Table of Contents

• Maker Faire requires a good crew

• Producers in Residence

• T-shirt making

As Maker Faire Bay Area wrapped up in October, I was so pleased to see how many people that came, how special it was to bring together so many creatives and technical wizards, and how positive everyone felt. It was the kind of uplifting cultural experience that you don’t forget. I wish that more people could experience a Maker Faire.

Why isn’t there a Maker Faire in every town in America? In every city in Europe? In Asia and South America as well? This year, there are 38 US Maker Faires and 53 international ones. Maker Faire Orange County, Maker Faire Milwaukee, Maker Faire Louisville and Maker Faire Orlando were among the US events this Fall. There’s Maker Faire Tokyo, Maker Faire Hannover and Maker Faire Rome, the latter of which is the largest Maker Faire. Maker Faire Shenzhen will happen this weekend. That’s a lot of Maker Faires but there could be even more. Why not?

Recently, I spoke to one group who was struggling to organize a Maker Faire in the South. It was going to be at a science center. They were having trouble getting enough makers and hadn’t done enough community outreach. They wanted to have a free event but they couldn’t get enough sponsorship commitments.

I wish there were easy answers to give them but doing events is hard. Finding sponsors is difficult. Some European cities do receive government money to help support Maker Faire. It is the chief reason that Maker Faire Rome is the biggest of our Faires. Even a few American Maker Faires have managed to get their city government or tourism bureau to kick in a few dollars. That’s lucky but not common.

I used to think the two things you need to produce a Maker Faire were upfront funding and a good venue, both of which are necessary, of course. However, after attending Maker Faire Orlando this past weekend, I see that the biggest thing you need is the team. If you can organize a really good crew, then you can organize a Maker Faire. So, maybe building a team is right place to start. Also, if you keep that team together for many years, the team and the event will get better together.

Maker Faire requires a good crew

Maker Faire Orlando, which is in its 12th year, is produced by an all-volunteer organization, led by Ian and Candy Cole of the Maker Effect Foundation, which also supports the MakerFX makerspace. The Maker Faire team overlaps quite a lot with the members of the Maker Effect Makerspace in Orlando. You could call it synergy or some other term but both the event and the makerspace exist because a self-selected group show up to do the work. They know each other and they work together well with specific roles and responsibilities. None of them would call themselves event professionals — they are all volunteers working mostly behind the scenes.

You need a team that works well under stress. It helps if that team knows each other outside the event and knows they can depend on others on the team to carry out their responsibilities. A good crew will be good to each other even when stressed out. A good crew is the face of the event to the public, even though many people don’t see what they do.

On Friday at a crew meeting, Candy Cole told the crew that the event has improved each year based on feedback from the crew as well as attendees. She told them that if they have any suggestions for next year’s event, now is the worst time to pass them on. Instead, she told them to use an email address and send their idea so that they can evaluate new ideas for next year while not in the heat of this year’s event.

The work for a large event consists of weeks and months of preparation in advance - finding sponsors, seeking the support of local government and educational groups, obtaining the venue, recruiting makers, volunteer staff and other community organizations to participate and understanding their various needs, promoting the event and selling tickets, and tackling many logistical issues like permits and finding providers for security, food, AV equipment, parking, and tents.

Maker Faire is about solving a seemingly endless series of problems, as best you can with only the information you have. Some kinds of problems are avoided by good planning but it is inevitable that problems arise and all members of the team will need to handle them. You have to be willing to do anything if it helps the event, even if it’s not your responsibility. What’s really cool is to see team members flourish in this environment and demonstrate how capable they are.

As the makers began arriving on site, Jessica King, who has been working on Maker Faire Orlando since its inception, was thinking about her show layout that places each of the maker exhibits in the buildings. She hoped it would work and if it didn’t, she would adapt it. About eight years ago, Jessica had to take a break from the team because she was pregnant. This year, she was able to bring her eight-year-old son to the event.

For Orlando, the team shares the mission of the makerspace and the mission of Maker Faire Orlando. It benefits both the makerspace and the event. Maker Faires and makerspaces go together, and they both grow stronger over time.

“I do believe there is a significant synergy for us in the combination of the big annual event impact and the everyday impact of the makerspace - especially in that it helps us keep our community / volunteers engaged all year,” said producer Ian Cole in email.
“We also get out to a lot of other events to be seen and to spend time together.” 

When the gates open, and attendees start streaming in, usually with kids in tow — this is what is gratifying, seeing the smiles on their faces and knowing you have created a memorable experience for so many. You have made something valuable for your local community.

Producers in Residence

Elise Spontarelli of Vector Space makerspace in Lynchburg Virginia and Thomas Pupo of Moonlight Makerspace in Miami came to Orlando to work on the crew. Both run Maker Faires in their cities. They enjoy helping out and they’re good at what they do. “It’s a lot easier working someone else’s event,” said Elise. “I don’t have to worry as much about everything that’s going on. I don’t have to worry about ticket sales or the sponsors. I’m here to check in makers.”

The producers-in-residence program is also a way that organizers can learn from each other. You get ideas from one event and bring it back to our own. I like to find new hands-on activities.

T-shirt making

The lead organizer of Maker Faire Orlando Ian Cole has a thing for screen printing and getting people to make their own T-shirts. It’s something I’ve seen at every Maker Faire Orlando that I’ve been to and I mentioned it in the newsletter last week. On Friday’s education day event, all 200 students got a chance to make their own T-shirt. Teachers made T-shirts too. On Saturday and Sunday, attendees would pay for a T-shirt and choose a design to screen print themselves.

I said to Ian Cole that a lot of people who came to this year’s event were wearing T-shirts with logos on them. “Orlando’s a branded town,” he said. Well, at least, some people went home wearing a Maker Faire branded T-shirt.

If you have a makerspace, you can create a crew like Maker Faire Orlando has done. If you are interested in making a Maker Faire in your city, let us know.

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I’d love to hear from you if you have ideas, projects or news items about the maker community. Email me - [email protected].