I spent Saturday afternoon at San Francisco’s Barrel House, an atmospheric former wine storage facility turned event space. The organizers of TEDx Embarcadero had laid quite a spread for the attendees, and the atmosphere was relaxed but hushed, as befits an autumn weekend gathering. MAKE’s Maker-in-Chief, Sherry Huss, was asking how many people knew about Maker Faire. A generous show of hands went up, but ever the evangelist, Sherry launched into a show-and-tell about what we all know to be the greatest show-and-tell of them all. She shared stories of people who have been touched by Maker Faire, and have added their touch back to make it the amazing experience that it is, and ended her talk by reaching out for new makers.
That was, after all, the theme of the day: “Garage Inventors.” Kate Drane of Indiegogo spoke about her experiences with crowdfunding, both as an entrepreneur (see The Can Van) and now helping entrepreneurs. Kyle Doerkson of Faraday Bikes talked about the adventures of making a business that makes things. MAKE columnist Saul Griffith ran through his latest experiments in inflatable robotics, and their background in his youthful experimenting through play. There were of course other talks and musical performances, and above all, the feeling that making is all around us.
