Just throwing this out there, I have been to several Maker Faire's now and I don't get why there isn't one in London, so just interested to see how many people would like to collaborate and get such an event setup here in London...
Have there been attempts before?
Does anyone have experience in this area to share?
On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 12:12:38 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:
>Hey folks,
>Just throwing this out there, I have been to several Maker Faire's now and >I don't get why there isn't one in London, so just interested to see how >many people would like to collaborate and get such an event setup here in >London...
>Have there been attempts before?
>Does anyone have experience in this area to share?
>Thanks
>Tom
I don't understand why:
a) there hasn't been a full-on London MF
and b) there seems to be minimal crossover between MF type things and the well-established Model
Engineering shows - surely a joint ME show and MF would be the obvious thing to do - the ME show
would get more punters and the MF would have a guaranteed minimum turnout.
I totally agree, I don't know why there hasn't been a Maker Faire in London, and why O'Reilly don't seem interested in the UK (or rather non US markets), however I am also puzzled why there hasn't been a Mini Maker Faire in London given the size of LHS and the creative/craft/maker/hacker communities.
With regards to Model Engineering shows, I guess they would work well along side however they have a very specific niche which probably isn't so appealing to the wider audience, that isn't to say they couldn't exhibit or work along side, I remember going to one at a local school as a kid.
Fancy putting your hat into the pile to help out?
Thanks
Tom
p.s. Love the videos, keep it up and where do you get those finds, what do you search?
On Saturday, 8 September 2012 20:28:15 UTC+1, mikeselectricstuff wrote:
> On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 12:12:38 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:
> >Hey folks,
> >Just throwing this out there, I have been to several Maker Faire's now > and > >I don't get why there isn't one in London, so just interested to see how > >many people would like to collaborate and get such an event setup here in > >London...
> >Have there been attempts before?
> >Does anyone have experience in this area to share?
> >Thanks
> >Tom
> I don't understand why: > a) there hasn't been a full-on London MF > and b) there seems to be minimal crossover between MF type things and > the well-established Model > Engineering shows - surely a joint ME show and MF would be the obvious > thing to do - the ME show > would get more punters and the MF would have a guaranteed minimum turnout.
Most of the efforts of people at the space who enjoy organising these types
of things have had their efforts directed at Electromagnetic Field over the
last year.
I have thought about this, but with information from un-named sources, the
actual benefit from having the MF brand verses the pain to get it approved
isn't worth much. It may well be better to start our own brand, Maker Fete
anyone?
Also, putting on events of this size in london is £££££
Sol
On 8 September 2012 20:34, unknowndomain <m...@unknowndomain.co.uk> wrote:
> I totally agree, I don't know why there hasn't been a Maker Faire in
> London, and why O'Reilly don't seem interested in the UK (or rather non US
> markets), however I am also puzzled why there hasn't been a Mini Maker
> Faire in London given the size of LHS and the creative/craft/maker/hacker
> communities.
> With regards to Model Engineering shows, I guess they would work well
> along side however they have a very specific niche which probably isn't so
> appealing to the wider audience, that isn't to say they couldn't exhibit or
> work along side, I remember going to one at a local school as a kid.
> Fancy putting your hat into the pile to help out?
> Thanks
> Tom
> p.s. Love the videos, keep it up and where do you get those finds, what do
> you search?
> On Saturday, 8 September 2012 20:28:15 UTC+1, mikeselectricstuff wrote:
>> On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 12:12:38 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:
>> >Hey folks,
>> >Just throwing this out there, I have been to several Maker Faire's now
>> and
>> >I don't get why there isn't one in London, so just interested to see how
>> >many people would like to collaborate and get such an event setup here
>> in
>> >London...
>> >Have there been attempts before?
>> >Does anyone have experience in this area to share?
>> >Thanks
>> >Tom
>> I don't understand why:
>> a) there hasn't been a full-on London MF
>> and b) there seems to be minimal crossover between MF type things and
>> the well-established Model
>> Engineering shows - surely a joint ME show and MF would be the obvious
>> thing to do - the ME show
>> would get more punters and the MF would have a guaranteed minimum
>> turnout.
