Announcing the Maker Mixer, September 4th

Detroit’s first Maker Faire was a smashing success by all accounts, bringing together hundreds of exhibiting makers, scores of awesome creations, and tens of thousands of onlookers and makers-to-be.   It was educational, entertaining, and most of all, busy.

So busy, in fact, that many makers spent the whole weekend in their booths, with little opportunity to meet each other.  And while the spectacle was great for short-term attention, the synergy is where long-term gains stand to be made. To that end, i3Detroit will host an event we’re calling the Maker Mixer. On September 4th, anyone who’s interested in DIY (and especially anyone who exhibited at Maker Faire) is encouraged to come down to Ferndale and spend the afternoon at i3Detroit’s shop.

Some food and drink will be provided, BYO is always welcome. Details to follow as the event approaches.

This Saturday is Bed-a-Palooza with i3 Detroit!

On Saturday, June 26th, from 11AM – 4PM, we are at Bed-a-Palooza in Troy at Trainers Academy with Retro Doggy Rescue.  The goal of the event is to build 100 dog beds for Michigan shelters, where shelter dogs currently sleep on the floor.  This week has been a flurry of PVC and we have cut and assembled the 100 bed frames.  The day of the event, we will oversee the attaching of fabric to build each bed into a sturdy hammock.  We are also hosting a BBQ at the event that will start at Noon.

Meet Nemo.  Matt will be bringing the Skee Ball machine to help raise money for this little cutie who has a stage 3 heart murmur and has to go see a cardiologist.

Come one, come all!  The public is welcome to stop by and join the fun!  Trainers Academy is located at 1016 Troy Court, Troy, 48083.  More information can be found at their website: www.woofology.com.

All proceeds will go to Retro Doggy Rescue, a local no-kill rescue.  They will also be accepting physical donations such dog food, treats, toys (new or used), bowls, collars, leashes, crates, blankets, sheets, towels, throw rugs, cat food, cat litter, cat toys/supplies, or anything else pet related.

If you want to donate to the cause and can’t join us Saturday:

Maker Faire Detroit Updates

We received an email last night from Dale at Make Magazine providing us with some updates regarding the upcoming Detroit Maker Faire.

1. The Deadline for applications for Maker Faire Detroit has been extended from May 31st 2010 to June 15th 2010.

2. They originally said they would have acceptance emails out by June 1st 2010, and unfortunately this has not happened due to the Maker Faire Bay Area just finishing. They said not to worry and they hope to start getting acceptance emails out next week.

3. They currently have 140 submissions and they are still looking for more. If you know anyone that has not but should be at Maker Faire Detroit please get them to submit an application!

4. On the Friday before Maker Faire Detroit they plan on having workshops in place of Education Day. More to come on this as we get closer.

So Please if you have not signed up yet as a Maker get over MakerFaire.com!

Maker Faire Detroit deadline fast approaching! Also, Open Shop.

First, if you’ve got something to show off at Maker Faire Detroit, SUBMIT YOUR APP already! Time is tight, and we’d love to see you there. Need help finishing your project? See the end of this entry…

Second, the Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire will happen again this year, on June 5th. Last year’s show was our first big event, before we even got a space. We’ll be there again this year, of course, with more projects to show off!

Third, a few of our members are on their way to the Bay Area Maker Faire, in San Mateo, CA. There’s a good chance of twitter traffic about this. (Heh, heh.)

Fourth, I know this may come as a shock, but i3Detroit will have another Open Shop Friday, tonight! I promise to be on site with the door open by 7pm, but follow the feed to see if someone opens up earlier.  See you then!

Haking around at i3

Here are the results of a weekend hacking around with Darren Kitchen of Hak5.  Thanks again D for an amazing weekend!

Robots: DONE

As regular readers may know, i3Detroit has been sponsoring two FIRST Robotics teams, giving them full use of our shop and other resources. It’s been hectic, crowded, noisy, and very productive. And now it’s (almost) over.

Tonight was “ship day”, meaning that all work on the robots had to be completed before midnight, and bags and tamper-evident seals affixed. After that, there was some of the silliness that accompanies a late-night sink-or-swim deadline, and some cleanup. We made it! Two functional robots, a whole bunch of involved students, no fights, no injuries, nothing more than minor tool breakage and wear. Competition starts in two weeks. In the meantime, there’s software to work on, t-shirts to distribute, buttons to design…

Congratulations, 1216 Oak Park and 3302 Clawson! You’ve come a long way, and we’ll be rooting for you at competition!

Followup: DIY Filmmaker Meetup

Last Thursday’s Filmmaker Meetup was a big success. We had lots of people show up to meet their peers and share their work. Many ideas were generated for future events.

Thanks to Madebydetroit and Silver Bullet Pictures for all their help.

Check out the work of some of the participants:

• Made By Detroit
• Silver Bullet Pictures
• Runn AMC
• Digital Hi5 Productions
• A Taste For Cotton Films
• The Crofoot
• The Tower
• Dark Light Film
• Hamtramck Idea Men
• SMACC, Southern Michigan’s Arts and Creativity Conference
• Ryan Estrada

Arts, Beats & Eats comes to Royal Oak

i3 Detroit will be at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair this Saturday from 10am-7pm

Hey Everyone i3 Detroit will be at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair this Saturday November 21st from 10am to 7pm. We will be showing the cupcake car after it’s debut in the Royal Oak Holiday Parade as well as showcasing a few smaller i3 Member projects. We also have a cool make and take project for anyone interested. If you are interested in learning more about i3 Detroit or you just want to stop bye and say hi that is cool as well. Come and support all the local handmade crafts and art at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair brought to you by the cool girls over Handmade Detroit!

Royal Oak Spooktacular!

Sunday was Pumpkin Carving and Halloween Costume Build Day at i3 Detroit. It also happened to be Spooktacular in Royal Oak where all the families can go trick or treating at the businesses in downtown Royal Oak. We thought it would be fun to take the Cup Cake car for a drive downtown to hand out candy. The response to the Cup Cake car was great as usual and a lot of fun handing out candies and photos with the kids.