Events in Vancouver « Maker Faire Vancouver

Meet Your Makers: Colin Johnson, The Emperor’s Cabinet

If you’ve passed by 6th and Main recently, then you may have noticed the amazing Wooden AT-AT in the window of Hot Art Wet City Gallery & Shop. Woodbutcher Colin Johnson is the artist responsible for this eye-catching piece of wonder, and it’s coming to Maker Faire!

May LaForge Be With You: A tribute to Star Wars and Star Trek

It’s also being featured at an art show called May LaForge Be With You, dubbed “an epic art battle between two sci-fi favourites: Star Wars and Star Trek.” The opening reception is tonight from 7-11 pm (details below).

I haven’t even gotten to the best part—it’s a fully functional liquor cabinet! Booze and Star Wars: two things that make me the life of the party. I asked Colin a few questions about the liquor cabinet that I would happily sell a kidney to own.

DY: You must be a huge Star Wars fan. What made you decide to turn it into a liquor cabinet or was that your idea all along?

CJ: Yes, I am a huge SW fan. I didn’t know it was going to be a wet bar when I started, but I did know I wanted it to contain something. (I was toying with the idea of a diorama of some kind.) I would like to say I had a lofty reason for making it, but I made it for notoriety.

DY: How long did it take you?

CJ: It took about 600 hours (give or take 100).

DY: You describe yourself as a Woodbutcher. Has this always been your preferred medium?

CJ: I started making things with Lego. When I found Lego to be too limiting I started using paper. Now I mostly work in wood. It is my preferred medium but have dabbled in plastics and some metal.

DY: When I was at the gallery today, everyone who was waiting for the bus was totally into it. What kind of reactions have you gotten from people?

CJ: People love it! Some of the reactions have been very animated.

Colin Johnson will be at Vancouver Mini Maker Faire on June 1 and 2, but catch him tonight at Hot Art Wet City for the opening of May LaForge Be With You.

Hot Art Wet City, 2206 Main Street, Vancouver
Thursday May 9 – Saturday June 1, 2013
OPENING RECEPTION TONIGHT: Friday, May 10 from 7-11pm

Written by Dani Yannece on May 10th, 2013

Dani Yannece just moved to Vancouver from Brooklyn, NY for the ocean, the mountains and the amazing people. She is also getting a degree in Counselling Psychology from UBC in her free time. Dani loves Star Wars, dinosaurs and three-legged dogs.

Tags: Colin Johnson, Hot Art Wet City, Star Wars, The Emperor's Cabinet, Vancouver Maker Faire, Wooden At-At
Posted in Events in Vancouver, Meet your Makers, Vancouver Mini Maker Faire 2013 |

Visiting Vancouver Hack Space: 3D Printer Night

People gathered around 3D printers at Vancouver Hack Space

Have you ever been to Vancouver Hack Space? VHS is a self-organized, inclusive collective of makers, AND a space to collaborate on projects, that will be coming to Maker Faire again this year! I visited VHS for the first time this past Wednesday, May 1st, and it was a really cool time to be there, because it was their second monthly 3D printer night!

A 3D printer at work

Close-up of a 3D print being made

While I signed a simple safety waiver to be in the workshop space, people were setting up 3D printers they brought from home. Armed with long spools of ABS plastic to print things out of, they were ready for some requests!

After an hour or so, the crowd had settled down, smaller conversations had broken out, and it was a lot more social while people helped each other out with technical challenges.

It was exciting and overstimulating for me, and the space was pretty tight for the crowd of almost 30 people. However, our host for the evening, Dan Royer, made a special announcement: VHS is officially moving to a new space!

Dan Royer hosts 3D printer night

VHS is presently stationed at 45 W Hastings St, with an entrance that opens from the ground floor in a low-lit back alley leading up a set of rickety stairs. It can be a bit of a scary experience for some people.

The inside is well-lit, but tight, and densely packed with maker tools and supplies, shown below.

VHS at the end of the night

Machine tools at VHS

In the new space at 270 East 1st Avenue, VHS will have an extra 2000 square feet to fill, which they plan on dividing into two areas, with one room designated for CNC machines and power tools and other equipment, and another room for collaborative learning and other quieter projects.

Below is a photosphere I shot of the new VHS space on Friday March 3. You can click and drag around in to see the space, and use your mouse’s scrollwheel to zoom.

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(View full screen photosphere of the new location for Vancouver Hack Space in a new tab)

VHS aims to complete the move in 30 days, just in time to invite everyone who sees them at Maker Faire to visit them in their new home.