EMF is a great idea but it isn't anything like a Maker Faire, it's more like a Maker Camp, anyway I think the MF brand gets a lot, however each to their own.
I have experience organising a series of events called Open GDNM over the past two years (a design conference) and organising exhibitions before, I know events are expensive, however I think a venue sponsor could be a possibility having spoken to many in the past, Venue's make up 50% of the cost of many events in London.
Tom
On 8 Sep 2012, at 20:41, Charles Yarnold <charlesyarn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Most of the efforts of people at the space who enjoy organising these types of things have had their efforts directed at Electromagnetic Field over the last year.
> I have thought about this, but with information from un-named sources, the actual benefit from having the MF brand verses the pain to get it approved isn't worth much. It may well be better to start our own brand, Maker Fete anyone?
> Also, putting on events of this size in london is £££££
> Sol
> On 8 September 2012 20:34, unknowndomain <m...@unknowndomain.co.uk> wrote:
> Hey Mike,
> I totally agree, I don't know why there hasn't been a Maker Faire in London, and why O'Reilly don't seem interested in the UK (or rather non US markets), however I am also puzzled why there hasn't been a Mini Maker Faire in London given the size of LHS and the creative/craft/maker/hacker communities.
> With regards to Model Engineering shows, I guess they would work well along side however they have a very specific niche which probably isn't so appealing to the wider audience, that isn't to say they couldn't exhibit or work along side, I remember going to one at a local school as a kid.
> Fancy putting your hat into the pile to help out?
> Thanks
> Tom
> p.s. Love the videos, keep it up and where do you get those finds, what do you search?
> On Saturday, 8 September 2012 20:28:15 UTC+1, mikeselectricstuff wrote:
> On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 12:12:38 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:
> >Hey folks,
> >Just throwing this out there, I have been to several Maker Faire's now and > >I don't get why there isn't one in London, so just interested to see how > >many people would like to collaborate and get such an event setup here in > >London...
> >Have there been attempts before?
> >Does anyone have experience in this area to share?
> >Thanks
> >Tom
> I don't understand why: > a) there hasn't been a full-on London MF > and b) there seems to be minimal crossover between MF type things and the well-established Model > Engineering shows - surely a joint ME show and MF would be the obvious thing to do - the ME show > would get more punters and the MF would have a guaranteed minimum turnout.
> EMF is a great idea but it isn't anything like a Maker Faire, it's more
> like a Maker Camp, anyway I think the MF brand gets a lot, however each to
> their own.
Umm, did you come? It may have been more like one than you think.
Asking attendees to the last few MF's I have been exhibiting at, most have
never heard about them before, so aslong as the name and branding has the
same message as MF its noting to reduce its appeal by calling it another
name.
> I have experience organising a series of events called Open GDNM over the
> past two years (a design conference) and organising exhibitions before, I
> know events are expensive, however I think a venue sponsor could be a
> possibility having spoken to many in the past, Venue's make up 50% of the
> cost of many events in London.
This is one of the many reasons I suggested calling it by another name,
getting sponsorship cleared by O'riley is a pain in the bum.
I'm all for holding a MF in london, my main point is "a rose by any other
name would smell as sweet"
> EMF is a great idea but it isn't anything like a Maker Faire, it's more like a Maker Camp, anyway I think the MF brand gets a lot, however each to their own.
> Umm, did you come? It may have been more like one than you think.
Unfortunately I couldn't because I couldn't get time off.
> Asking attendees to the last few MF's I have been exhibiting at, most have never heard about them before, so aslong as the name and branding has the same message as MF its noting to reduce its appeal by calling it another name.
> I have experience organising a series of events called Open GDNM over the past two years (a design conference) and organising exhibitions before, I know events are expensive, however I think a venue sponsor could be a possibility having spoken to many in the past, Venue's make up 50% of the cost of many events in London.
