Looks Like We Made It

"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those that prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

President Barack Obama
Inaugural Address January 20, 2009

Well, seeing as the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors made it official, we felt we should do our part and attend this year's Maker Faire. The first ever Maker Faire was held April 22-23, 2006, and this year has grown to approximately 80,000 attendees.

Being the frugal Faire attendees, and trying to lessen our carbon footprint, we decide to ride our bikes to the Faire. We were able to get a $10 discount for bicycling, plus free bike valet, and we got in about a half hour earlier than the rest of the driving crowd (although I think that had more to do with the general confusion of the volunteers in charge of the bike entrance.) (the blue arrow is pointing at our bikes amongst a sea of bikes)

Wandering around the grounds I could just feel the creative vibes all around me....it made me want to run home and knit something, or sew something, or weld something (oh, how I wish I could weld!) You got the sense the place was just pulsating with ideas.

We were quickly overwhelmed by everything there was to see; we took some pictures, but they hardly do the Faire justice. Here's a short video clip of a few of the really cool things there were to see

Maker Faire 2009 from Steve Miller on Vimeo.

Let's see if I can help explain some of the things in that video:

To start, the moss covered creature was a Swamp Kirin from Seabat Studios

Swamp Kirin from Sarah K. Moore on Vimeo.

The Obama Robotic Solar Electric Chariot with another video here.

A Lego Train Town and Village by Bay Area Lego Users Group

R2-D2 Astromech Droids by Artoo-Detoo Dot Net

Robot Band by moonmilk

Lev the thereminbot plays "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley

Make your own shrinky dinks

The Rope Squirter from the Exploratorium

Monkey Bike Light from Monkey Electric

Soda Bottle Wave Installation by Reuben Margolin

Rotating Light Sculpture by Applied Kinetic Arts

Holiday House 2009 from Light Up Xmas

Muffin Cars from Acme Art

Radio Controlled Robot Tanks by Bay Area Tankers

And here are a few of our pictures...
The Solar Human Hybrid Vehicle


The Bumble Bee Ride by Cyclecide

Tesla Electric Car

My "Birth-Make-Death" bag that I silk screened at the Provo Craft Booth using the Yudu Screen printing system

Lego Jeep

My next car (or dessert!) by Acme Art

My finished Shrinky Dink for Pinky

Shark Truck

Red Wagon Hot Rod Art Car

The Bazaar Bizarre was amazing... so much talent....Recover Your Thoughts , Chicks & Frogs , Piperoids to name just a few...

I wish I had done more research before, because I would have loved to participate in Swap-O-Rama-Rama . "Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a clothing swap and series of do-it-yourself workshops in which a community explores creative reuse through the recycling of used clothing." You can see some of the results of their efforts here.


Gerard's Paella caught the attention of some of us...

...and some of us were taken by Handknit Heroes

There were also representatives from Etsy, Craftzine, Make Magazine, Crafsters and Instructables.

One of the more intruguing sections of the Faire was the one devoted to Steampunks, Steampunk Magazine and Neverwas Haul built by the Academy of Unnatural Sciences for Burning Man in 2006.

We were in absolute awe of the creativity and inspiration of the Maker Faire. There truly are some creative geniuses among us, and they've expanded my interpretation of the word "craft".

Now, I'm off to try to figure out how to insert blinking LED's into the vest I'm knitting for Steve.....