Ahhhh ... Maker Faire. My Happy Place

Here's (most of) the CRAFT team at the Maker Happy Hour on the Friday night before Maker Faire opened. Such a happy place and time. Cool air, cold beer, giant rockets and some of the most amazingly creative and innovative people in one place? Yes. Please.

Since summer is so nutty, I find myself blissing out in my mind and going to my Happy Place: Maker Faire. I just realized that I never reported back after the big event - mostly 'cause from Maker Faire it was a quick downhill slope to summer.

As usual, Maker Faire was amazing. More than amazing, really. I walk around Maker Faire and have that "Where have you people been all my life!?" feeling. I want to look at Maker Faire in the face and say, "YOU COMPLETE ME."

Not really. That's the heat talking. I think I need to have one of Jote's Blackberry Smashes ... STAT.

Anyway - here are some of my favorite pictures from Maker Faire. Enjoy! I'll look at them, wishing I was back in the 60-degree temps of the Bay Area with all my rad CRAFT pals, surrounded by (as the most awesome Lish says) Robots and Glitter. (most of these pictures were taken by the lovely Natalie Zee Drieu and are linked to her Flickr accordingly.)

Look, Ma! It's me with Han Solo in Carbonite! Natalie took me to meet the seriously awesome Bonnie Burton over at Lucasfilm, and it. was. awesome. I was just sad my son couldn't be there, though I think his little brain might have exploded at the awesomeness.

Here's me and Nat with the Burda Style gang! Love these folks! They put together a fantastic booth, were crazy kinds of organized and were all around awesome, stylish, nice and fun. And how rad is Alden's shirt?

This is me with artist and designer, Laura Cesari. I wrote a profile on Laura over on CRAFT, and fell in love with her solar system necklaces. I not-so-gently hinted that I wanted one for Mother's Day, and thankfully my husband took the bait. I have to say, the necklace was ten times more gorgeous in person. It's weighty and tactile - I love it! Laura did a demo on making a solar system necklace in the CRAFT booth and it was awesome to see how she works. She was so nice, and it was great fun to meet the person who made one of my very favorite pieces of jewelry.

Here's Bonnie Burton - Star Wars Craft Woman Extraordinaire! Bonnie does all the crafts for StarWars.com, has a few Star Wars books under her belt already and has a Star Wars Crafts book coming out this fall that I can't wait to get my paws on. She and Terri Hodges made Star Wars Sack puppets with kids in the CRAFT booth on Saturday, and the kids had such a blast, I decided we're making them at my son's birthday party this weekend.

Here's me and Lish, swapping glasses. Lish's Ray Bans are her Trademark, so I'm pretty sure I freaked her out by suggesting we swap, and I seriously can not rock the Ray Bans like she does .. but it was fun! I love Lish and wish we could hang out, craft and eat cupcakes every day.

Hey look! It's Becky and Collin! Two of my favorite people on the planet! Becky and Collin were roving video reporters all weekend long, and have produced some fantastic videos that help you feel like you were at the Faire. I particularly enjoyed their Raygun Gothic Rocketship video. Nice work, guys! (Also be sure to check out Collin's nutty sci-fi videos that instantly endeared me to him and his rad wife)


One of my very favorite things about Maker Faire is getting to meet so many of my "Internet/Blog" friends in person. I was thrilled to meet Cathe Holden of Just Something I Made. She had her whole family with her, and they were awesome. Cathe was about a million times nicer and more wonderful than I could have imagined. (which reminds me that the only downside to Maker Faire is leaving and wishing I could hang out with these people all the time!)

Me 'n Moxie! Y'all. This woman is really a gem of a human being. The first time I met her in person (at last year's Maker Faire) I came around a corner and almost bumped in to her. When I realized who I was looking at, I balled up my fists, squeezed my eyes shut and squealed like a 4-year-old. This is the effect she has on me. She's one of the most patient teachers I've ever seen, and gives like nobody's business. I. Adore. Her.

Ahhhh yes, conjuring up memories of Maker Faire always makes things better.

Two Weeks 'Til Maker Faire!!!!

I can't believe that two weeks from Thursday I'll be heading out to San Francisco for Maker Faire Bay Area! How is it already here? I am crazy kinds of excited, though. I'll be hanging at the CRAFT area and will be doing an Embroidery 101 demo at the CRAFT demo booth. I'll also be helping out with the kid craft area one morning - which should be crazy and fun.

I can't wait to see all the cool crafty offerings at the Faire. During Maker Faire Austin back in October, I met so many cool people and learned so many cool things. I learned about lace making, felting and pysanky. I watched guys hand carve giant wood blocks and then print with them. I watch as folks felted in plastic zip bags while they walked around the faire. And I caught several of the CRAFT demos from all kinds of interesting people, which was a blast.