> This is one of the many reasons I suggested calling it by another name, getting sponsorship cleared by O'riley is a pain in the bum.
> I'm all for holding a MF in london, my main point is "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet"
Ahh, wasn't aware of the sponsorship problems. Well the idea still stands, branded or otherwise.
On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 12:34:44 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:
>Hey Mike,
>I totally agree, I don't know why there hasn't been a Maker Faire in >London, and why O'Reilly don't seem interested in the UK (or rather non US >markets), however I am also puzzled why there hasn't been a Mini Maker >Faire in London given the size of LHS and the creative/craft/maker/hacker >communities.
>With regards to Model Engineering shows, I guess they would work well along >side however they have a very specific niche which probably isn't so >appealing to the wider audience, that isn't to say they couldn't exhibit or >work along side, I remember going to one at a local school as a kid.
It seems to me that a combined show would be a very low-risk way of kicking things off and
establishing that there was a demand, as the incremental cost of another hall on an existing event
would seem pretty small compared to a standalone new event. Last time I went to the London ME show at Ally Pally ISTR there was at least a whole hall unused.
>Fancy putting your hat into the pile to help out?
I'm afraid I rarely have the time, and am not well enough organised to organise anything!
As regards venues/costs, surely there must be an opportunity for a cheap venue with a University or
Arts type space, where they have a non profit-driven remit, and a space that's empty one weekend - a
couple that immediately come to mind are ULU & Ambika P3.
And of course sponsorship is a possibility - look how much Farnell/Element 14 spend on various
promotions of dubious value - sponsoring an event like this would surely get them a lot more
publicity and potential customers.
>EMF is a great idea but it isn't anything like a Maker Faire, it's more like a Maker Camp,
I lost interest at the word "Camp".
>Asking attendees to the last few MF's I have been exhibiting at, most have
>never heard about them before, so aslong as the name and branding has the
>same message as MF its noting to reduce its appeal by calling it another
>name.
And I wonder if a non MF-affiliated event may may it easier to get sponsorship and/or use of
noncommercial spaces maybe?
>p.s. Love the videos, keep it up and where do you get those finds, what do >you search?
Trade Secret! Two more big teardown goodies coming up soon BTW!
On the topic of why a full MF hasn't happened in London:
The only non mini one in the UK, Newcastle, only happens due to massive
grants to pay for it, this is the reason there wasn't one last or this
year, but will be next.
I'm guessing the scale in cost for Make to put one on in London would mean
its pretty much ruled out unless they get hefty funding.
This in't to say we couldnt :)
On 8 September 2012 20:54, Tom Lynch <m...@unknowndomain.co.uk> wrote:
> EMF is a great idea but it isn't anything like a Maker Faire, it's more
>> like a Maker Camp, anyway I think the MF brand gets a lot, however each to
>> their own.
> Umm, did you come? It may have been more like one than you think.
> Unfortunately I couldn't because I couldn't get time off.
> Asking attendees to the last few MF's I have been exhibiting at, most have
> never heard about them before, so aslong as the name and branding has the
> same message as MF its noting to reduce its appeal by calling it another
> name.
>> I have experience organising a series of events called Open GDNM over the
>> past two years (a design conference) and organising exhibitions before, I
>> know events are expensive, however I think a venue sponsor could be a
>> possibility having spoken to many in the past, Venue's make up 50% of the
>> cost of many events in London.
> This is one of the many reasons I suggested calling it by another name,
> getting sponsorship cleared by O'riley is a pain in the bum.
> I'm all for holding a MF in london, my main point is "a rose by any other
> name would smell as sweet"
> Ahh, wasn't aware of the sponsorship problems. Well the idea still stands,
> branded or otherwise.
Perhaps I am crazy for thinking this but I don't see why in the capital city we can't try and make a thing of it, I think the Science Museum would be particularly interested if they aren't already making plans, primarilly because the Manchester MMF was run by MOSI which is a sister of the Science Museum.
