Organizing and performing
at Maker Faire was pure joy.
What is Maker Faire?
Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned. The launch of Maker Faire in the Bay Area in 2006 demonstrated the popularity of making and interest among legions of aspiring makers to participate in hands-on activities and learn new skills at the event. 200,000 people annually attended the two flagship Maker Faires in the Bay Area and New York, and I participated in the Faire as a performer from 2010-2019 and worked on staff operations from 2014-2016.
The Project:
The operations team handled the daily tasks and relied on the additional staff of Make Magazine to step up and fill the gaps. I did just about any task available, from simple table setup to banner organization and crowd control. On any day you were doing stage construction, tent and signage as well of day-of operations and organizational work.
In the lead up to Maker Faire, I would be producing signage, banners and various other promotional media. A good portion of my time would be dedicated to creating any additional work alongside the faire, along with the multitude of Mini Maker Faires across the country.
Mini Maker Faires
I lead Creative Direction of Mini Maker Faires by producing style guides and the logo sets for each Mini Maker Faire. Over 100 of these faire occured per year, so I had to ensure that there was brand consistency across so many different global stakeholders.
In 2009,
I invented a motorsport
with modified
Power Wheels
One funny idea became a nation-wide series. 8 rounds, over 100 teams. All organized from the ground up by the seat of my pants.
Power Racing Series, known as PRS, is an under $500 electric Power Wheel racing series where teams from high schools, universities, and hackerspaces competed for a wide range of prizes and trophies.
Cars were built on shoestring budgets, students were given a literal crash-course into engineering that rivaled some of the most intense STEM programs in America.
For a decade I ran each event, wrote the rule book and organized sign ups and just about every single other aspect of the series. When problems occured I was the one who answered. Having to deal in real-time various technical issues that only live events can bring gave me some of the most immediate yet rewarding rise-to-the-occasion adaptations that not only benefited the series, but gave me skills that no office job could dream of.
The series taught me the absolute wonder of DIY culture, and gave me a front-seat view of how to tackle challenging high-pressure scenarios in front of live audiences. If a speaker didn’t work, a transponder failed, I had to find a solution- while commentating on the race as it unfolded in front of strangers.
I was able to raise sponsors (Toyota, Liquid Wrench, Diehard) get televised segments (NBC,ABC) air on local media outlets and get nationwide recognition for this project from universities that were impressed with the educational value, and future employers who were blown away that their newly hired engineers came from such a grass-roots challenge that gave them the tools needed to succeed in the engineering world.
One NASCAR team manager, upon hiring an alumni from this series said “I wish this existed when I was a kid, I can’t think of a better way to learn how to solve problems than building one you designed yourself”
I also designed and coordinated Noggin’s 2019 User Conference
At the start of 2019 I began work on Noggin’s first ever conference:
Noggin’s CEO approached me with the objective of working on the User Conference. Working alongside marketing, I developed the branding, created all the banners, brochures, program guide, printed awards, and also took 2 dozen decks from multiple industry representatives and converted all of them to our style guide to create a seamless presentation for all the attendees.
I few out to Sydney, NSW to help organize and operate photos, videos with the event. I conducted interviews, took press photos, and even produced several promotional videos after the conference that was given to new clients with customers praising Noggin OCA 2.0.
I was really proud with the turnout. This event was organized by few, yet went without a hitch.
