What about a 'Maker-meet'?

[Dr cornelius quack]

That's quite right.
It's a studio space that is the workshop of 'The Pressure Company', the mob who put together the bandstand gig that I've been working on through the summer.
Central location in Manchester. Handy for accommodation at a range of budgets, pubs, restaurants etc.
Home to a number of makers and artists who do it for a living.
Full of interesting do-dads, tools and tat.
The chap in charge is very keen to get something like this off the ground and also organises regular weekly sessions for local bods to pool resources and info.
One of the attractions is that folks can see some quite large scale pieces being worked on in preparation for a new season of festivals next summer.
That being said. There's no reason why we can't have more than one of these things and visit a number of  venues.

[greensteam]

That being said. There's no reason why we can't have more than one of these things and visit a number of  venues.

This sounds like a Maker-crawl: we could start at the Glasgow Electron Club then Manchester, Brum and Nottingham, drinking ourselves silly on tea all the way......  and leaving a trail of melted glue, rayguns and solder drops as we go.

[The Governess]

A maker bus! All we need is to snap up a discarded mobile library, and we can travel the country singing filked Cliff songs...

Seriously,  like the sound of the Manchester venue, and the idea of the travelling show of wonders. Presumably, each location would have slightly different makers, depending on the skills in the area.

I briefly investigated this in B'ham last year, but couldn't come up with a venue happy to let people solder on the premises; the people on this thread seem to have much better ideas about where to hold such things than I!

[Angus A Fitziron]

Maker meets are a splendid idea! I would vote for a number of locations to increase participation - Manchester is doable for me but it would need to be a long weekend to make it worthwhile. To help with the project, these are the kind of skills that I think could be shown:

Soldering - maybe make a small piece of jewelry from copper / brass scraps

Leather - make a simple bracer

Sewing - learn to machine stitch something ~ scarf / cravat?

Music - compose and perform a steampunk derived song / tune

Woodwork - measure, mark out, cut and shape a piece of wood for eg a raygun grip and frame

Gluing - a project that demonstrates the various types of glue available and what they are good for sticking!

etc - each project involves a skill or technology if you like and the event results in a finished or at least part finished object that can be taken away to complete. The idea would be to share experience as well as learning from instructors - we all have something to recount and share, is my experience of such events.


ffitz (keen on the London idea)

[gmjhowe]

Also, I think an element of talks/shows could work. There are some projects, and some techniques that are lengthy but people still want to learn.

For example having a finish large rifle, which is a more difficult project, then giving a talk about how it was made, recreating some of the techniques, for example having a spare bit of stuff to demonstrate the dry brushing skill etc.

Would be nice to have that specific element of sharing information, not dissimilar to how greensteam did her umbrella workshop at the asylum.

In terms of spaces in Manchester, it could also be worth you getting in touch with HacMan backspace http://hacman.org.uk/ Even if you decide to use another space, they will have contacts with the local maker community, not to mention lots of equipment they may let you borrow, soldering irons for example.

I think that you are probably right about having a Maker Crawl, or at least several events spaced out. As much as we would like everyone to come to the meeting, its going to be better if we try and organise more than one. If 3-4 of us decide we want to organise, those people could then travel to as many of the events as possible?

[Dr cornelius quack]

After another chin wag with my mate who has the studio, we've settled on the idea of holding a regular set of open workshop days as a way to get things off the ground.
We are going to put together some proposals covering the details of what will be offered during the coming week and work it up into a form suitable for sending out to likely groups next weekend.

Part of what we want to do is to involve folks in the process of expanding the features of the touring 'Bandstand' show. This means getting something of a production line going to produce some of the components needed for the new devices that will be made over the winter.
We favour this approach over the alternative one of charging for the sessions as it allows for a degree of practice in the techniques being shown and makes for a sense of belonging to a finished article that will be seen by a wider audience, while offering a means of contributing to the other work of the studio on a 'quid pro quo' basis.
Another likely project will be some sort of demonstration set up to showcase the various aspects of the group that can be taken out to community events for publicity and message spreading purposes.
We like the idea of a combination of mobile workshop and demo/performance space. A trailer mounted unit or some such thing, maybe a tented space with areas for a number of exhibits.

As ever, please let me have your thoughts on this idea.
Is it the sort of thing that would appeal?

[Professor Bevel]

Whereabouts the studio?  If you're nearby, I'll do my best to come down and lend a hand.

[Siliconous Skumins]

If the suggestion of holding more than one event in different areas of the country is still a possibility, I'm pretty sure the Newcastle maker space would be interested in helping to sort something out. The maker space is in the rear of the Star And Shadow Cinema, a small room really, but they use the Cinema venue for the Barcamp events, so space shouldn't be a problem. Did I mention there's a (small) bar and cinema there...   I think there is usually a small fee per person (only a quid or two) which also gives you a year membership to the cinema, and it's just to help fund the cinema, which is a community cinema that is run entirely by volunteers.

I Would think maybe something around the same time as the Maker Fair would be best if people from other areas of the country are attending, kill two birds with one stone... Maker Fair and maker space in one weekend (maker space is within reasonable walking distance of the maker fair, but plenty of public transport too). There is allready some hands-on craft stuff at the Maker Fair, but generally it covers electronics and craft stuff using fabric etc, so the maker space event would be different enough, and not be stepping on any toes.

SS

[Angus A Fitziron]

I hope this is not a highjacking of the thread but more of a slight scenic detour...