I think a company like Farnell, RS or Rapid could be convinced to sponsor the event along with smaller partners, I think a venue could be negotiated for little to nothing from a London University, especially the Royal College of Art or Imperial College and I think free entry would get the crowds.
Thats how I would hope it would happen, and I would like to see a more mixed approach instead of focusing on the kids. I would like to see more hands on and less craft stalls, more makers. The reason for this is that the abundance of craft companies mean the maker faires always seem overwhelmed with craft stalls, I know they pay but still I think a focus on the maker rather than the craft companies is important.
Tom
On 8 Sep 2012, at 20:41, Charles Yarnold <charlesyarn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Most of the efforts of people at the space who enjoy organising these types of things have had their efforts directed at Electromagnetic Field over the last year.
> I have thought about this, but with information from un-named sources, the actual benefit from having the MF brand verses the pain to get it approved isn't worth much. It may well be better to start our own brand, Maker Fete anyone?
> Also, putting on events of this size in london is £££££
> Sol
> On 8 September 2012 20:34, unknowndomain <m...@unknowndomain.co.uk> wrote:
> Hey Mike,
> I totally agree, I don't know why there hasn't been a Maker Faire in London, and why O'Reilly don't seem interested in the UK (or rather non US markets), however I am also puzzled why there hasn't been a Mini Maker Faire in London given the size of LHS and the creative/craft/maker/hacker communities.
> With regards to Model Engineering shows, I guess they would work well along side however they have a very specific niche which probably isn't so appealing to the wider audience, that isn't to say they couldn't exhibit or work along side, I remember going to one at a local school as a kid.
> Fancy putting your hat into the pile to help out?
> Thanks
> Tom
> p.s. Love the videos, keep it up and where do you get those finds, what do you search?
> On Saturday, 8 September 2012 20:28:15 UTC+1, mikeselectricstuff wrote:
> On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 12:12:38 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:
> >Hey folks,
> >Just throwing this out there, I have been to several Maker Faire's now and > >I don't get why there isn't one in London, so just interested to see how > >many people would like to collaborate and get such an event setup here in > >London...
> >Have there been attempts before?
> >Does anyone have experience in this area to share?
> >Thanks
> >Tom
> I don't understand why: > a) there hasn't been a full-on London MF > and b) there seems to be minimal crossover between MF type things and the well-established Model > Engineering shows - surely a joint ME show and MF would be the obvious thing to do - the ME show > would get more punters and the MF would have a guaranteed minimum turnout.
On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 21:36:07 +0100, you wrote:
>Hey,
>Perhaps I am crazy for thinking this but I don't see why in the capital city we can't try and make a thing of it, I think the Science Museum would be particularly interested if they aren't already making plans, primarilly because the Manchester MMF was run by MOSI which is a sister of the Science Museum.
I suspect the inertia in making decisions and politics of getting the SM involved could easily be
more of a hinderance than a help.
>> Perhaps I am crazy for thinking this but I don't see why in the capital city we can't try and make a thing of it, I think the Science Museum would be particularly interested if they aren't already making plans, primarilly because the Manchester MMF was run by MOSI which is a sister of the Science Museum.
> I suspect the inertia in making decisions and politics of getting the SM involved could easily be
> more of a hinderance than a help.
> Perhaps I am crazy for thinking this but I don't see why in the capital
> city we can't try and make a thing of it, I think the Science Museum would
> be particularly interested if they aren't already making plans, primarilly
> because the Manchester MMF was run by MOSI which is a sister of the Science
> Museum.
> I think a company like Farnell, RS or Rapid could be convinced to sponsor
> the event along with smaller partners, I think a venue could be negotiated
> for little to nothing from a London University, especially the Royal
> College of Art or Imperial College and I think free entry would get the
> crowds.
> Thats how I would hope it would happen, and I would like to see a more
> mixed approach instead of focusing on the kids. I would like to see more
> hands on and less craft stalls, more makers. The reason for this is that
> the abundance of craft companies mean the maker faires always seem
> overwhelmed with craft stalls, I know they pay but still I think a focus on
> the maker rather than the craft companies is important.