Learn more about VHS’s move and find out how to help.

Written by Jessica Coccimiglio on May 7th, 2013

Jessica Coccimiglio is a student of Simon Fraser University's School of Communication and School of Interactive Art and Technology. She is passionate about communication for science, culture, design, and technology, which she also writes about. Once in a blue moon she hand-makes hula hoops. She is currently the Communication Coordinator for FOODSAFE BC. Twitter: @jess_604

Tags: 3D printer, 3D printing, Vancouver Hack Space, Vancouver Mini Maker Faire, VHS
Posted in Events in Vancouver, Maker Spaces, Meet your Makers |

Maker Education Meet-up on Thursday, May 9th

“Maker Faire exemplifies the best coming together of creativity and science. As a teacher I feel it is not only important to convey theories, laws, and equations to my students, but also give them a sense of what can be achieved by the power of these scientific ideas that they can relate to in their day-to-day lives.” —Thanh-Lam N., high school science teacher, San Jose, Calif.

The Maker Education Initiative is going strong in the US where the mission is to create more opportunities for young people to make, and, by making, build confidence, foster creativity and spark interest in science, technology, engineering, math, the arts – and learning as a whole.

In line with our mission to build a strong and vibrant community of makers in our city, Maker Foundation will be hosting a meet-up on Thursday, May 9th from 7-9pm at Mozilla (163 W Hastings St, 2nd Floor) to connect families, leaders, educators, mentors and organizations in order to start a dialogue around young makers in our communities – in a meet-up style format. Interested in coming out? Please RSVP ASAP!

Here are some ideas that are gaining headway:

Maker Media has put together a really great playbook on how to start makerspaces in schools.
Planning a Young Makers Program to start in September. This would mean pairing up youth with Maker mentors to build projects for next year’s Maker Faire.
The Maker Mobile is a mobile workshop space that will be at Maker Faire this year. They are looking for volunteers to help out and for funding.
If you’re interested in getting involved or starting a community initiative for young makers, maker education or maker spaces in the city, please bring your ideas forward.

What we hope to Achieve:

To connect and inspire a new community of individuals in Vancouver interested in jumpstarting this initiative.
To kickstart the Maker Education Initiative in Vancouver so that Vancouver can be a hub for maker-oriented curriculum and maker spaces in the city
Eat pizza and have fun!
So, bring your thinking cap and a stack of business cards and let’s start the conversation.

Hosted By:

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Written by emilysmith on April 24th, 2013

Emily is a Communication Designer, illustrator, crafter, founder of Maker Foundation and Creative Director of Vancouver Mini Maker Faire. She is an avid textile artist and community organizer with a focus on facilitating collaborative and creative workspaces, teaching workshops, and organizing crafty and creative events. She enjoys foraging for unlikely materials, increasing bicycle safety and visibility, and becoming more self-sufficient while lowering her carbon footprint. Check out her blog at bluemollusc.com

Posted in Events in Vancouver, Lead-up Event, Maker Education |

Early Bird Tickets Available This Month Only

Vancouver’s biggest show and tell is happening June 1-2, and early-bird tickets are on sale through the end of April!

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Vancouver Mini Maker Faire will feature more than 100 makers who will demonstrate skills such as puppetry, electronics, computer hacking, music-making, quilting, farming and virtual reality. It’s where art meets science, craft meets utility, and farmer’s market meets backyard forum.

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If you’re in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island or the Fraser Valley, we encourage you to plan to spend at least one entire day, if not the whole weekend, at this event showcasing the ingenuity and creativity of people and groups from all over the area.

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Weekend passes are $20 for adults, $14 for students and $10 for children. So grab one for you and your family to take part in the city’s biggest skill swap!

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And, if you want to help make the event happen, volunteer signup is open too.

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“There’s something for everybody at a Maker Faire,” says VMMF Creative Director Emily Smith (pictured above). “It brings together all of the local community groups to share what they are doing, while immersed in a spectacle of fun and excitement.”

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See you all at the Faire!

Written by Lena Ross on April 18th, 2013

Lena Ross is a communications officer, writer, volunteer publicist and avid arts and culture enthusiast. When she's not out enjoying live music, inspiring art or locally designed fashion, she spends her spare time thrifting, sewing, promoting the arts, learning photography, and tinkering around on the interwebs.

Tags: early bird tickets, Vancouver Mini Maker Faire 2013, volunteer
Posted in Event Details, Events in Vancouver |