I am delighted to hear about these 'Maker's Spaces' and would really like to get involved with such a project maybe leading to steampunk maker's meets locally. Trouble is, I don't know where the nearest maker's space is nor do I know how to find out. Various google searches don't show anything outside of the cities despite our local council and 'First Site' describing where I live as having the highest density of artists and crafts people in the south...

So, is there a national organisation that provides a register and / or guidance for setting groups up? How do these things happen? Which, if any organisations have funds / assistance to help set up local centres (eg Arts Council etc)? If this detour proves fruitful, I will start a new thread, it's just that you are all here now so I thought I would take a chance.

ffitz

[Professor Bevel]

I, too, would like to learn of some kind of national peer-to-peer communcations thingy for makers, hackers, prototypers and allied trades.  I wouldn't look to your local council or any quango to have anything to do with it, though, I know local government officials of old and the one has yet to be born that wouldn't have a maker and/or hacker despising him/her on sight to save time, or at the very least dreaming of strapping him head first into a feraliminal lycanthropiser on full blast to try and shake some life in him.

If someone wants to get started on such a project I'll help when I can but right now the next person tries the 'give it someone busy' trick on me, I'm gluing razorblades to a set of wimshurst disks and feeding 'em in crotch first.

[gmjhowe]

http://hackspace.org.uk/view/Main_Page
Here is a list of all the hackspaces registered in the UK, some are more thriving than others. I am afraid it is the kind of thing that is more likely in the cities. I have to travel 30 minutes on the train to get to Nottingham Hackspace, with a 15 walk to and from the station. Yes, being closer would be nice, but being in a city draws in a wealth of people.

I hope this is not a highjacking of the thread but more of a slight scenic detour...

I am delighted to hear about these 'Maker's Spaces' and would really like to get involved with such a project maybe leading to steampunk maker's meets locally. Trouble is, I don't know where the nearest maker's space is nor do I know how to find out. Various google searches don't show anything outside of the cities despite our local council and 'First Site' describing where I live as having the highest density of artists and crafts people in the south...

So, is there a national organisation that provides a register and / or guidance for setting groups up? How do these things happen? Which, if any organisations have funds / assistance to help set up local centres (eg Arts Council etc)? If this detour proves fruitful, I will start a new thread, it's just that you are all here now so I thought I would take a chance.

ffitz

[Dr cornelius quack]

Yup, doing some networking with existing groups is top of the list on our agenda for our next planning session which is happening this coming Saturday.
We have some contact with the other groups in Manchester and already use the facilities of the Fablab for prototyping and component cutting. (We are going to need a modular frame for some solenoid driven hammers on the musical milkfloat.) Yeah, Lasercutters!!

The Hackspace movement is a splendid thing. Just the job for steamy makers.

One slight difference that I can see between the existing spaces and what we are intending is that we are perhaps able to be a little more tolerant of getting 'messy' in our building. From some of the pictures I've seen of premises used by hackspaces so far, they seem to be clean, recently refurbished rooms where 'kicking up some dust' might be frowned upon. We have peeling paint, a Blacksmith, sawdust, and  swarf in our space, so are not so fussy.

For Professor Bevel.
We are in central Manchester. Not far from MOSI and the lovely Bridgewater Canal basin at Castlefield.

[Professor Bevel]

Close enough to toddle along now and then, not close enough for convenient dropping in.   The traffic situation between Preston and Manchester is excellent, provided one wishes to travel in the wee hours of the morning or by train.

So, can't help with the organisation, but I shall definitely try and shove bits of my schedule aside to come along as a punter.

[gmjhowe]

Close enough to toddle along now and then, not close enough for convenient dropping in.   The traffic situation between Preston and Manchester is excellent, provided one wishes to travel in the wee hours of the morning or by train.

So, can't help with the organisation, but I shall definitely try and shove bits of my schedule aside to come along as a punter.

These guys might have the contacts etc you need http://prestongeekup.co.uk/

[greensteam]

This is splendid. I know I have been quiet for a bit on this thread but the Electron Club arduino subdivision are rampaging away on an ambitious plan to make their own reprap machine and the local steampunks (GUeSS) are having regular make sessions.

Given that most of the Glasgow steampunks are either students or unemployed and skint, many of them are not able to travel much but we could certainly host some visitors if that seemed appealing.

The Manchester scheme to teach and make props for a real event is a great idea and one I will mention to the mob here in case the student theatrical clubs would like a hand with props.

[Professor Bevel]

Close enough to toddle along now and then, not close enough for convenient dropping in.   The traffic situation between Preston and Manchester is excellent, provided one wishes to travel in the wee hours of the morning or by train.

So, can't help with the organisation, but I shall definitely try and shove bits of my schedule aside to come along as a punter.

These guys might have the contacts etc you need http://prestongeekup.co.uk/

 Cheers for that.  Damn, they kept that quiet.  And it's been a while since I got down the Conti, I'm getting the Real Ale twitch.

[gmjhowe]

Close enough to toddle along now and then, not close enough for convenient dropping in.   The traffic situation between Preston and Manchester is excellent, provided one wishes to travel in the wee hours of the morning or by train.

So, can't help with the organisation, but I shall definitely try and shove bits of my schedule aside to come along as a punter.

These guys might have the contacts etc you need http://prestongeekup.co.uk/

 Cheers for that.  Damn, they kept that quiet.  And it's been a while since I got down the Conti, I'm getting the Real Ale twitch.

You're welcome. I find once you get into the scene, you easily find other groups/people to meet with. Like I started working on a prop at the hackspace, and a member I had not spoken a lot to happened to be working on a prop also, instant overlap of interests!