> Tom
> On 8 Sep 2012, at 20:41, Charles Yarnold <charlesyarn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Tom,
> Most of the efforts of people at the space who enjoy organising these
> types of things have had their efforts directed at Electromagnetic Field
> over the last year.
> I have thought about this, but with information from un-named sources, the
> actual benefit from having the MF brand verses the pain to get it approved
> isn't worth much. It may well be better to start our own brand, Maker Fete
> anyone?
> Also, putting on events of this size in london is £££££
> Sol
> On 8 September 2012 20:34, unknowndomain <m...@unknowndomain.co.uk> wrote:
>> Hey Mike,
>> I totally agree, I don't know why there hasn't been a Maker Faire in
>> London, and why O'Reilly don't seem interested in the UK (or rather non US
>> markets), however I am also puzzled why there hasn't been a Mini Maker
>> Faire in London given the size of LHS and the creative/craft/maker/hacker
>> communities.
>> With regards to Model Engineering shows, I guess they would work well
>> along side however they have a very specific niche which probably isn't so
>> appealing to the wider audience, that isn't to say they couldn't exhibit or
>> work along side, I remember going to one at a local school as a kid.
>> Fancy putting your hat into the pile to help out?
>> Thanks
>> Tom
>> p.s. Love the videos, keep it up and where do you get those finds, what
>> do you search?
>> On Saturday, 8 September 2012 20:28:15 UTC+1, mikeselectricstuff wrote:
>>> On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 12:12:38 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:
>>> >Hey folks,
>>> >Just throwing this out there, I have been to several Maker Faire's now
>>> and
>>> >I don't get why there isn't one in London, so just interested to see
>>> how
>>> >many people would like to collaborate and get such an event setup here
>>> in
>>> >London...
>>> >Have there been attempts before?
>>> >Does anyone have experience in this area to share?
>>> >Thanks
>>> >Tom
>>> I don't understand why:
>>> a) there hasn't been a full-on London MF
>>> and b) there seems to be minimal crossover between MF type things and
>>> the well-established Model
>>> Engineering shows - surely a joint ME show and MF would be the obvious
>>> thing to do - the ME show
>>> would get more punters and the MF would have a guaranteed minimum
>>> turnout.
> Just to clarify, I'm totally up for this, just trying to point out the things I know about :)
> On 8 September 2012 21:36, Tom Lynch <m...@unknowndomain.co.uk> wrote:
> Hey,
> Perhaps I am crazy for thinking this but I don't see why in the capital city we can't try and make a thing of it, I think the Science Museum would be particularly interested if they aren't already making plans, primarilly because the Manchester MMF was run by MOSI which is a sister of the Science Museum.
> I think a company like Farnell, RS or Rapid could be convinced to sponsor the event along with smaller partners, I think a venue could be negotiated for little to nothing from a London University, especially the Royal College of Art or Imperial College and I think free entry would get the crowds.
> Thats how I would hope it would happen, and I would like to see a more mixed approach instead of focusing on the kids. I would like to see more hands on and less craft stalls, more makers. The reason for this is that the abundance of craft companies mean the maker faires always seem overwhelmed with craft stalls, I know they pay but still I think a focus on the maker rather than the craft companies is important.
> Tom
> On 8 Sep 2012, at 20:41, Charles Yarnold <charlesyarn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi Tom,
>> Most of the efforts of people at the space who enjoy organising these types of things have had their efforts directed at Electromagnetic Field over the last year.
>> I have thought about this, but with information from un-named sources, the actual benefit from having the MF brand verses the pain to get it approved isn't worth much. It may well be better to start our own brand, Maker Fete anyone?
>> Also, putting on events of this size in london is £££££
>> Sol
>> On 8 September 2012 20:34, unknowndomain <m...@unknowndomain.co.uk> wrote:
>> Hey Mike,
>> I totally agree, I don't know why there hasn't been a Maker Faire in London, and why O'Reilly don't seem interested in the UK (or rather non US markets), however I am also puzzled why there hasn't been a Mini Maker Faire in London given the size of LHS and the creative/craft/maker/hacker communities.
