Maker Faire Cape Town 2015
Yesterday, I attended the first annual Maker Faire in Cape Town and it was inspiring – there was lots to see and explore.
We got to see a variety of 3D printers up close and see new concepts that are being designed and created locally. The Maker Movement is clearly thriving here, with electronics, scrap sculpture and upcycling, environmentally-friendly innovations, maker groups, and even a South African-based alternative to Kickstarter for crowdfunding local projects.
Digital technologies such as 3D printing and laser cutting bring the potential for inventing creative solutions to anyone, without the need for a large startup capital or external manufacturers, and that’s especially exciting for me to see here in South Africa.
Now is a good time to be creative, and I’m excited to see the new ideas that will emerge from local makers in the near future… (Plus, I’m getting my own ideas for things I’d like to make using digital tech!)
Email newsletter
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Ravelry: June
Instagram
Judy Carlson said
I’m curious to see what you may make with digital tech in the future. A 3D printed Earth Piggy?!
June said
I’m thinking more along the lines of incorporating digital tech into my crochet art pieces: 3D-printed armatures and arduino-controlled electronics would open up a whole new world of possibilities to make and bring to life (almost literally!)…
Chrisie (CrochetChrisie) said
Ooh, neat! And it tickled my brain… I was going to recycle a few electronics, but I think I’m going to open them up and take some parts out first. I feel a crafty idea coming on!
Miriam P. said
Maker Faire! Aren’t they great?! My husband and I have been to three, I think or maybe four, since they started the one in New York City (Borough of Queens, to be exact). Because it’s NYC, the Maker Faire has gotten more crowded every year. I’m not a big one for crowds so I don’t know if we’ll attend any more of them (it’s also a bit of a drive for us.)
But at each of the Faire’s I attended I spent some time teaching knitting and crochet for TNNA (The National Needlearts Association) – they always have a booth and anyone can sit down and learn to knit, crochet, spin, and/or do needlework. Everything’s free and the students can take their materials home with them (knitting or crochet needles and all). It’s a wonderful thing!! The first year was my first experience with teaching knitting and it was much harder than I had expected. But after that it got a lot easier and I like to believe that at least one of my students went on to develop their skills!
June said
That’s great, Miriam! I’m assuming the Cape Town Maker Faire was much, much smaller than the big American ones – and it was only the first one, so I hope it’ll grow in time – but it’s very exciting to have one at all here. Maybe in future there’ll be more of a needle arts presence among the exhibitors here too.