My name is Agnes Niewiadomski, and I’m a Maker-Faire-oholic. I was introduced to the world of Maker Faire three years ago, and have since attended nine Faires in North America (Bay Area, New York, Detroit, and Toronto’s Mini Faire). I have exhibited twice in Detroit as a maker, featuring my mascot heads, and my laser cut textile plants. I am also a member of a makerspace in Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario called kwartzlab where I run the art programs. We are actually hosting our own Mini Maker Faire next month for the first time, Maker Faire Waterloo.
Here I am at Maker Faire Detroit 2011. (Photo by James Bastow)
I’m a huge Craft follower, I love getting a daily dose of inspiration to my inbox with Craft Daily, and really wanted to contribute to the blog this year by capturing the Faire in photos. My favourite part about going to the Faire is not just the visual spectacles, but also talking to the makers about their work, their process, and giving them encouragement to keep doing what they do, because they are so awesome. Travelling to different cities to attend Maker Faire also gives me the opportunity to go site-seeing, and there is something about San Fransisco in particular that keeps calling me back. I cherish all the friendships I have made with the folks here, and look forward to visiting again next year!
Below are some of my favourite crafts from this year’s Maker Faire Bay Area. Note that there are multiple pages!
DODOcase are handmade and customizable cases for all types of portable electronics. From phones to tablets, you can carry your technology around safely and in style.
Zazzle.com had a large booth showcasing a few of their partnered artists. Included were illustrators Josh Ellingson, Ben Walker, and Nidhi Chanani who had their artwork printed on big poster paper for attendees to colour in. Also Rickshaw Bagworks were featured using Ellingson’s designs printed on their bags, one of the services that zazzle.com provides.
Art at the Zazzle booth.
Zazzle art on Rickshaw bags.
Ply90 has created an aluminum bracket that is used to quickly and easily create your own furniture. Perfect for those who move around often, it will flat pack when you’re ready to move again.
Now that it’s getting to be porch and rooftop drinking weather here on the East coast, one of these triple X beer cozies, by Ravelry user Spork, might come in handy for insulating your suds from the warming rays of the sun.
Think paper jewelry’s just for kids? Think again! Check out Mark Montano’s latest video tutorial to learn how to make your own set of fun and stylish recycled paper jewelry.
If you’re new to quilting—or new to sewing machines in general—sewing machine feet can be one big, frustrating mystery. Luckily, Sherri on Craftsy created this handy intro guide for quilting-related sewing machine feet so you can start stitching with confidence!
Need a gift idea for that yarn-loving knitter in your life? This teeny tiny knitting charm that Stephanie from A Geek In Glasses shared on Think Crafts should do the trick!
In love? Head over to Think Crafts to see the full tutorial.
Fair warning: The tutorial is in Russian, but the photos are pretty easy to follow. If you’d like to see the whole thing in English, you can always run it through Google Translate.
It being spring and all, I find myself window shopping more and more. Living with most of my belongings in boxes and on a super tight (aka zero dollar) budget, I have found that creativity is a must for adding some fling to my spring wardrobe. Thank goodness for my magic fabric bin that unveiled an armload of store bought and thrifted doilies. So, grab some scissors, a doily or two, and a glass of powdered drink mix if you like, and hop along for this nifty T-shirt revamp.