>> With regards to Model Engineering shows, I guess they would work well along side however they have a very specific niche which probably isn't so appealing to the wider audience, that isn't to say they couldn't exhibit or work along side, I remember going to one at a local school as a kid.
>> Fancy putting your hat into the pile to help out?
>> Thanks
>> Tom
>> p.s. Love the videos, keep it up and where do you get those finds, what do you search?
>> On Saturday, 8 September 2012 20:28:15 UTC+1, mikeselectricstuff wrote:
>> On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 12:12:38 -0700 (PDT), you wrote:
>> >Hey folks,
>> >Just throwing this out there, I have been to several Maker Faire's now and >> >I don't get why there isn't one in London, so just interested to see how >> >many people would like to collaborate and get such an event setup here in >> >London...
>> >Have there been attempts before?
>> >Does anyone have experience in this area to share?
>> >Thanks
>> >Tom
>> I don't understand why: >> a) there hasn't been a full-on London MF >> and b) there seems to be minimal crossover between MF type things and the well-established Model >> Engineering shows - surely a joint ME show and MF would be the obvious thing to do - the ME show >> would get more punters and the MF would have a guaranteed minimum turnout.
Do it. It's been discussed before and people have thrown up
*potential* problems, but I don't think anyone's looked into it in
detail. I'd agree that sharing with the London Model Engineering
Exhibition could be useful. I went last year, and it's not all lathes
and model railways - they have some quite varied stuff although it
does tend to be mechanical rather than electronic. Even just a stand
representing LHS/hackspaces would be good.
On 8 September 2012 20:12, unknowndomain <m...@unknowndomain.co.uk> wrote:
> Just throwing this out there, I have been to several Maker Faire's now and I
> don't get why there isn't one in London, so just interested to see how many
> people would like to collaborate and get such an event setup here in
> London...
> Have there been attempts before?
> Does anyone have experience in this area to share?
On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 22:07:28 +0100, you wrote:
>Just to clarify, I'm totally up for this, just trying to point out the
>things I know about :)
OK let's start with cost -any ideas on the minimum for, say a 2-day weekend event, to the nearest
power of ten, for a suitable venue and also other costs even if a cheap/free venue could be found?
I think free entry may be ambitious, and I don't think a small entry charge, no more than a fiver
with kids free would be a significant deterrent.
Personally I think a 2 day thing might be a bit much, the most sucessful MMF/MF I have seen was Brighton today and it is only on for one day for 8 hours. a two day event like the Newcastle MF might be a bit much.
When we ran a three day event out of a space on Bricklane this June it was £4.5k for the space, I think the space could be negotiated if the entry was free because it is more of a community spirited thing.
On 8 Sep 2012, at 22:11, Mike Harrison <m...@whitewing.co.uk> wrote:
>> Just to clarify, I'm totally up for this, just trying to point out the
>> things I know about :)
> OK let's start with cost -any ideas on the minimum for, say a 2-day weekend event, to the nearest
> power of ten, for a suitable venue and also other costs even if a cheap/free venue could be found?
> I think free entry may be ambitious, and I don't think a small entry charge, no more than a fiver
> with kids free would be a significant deterrent.
On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 22:10:31 +0100, you wrote:
>Do it. It's been discussed before and people have thrown up
>*potential* problems, but I don't think anyone's looked into it in
>detail. I'd agree that sharing with the London Model Engineering
>Exhibition could be useful. I went last year, and it's not all lathes
>and model railways - they have some quite varied stuff although it
>does tend to be mechanical rather than electronic. Even just a stand
>representing LHS/hackspaces would be good.
I've been to the LMEE about 3 times and two things struck me in particular
It was almost exactly the same set of exhibitors The vistor demographic was primarily the 60+ retired age group.