The thing I'm most looking forward too, though, is seeing people I love - some of whom I haven't even met in person yet! I love my job more than you can imagine, and working virtually means I have incredible flexibility that is hugely appreciated. The downside, though, is that I rarely get to see the people with whom I work in person! We are spread - literally - across the country. We email constantly, instant message, share pics of our families and talk on the phone once a week. But none of that compares to getting to hang out in person.

At Maker Faire Austin, I got to hang out with Becky and Tina and Arwen (and more!) a bit, which was a total blast. At the time, I was still very new to the team and was suffering from a bad case of "I'm not worthy!" I was insanely shy. Fortunately, some of that shyness has rubbed off as our friendships have grown - albeit online - over the last six months. And now, I absolutely cannot wait to get to hang out with the rest of the gang in person and just soak up every minute of it. Since Natalie was days from delivering her first baby back in October, she wasn't able to come out to Maker Faire Austin. It's hard to believe I've never met her in person - it feels like I've known her for ages. Finally! We get to meet!

This online community is fascinating and fun, and one million times better when we can all get together in person. Can. Not. Wait.

If you are anywhere near San Mateo, you simply must come to Maker Faire. Heck, even if you aren't - it's a great vacation option. I haven't checked flights recently, but I landed super cheap airfare a while back. It's worth exploring.

Any of you coming to Maker Faire? You can keep up with our countdown to Maker Faire over on Craftzine, and I'll be blogging from the Faire there and some here (depending on how much time I have :) Come out and join all the fun!

Knitting machines from the past, toys for today

While I was at Maker Faire, I was able to watch a fantastic antique circular sock knitting machine in action. I'm not a knitter (being insanely hot-natured, I have an aversion to yarn, sadly) but this thing sparked my fancy. First off, it was a beautiful piece of machinery - big and sturdy, but with tons of tiny working parts that were so fun to watch in action. Next, it was just really cool to see the knitting process happen so quickly, right before our eyes. I was intrigued!

I haven't had much time to think about those knitting machines since Maker Faire, but when I popped into a Tuesday Morning shop to kill sometime while I waited for my take out dinner to be prepared, I was stunned to find a kid version of the machines right in the front window!

I snapped a couple of pictures with my iPhone, and didn't have time to really take down any info, but sure enough, it appears to be the same concept but in plastic and for kids. Very interesting ....

I still, of course, prefer the antique version of the machines, but I just thought it was funny that something I didn't even know existed 12 days ago has now popped into my surroundings twice!

I didn't pick up the knitting machine for my daughter, but I was tempted to. I'm a little weary of big plastic toys like that - we've been burned by looks-cool-but-is-really-junk toys before, so I'm trying to show restraint in what I 'grab' for her for Christmas. Regardless, it was just an interesting find so soon after I'd first learned about these machines.

A Few Goodies from Maker Faire

I'm actually making some stuff this week (gasp! I know!) but I've been meaning to share some fun stuff that I brought home from Maker Faire, so until the other projects are complete, these pics will have to do.

Laser Cut Wooden Blocks from Xylocopa
This Bazaar Bizarre booth was a favorite of a lot of folks. The amazingly intricate, beautiful designs on jewelry and wooden blocks were hard to resist. I coveted the octopus necklace, angler fish earrings, and wanted to bring the entire alphabet of blocks home. Budget constraints, though (ya know... the whole spinal cord surgery for the dog thing) limited me to just bringing one block home. Here are pictures of all the sides, though.





Teeny cute stamps from Craft Chi
I saw these stamps on Amy's web site and really liked them. They're just darn cute and the packaging was ingenious. I still haven't gotten them inky yet, but can't wait to.

A few fun Flickr sets to browse

I'm still recovering from Maker Faire. This morning, I literally fell asleep in my chair while I was writing. Once I got my post ready, I scurried upstairs and took a long nap. (my body says 'thanks!')

So while I can't write much right now, I do have two fun Flickr sets for you to browse.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

First up is my Flickr set from Maker Faire. I haven't been able to go through and add titles/descriptions yet, but they are at least all together and uploaded! I think some of my favorites are the ones of my son's face while he was watching the giant ping-pong-flinging robot. It was hilarious. I'll be posting highlights all week over at Craftzine, so be sure to check those out.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Next up is a slide show from my good pals, Sarah and Josh, of Sewer-Sewist and The Obama Craft Project. They were so inspired by the Obama Screen Party that the Studio 1408 gals threw last month, that they replicated the event up in dearl ole Portland. Sarah just sent a link to the pictures, and it makes me miss Portland and my Portland friends even more. Sigh! Enjoy, and I'll be back tomorrow with some book reviews and giveaways so stay tuned!

