when the dust settles....

Maker Faire is impossible to describe without it sounding really strange and disjointed. There were catapult competitions. There was a group of cars that operated on vegetable oil. There were robot battles. Knitting. Printing. There was Swap-A-Rama, where people learn to take old clothing and turn it into something new. There was a Diet Coke/Mentos fountain. There were seminars on everything from computer programming for a robot, to learning to embroider. Anything that can be made was celebrated. I think it has the cool energy that comes from a huge group of people who are interested in being creative and learning about new things all getting together in the same place. 

My favorites of the Makers, which were people giving demonstrations and teaching lessons, were the lacemakers (yes - they was a group of women making lace BY HAND) and the blacksmiths (demonstrating old school techniques).  I wish I had been able to get to see more, but I was kept busy manning my booth! Even if I'm not a vendor next year, we're definitely going back!

For our section of Maker Faire, Bazaar Bizarre, things were a tad dusty on the first day due to our location in the show barn, but our proximity to the Lifesize Mousetrap led to a pretty steady flow of traffic. We were also surrounded by really great vendors on all sides– Lucy Blue Studio, Lillie's 5 and Dime, Xylocopa (who won an Editor's choice blue ribbon for their mad science alphabet blocks, which were amazing and of which we purchased a few!) Harrilu and ClothMoth. Everyone could not have been nicer. I also got to meet Joe and Jess from Funky Finds, which was awesome. Isn't it weird when you finally meet people after following their blog? You feel like you already know them, but you feel a little creepy/stalker at the same time! 

Although it was a tad dusty, and a little exhausting, it was definitely a terrific weekend.