It would seem that a MF type co-event could give a major influx of younger visitors, and be
beneficial to all concerned. The ME shows already give significant space to clubs (I assume at no
charge), so the concept of space for hackspaces and people showing cool noncommercial stuff as a
visitor attraction should be familiar.
On Sat, 8 Sep 2012 22:14:18 +0100, you wrote:
>Personally I think a 2 day thing might be a bit much, the most sucessful MMF/MF I have seen was Brighton today and it is only on for one day for 8 hours. a two day event like the Newcastle MF might be a bit much.
That may be a significant point - even in terms of things like overnight security and exhibitor
accommodation it could add signifcantly to costs and probably not double attendance
>> Do it. It's been discussed before and people have thrown up
>> *potential* problems, but I don't think anyone's looked into it in
>> detail. I'd agree that sharing with the London Model Engineering
>> Exhibition could be useful. I went last year, and it's not all lathes
>> and model railways - they have some quite varied stuff although it
>> does tend to be mechanical rather than electronic. Even just a stand
>> representing LHS/hackspaces would be good.
> I've been to the LMEE about 3 times and two things struck me in particular
> It was almost exactly the same set of exhibitors > The vistor demographic was primarily the 60+ retired age group.
> It would seem that a MF type co-event could give a major influx of younger visitors, and be
> beneficial to all concerned. The ME shows already give significant space to clubs (I assume at no
> charge), so the concept of space for hackspaces and people showing cool noncommercial stuff as a
> visitor attraction should be familiar.
>> Personally I think a 2 day thing might be a bit much, the most sucessful MMF/MF I have seen was Brighton today and it is only on for one day for 8 hours. a two day event like the Newcastle MF might be a bit much.
> That may be a significant point - even in terms of things like overnight security and exhibitor
> accommodation it could add signifcantly to costs and probably not double attendance
> As regards venues/costs, surely there must be an opportunity for a cheap venue with a University or
> Arts type space, where they have a non profit-driven remit, and a space that's empty one weekend - a
> couple that immediately come to mind are ULU & Ambika P3.
Somewhere like Shoreditch Town Hall perhaps? I've been to a couple of
Fair-type events there and it's a nice space.
Yep, quite possibly, I would like to see if the space can be donated by a university so that might mean having it away from east london, which I personally wouldn't mind but I know how important location can be.
On 8 Sep 2012, at 22:26, Chris Lowis <chris.lo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> As regards venues/costs, surely there must be an opportunity for a cheap venue with a University or
>> Arts type space, where they have a non profit-driven remit, and a space that's empty one weekend - a
>> couple that immediately come to mind are ULU & Ambika P3.
> Somewhere like Shoreditch Town Hall perhaps? I've been to a couple of
> Fair-type events there and it's a nice space.
On 8 September 2012 22:29, Tom Lynch <m...@unknowndomain.co.uk> wrote:
> Yep, quite possibly, I would like to see if the space can be donated by a university so that might mean having it away from east london, which I personally wouldn't mind but I know how important location can be.
I have some involvement with the School of Informatics external
activities group at City University (main campus is between Angel,
Farringdon and Barbican tube stations), and could possibly help
facilitate using some space there. The usual requirement is that some
allowance for students to attend is made.
The school does not run any hardware centric modules (e.g. robotics)
so it might not be an ideal fit, but it's still probably worth asking
about if you think the location is suitable.
I'll ask the rest of the group what they think and get back to the list.
> Most of the efforts of people at the space who enjoy organising these
> types of things have had their efforts directed at Electromagnetic Field
> over the last year.
> I have thought about this, but with information from un-named sources,
> the actual benefit from having the MF brand verses the pain to get it
> approved isn't worth much. It may well be better to start our own brand,
> Maker Fete anyone?
> Also, putting on events of this size in london is
This. I know some folk who used to run a small con in London a couple of years ago. A few hundred atendees, about 3 days long. It being in central London made it cost almost as much as going to a similar week-long convention in the USA, including flights.