Having fun at Maker Faire

Maker Faire has been loads of crazy fun. Exhausting, but loads of crazy fun.

First off, a quick "pupdate" (as Leslie would say!) Thanks for all the sweet words and emails about our sweet pup, Emilie. I'm happy to report that she is back home from the hospital! I called my husband from the Faire yesterday, and he surprised me when he said she was home! (I didin't think she would be home until Monday) I was so happy to get to see her last night and love on her. She's still in a ton of pain and can't move her back legs. Seeing her drag her little body around the house is heartbreaking, but then she'll start wagging her tail or give me a big smooch on the chin and I know she's on her way to recovery. Whew.


Now back to the Faire. Man, it is Fu-hun. There are so many amazing people here doing so many amazing things. The Craft Makers are just downright freaking awesome. They are super friendly and have all kinds of cool projects for people to do and learn. I just handed out my "editor's picks" for my favorite Craft Makers (the Craftzine bloggers get to pick our faves and hand out blue ribbons and the whole shebang.) Here were my picks:


Future Craft Collective - what can I say, these ladies just kick all kinds of ass. Kathie and Bernadette have been rocking the sewing machines out in the Swap-O-Rama-Rama tent, making hats for all the cool kids. They are absolute rock stars!


The Amazing Hancock Brothers - these guys have loads of amazing hand-carved wood blocks and a huge printer. If you bring a shirt or anything else, you can pick an image and they'll print it for you! Their stuff is A-Ma-ZING! Plus, they are really funny guys.

Craftcast - Kristy is demoing her gorgeous pysanky techniques. You can create one of these Ukranian decorated/dyed eggs at her booth this afternoon.

The gals from the Austin Fiber Arts are doing a felting project at their booth. You can get wool roving, set it up in a design and then put it in a big Ziploc bag with soap and water and walk around felting while you explore!


Finally, I picked the women of the Austin Lace Guild. I've never seen someone making lace before, and these ladies are doing some gorgeous work. It's breathtaking. Not to mention, the tools and technique for making the lace are beautiful, too! They were also really sweet ladies - one said that the lace trim she was making was set to go on a paire of pantaloons she'd sewn. She was SAUCY! I love it.

If you're in Austin, you still have time to catch all this good stuff - the Faire is going on through 6PM. If you're not here, sorry. Come next year. Totally worth it. :)

Finally time for Maker Faire!

Whew! This got here a lot faster than I thought it would. I can't believe it's been almost three months since I started blogging about Maker Faire for Craftzine.com. I've had crazy fun learning more about MF and getting ready for the event. I can't wait for this weekend.


And yet, I almost wish I could hit the pause button and wait a few days to get started. It's been a crazy week around here and, quite frankly, I'm flat out exhausted. I've had a killer cold this week that has all but completely knocked me out. Then yesterday, our sweet one-eyed-blind Pekingese, Emilie, had to have emergency spine surgery. We woke up to her not being able to move her back legs (uh ... SCARY!) and had to rush her to the vet. After xrays and a cat scan, they determined she needed surgery immediately to relieve pressure on her spinal cord from a bulging disc in her back.

Yikes.


We adopted Em back in May from the Houston Pekingese Rescue Group, and have become completely smitten with her. She's the sweetest little pup you could ever hope to know. The poor thing has had a rough go of it in her short life, and we are hoping that she pulls through this latest agony ok. Please keep her in your thoughts. I'm sitting here waiting for a follow up call from the surgeon, and she'll likely be in the hospital through the weekend.

On top of all that, the house is a wreck and I'm still sick (hellooooo ... no voice ... doing a demo in 28 hours ...) so I'm floundering a little bit here.

Fortunately, I got a great email from The Crafty Chica herslef yesterday. You know, the awesome Kathy Cano-Murrillo. She's my hero. I love her bubbly personality, the way you can not just hear, but *feel* her smile in her voice, and I love that she's always so optimistic and happy and hard-working. I did a short profile interview with her for Craftzine, and got her answers back right after we got home from taking Emilie in for surgery. Her words were so inspiring - it really helped me get through yesterday. You can read the full interview over on Craftzine, but I also really love what she had to say about why folks should go to the Faire.

Many times we crafty artsy folks feel out of place in mainstream society. Some people just don't appreciate the joy of sewing through tin sheets, or decoupaging paper to fabric, or embedding anything and everythign in resin. At Maker Faire, it is all like people and you will feel like you are among family. Even if you have never felt the the bristles on a paintbrush, you will be awestruck and inspired within the first few minutes. There is just so much to see, so many creative people sharing their innovatives ideas and technqiues. You will leave a changed person.

