shots. the four rocking horses – whatnot grove Famina photo: Ryan Hayes          
Vancouver Makers have been preparing, in epic proportions, for this year’s Mini Maker Faire, happening June 23-24. Mike Zeitz (left) approached me early in the year with an idea for helping promote our fair. He really wanted to learn how to fabricate bicycles, and wanted to use the skills that he would gain to help promote the event. 
Mike has been collecting old bike parts otherwise destined for the landfill, and has been pulling people together to create a set of tall bikes with Maker Faire branding on them. He learned how to weld for this project at local makerspace, Vancouver Community Lab, and has since created some eight bikes, with the help of Ryan Paton (right). And he isn’t stopping anytime soon.  Every time I talk to Mike, he has new ideas: Last time, he wanted to install a Christmas tree in the middle of one of the bikes, and build a tall bike around it. He’s also been working with others to help decorate them, with a zip tie bike due to be completed in the next couple of weeks, a yarn-bombed bike, two red bicycles with doodles on them … the list goes on. 
Mike has an elaborate map of all of the bicycle racks in the city, and has been locking the bikes up every other day or so and moving them around to gain traction. He’s locked them up in front of events, at trade shows, and in high-profile areas. 
To learn more about the Art Bike project, check out this interview with Mike on our website. This project is no where near completed. He has plans to build a recumbent bicycle (or two), bike trailers, and take an epic bike trip. To hear more about the Art Bike Project, Like it on Facebook, and follow Mike on Twitter @artbikeproject.          More Recent Articles | |
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