So I better head off the computer for now. I've got a couple of posts going up at Craftzine today, I need to practice my demo for the weekend and prep my materials, and I've got to clean up the house before I lose my mind. Wish me luck .... and see you at the Faire!

One Week to Maker Faire!

Whew! I can't believe Maker Faire is already almost here. It's been a very full, fast couple of months, blogging about the crafty side of Maker Faire for Craftzine.com. I've always been excited about Maker Faire, but - WOWZA - the more I've learned about Maker Faire, and the more folks I've met or interviewed about the Faire ... I just can.not.wait. for it it get here. It's going to be crazy fun.

I'm especially excited, because the crafty side of Maker Faire is going to be 10 times bigger and better than last year's. There are tons of cool people coming as Makers, and who will have projects to teach and offer for visitors to make, and Bazaar Bizarre and Swap-O-Rama-Rama are going to be incredible.


The awesome, Natalie Zee Drieu over at CRAFT put together a short and sweet video that sums up the crafty happenings of Maker Faire. Watch it, and you'll start to see when I'm so excited for next weekend. If you are anywhere near Austin, you must come - you won't regret it.



If you are going to Maker Faire, please let me know. I'd love to connect at some point and say hi! You can see me do my demo in the Maker Shed at the CRAFT demo table at 12:00 on Saturday and 2:00 on Sunday! I'll be demoing how to make the awesome felt monsters that were created by Moxie and were featured on the cover of CRAFT06. Fun! Come say hi! See you there ....

And here's a summary of the posts I've done so far for Craftzine.com in case you've missed them. I have loads more to post during this coming week, including a peek at the celeb crafters (Jenny Hart, Jennifer Perkins and Crafty Chica, Kathy Cano-Murillo who are going to be at the Faire. Hoorah!

• How Crafters Can Participate in Maker Faire
• Going Back to School in Green, DIY Style
• Connecting Crafters in Prep for Maker Faire Austin
• Crafty Makers: What Skills Can You Bring to the Table?
• Maker Faire Memories from Austin 2007
• Connect with Maker Faire Team Members at the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival This Weekend
• Families at the Faire: First-Hand Accounts of Maker Faire Fun
• Subscribe to CRAFT and Get an Adult Day Pass to Maker Faire Austin
• Piecing Together a Successful Indie Craft Business
• Families at the Faire: Making it a full Maker Faire Weekend
• Maker Faire Austin: Deadline for Crafty Makers This Thursday
• Bazaar Bizarre Vendor List Announced
• Greater Austin Garbage Arts Brings Local Flavor to
  Swap-O-Rama-Rama at Maker Faire Austin
• Call to Makers Deadline Extended to September 14
• Creating a Crafty Google Map of Austin
• Belle and Burger: Down Home Sass and a Dash of Practicality
• Blue Mama: Taking a Hobby to the Next Level
• Reminder: Call for Makers Deadline Extended to Tomorrow
• Model Citizen: Making the Most of Community Connections
• Call for Crafty Volunteers at Maker Faire
• Girl Scouts Can Explore, Play, Earn Rewards at Maker Faire
• Download Swap-O-Rama-Rama and Maker Faire Posters
• Austin Babes in Business: Connecting Crafty Businesswomen
• Rose & Duke: Growing a Business in the Texas Sunshine
• Maker Faire Finale Act, Mucca Pazza, Gets Crazy, Crafty
• Austin Area Quilt Guild Show Starts Today
• Maker Faire Ticket Specials & Giveaways
• Ways to Win Maker Faire Austin Tickets
• Upcycle With the Etsy Texas Crafters at Maker Faire
• Maker Faire Sponsor Highlight: Freelancers Union
• Explore the Art of Pysanky at Maker Faire Austin
• Spotlight on Maker Faire Austin Sponsors
• Blogs We Love: Craft Chi
• Austin Event: Treasure City Thrift Recycled Fashion Show
• Austin Eco School Brings The Game of Village to Maker Faire
• Soft circuit embroidery demo at Maker Faire Austin
  (not written by me, but very cool demo for Maker Faire!)
• Hang with the BurdaStyle Gang at Maker Faire Austin

Look who's blogging for CRAFT!

Gulp.

Pardon me while I go run around the house screamin' willy nilly for a minute.

Whew.

Very very very excited. Over the moon thrilled. Just so pumped for some fun bringing Crafty Maker Faire Austin news to you. It's a real privilege to be able to showcase and highlight the vibrant Austin crafting community for such a wide audience. And, of course, being the huge Craft magazine/blog fan that I am, I still sitting here in a total state of would-someone-just-go-ahead-and-pinch-me?

My first post will go up shortly. Be sure to check it out!