Pete Prodoehl, Author at Maker Faire Milwaukee

The Call for Makers has been extended, and we’re still adding plenty of Makers to the web site. Check out the list of Makers for 2016 so far. (More are being added daily!)

We’re excited to see the return of some awesome Makers from last year (many with new projects) and we’ve been welcoming a lot of first-time Makers to the event. Keep an eye on the blog for some “Meet the Makers” posts soon.

If you haven’t submitted an application yet, there’s still time and space! We’ll have the Call for Makers open until September 1, 2016. We’re also still looking for Speakers, Workshops, and teams to compete in the Power Racing Series. (We’re holding off on accepting Commercial Makers right now, but may open the application process again depending on space allocation.)

We’ve been seeing some great submissions come through the Call for Makers and we’re closing the call for Commercial Makers today, but we’ve decided to extend the call for Makers (those just showing and sharing, but not selling.) If you’re a Maker, either an individual, or part of a group, and you want to show off your project(s) at Maker Faire Milwaukee, you can still apply!

We’ll keep the Call for Makers open until September 1, 2016, though if we fill up every space we have it may close sooner, so if you know an awesome maker, speaker, or workshop leader, tell them to submit an application as soon as they can (even if their project isn’t done.)

We’ve been working through the list of Maker submissions from our Call for Makers and we’ve now got 80 Makers approved and listed on the site!

Check out the list of Makers for 2016!

And don’t worry… There’s more coming! We’ve got a new batch in the queue and should have over 100 Makers listed on the site by next week.

If you haven’t submitted an application yet, there’s still time and space! We’ll have the Call for Makers open until August 1, 2016. We’re also still looking for Speakers, Workshops, and teams to compete in the Power Racing Series.

Our Call for Makers is open until August 1st, 2016, which gives you about three weeks to apply. But what if your project isn’t done yet? That’s okay, and I’ll explain why…

Making is a process, a journey, if you will, and along that journey you learn things. Maybe you learn a new skill, or you learn why you should have used screws instead of nails, or why hot glue wasn’t the best choice. All of these little details of a project create an experience, and the experience is something you can share at Maker Faire.

Maybe you’ve been working on a project for years, and it’s still not done. Showing it to people, and talking through it may give you new ideas, or the boost of energy you need to complete the project. (Maybe you’ll complete it by next year and bring it back as a finished project!)

Above all, what we’re looking for is people who will come to Maker Faire and share. Share their projects (finished or not) but also share their knowledge, what they learned along the way. Just showing what you’ve got so far can be inspiring to someone who hasn’t even started a project yet.

Don’t wait! Apply to the Call for Makers today!

You may remember Jake Bissen from last year’s Maker Faire Milwaukee. He had the suit of armor he made as a member of Milwaukee Makerspace, and we ended the weekend with him in the armor battling the large Tesla coil. (You remember the post, right?)

Jake is a film student at UWM and his senior project is a film titled “Rook” that he’ll be producing. Besides the suit of armor, Jake has been busy building a camera crane, camera dolly, and other equipment needed for his film. He also plans to use the Kuka industrial robot arm at Milwaukee Makerspace as a camera control system to film himself battling the large Tesla coil again, a practical effect never before seen in a film.

Jake’s idea came about due to something crazy he tried at Maker Faire, and he wants to make it a reality, but he needs some help. If you want to see him succeed, consider supporting his Indiegogo campaign to help fund the film. You can also check out the Facebook page for the film.

Look who showed up at Betty Brinn Children’s Museum this week! It’s our old pal Makey. He wanted to let everyone know that the National Week of Making is coming up, and remind you that Maker Faire Milwaukee takes place September 24 & 25, 2016 at Wisconsin State Fair Park.

If you make something awesome this weekend share it online and use the hashtags #WeekOfMaking and #NationOfMakers so others can be inspired by your creativity.

The 2016 National Week of Making kicks off this Friday, June 17th and runs through Thursday, June 23rd. Join us in celebrating makers of all kinds and making of all kinds.

At Betty Brinn Children’s Museum our Be A Maker space will be featuring their Urban Gardening and Animation Experiments during the Week of Making.

Our friends (and co-hosts of Maker Faire Milwaukee) at Milwaukee Makerspace will be opening their doors for their weekly meeting on Tuesday, June 21st at 7pm. Drop in and find out more about the space and the makers who use it.

And finally, our own Carrie Wettstein and Pete Prodoehl will be headed to the National Maker Faire happening in Washington D.C. this coming weekend. Carrie will attend the President’s National Week of Making kick-off event at the White House on Friday and Pete will be speaking on a panel at the National Maker Faire. The gathering will unite select individuals from around the country who are leading efforts to empower, support and inspire makers.

What will you be doing for the National Week of Making?

After our recent visit to the Madison Mini Maker Faire to run the Nerdy Derby event, we realized we’re going to need a lot more wheels in the 100 days we have remaining until Maker Faire Milwaukee! We’ve been running multiple 3D printers to make as many as we can.

Luckily our friends at Coex in Appleton make great filament, and they were kind enough to donate some spools to us so we could keep the printers busy. (Thanks, Coex!)

Adrian, our Nerdy Derby Champion has been busy drilling out the wheels so they have consistently sized holes. (He’s got a lot more drilling to do before September 24th!)

Our Call for Makers has been open for three weeks now, and we’ve received over 50 submissions from all kinds of Makers excited to share what they do this September. When people apply we ask for their location, and we’re happy to see that people are coming from all over the place, not just the Greater Milwaukee Area.

Besides Madison, Chicago, and other (fairly) close locations, we’ve got a few Makers coming quite a distance! We’re looking forward to welcoming Makers from Indiana, Kansas, North Dakota, and even New York!

(We may have to come up with an award for the Maker who travels the farthest distance to get to Maker Faire Milwaukee.)

If you haven’t applied yet, do it now! Our Call for Makers will close on August 1st, 2016.

The Call for Makers is now OPEN! If you’re a Maker, we want YOU to share what you do! Visit the Call for Makers page and apply if you are a Maker/Exhibitor, a Commercial Maker, or interested in leading a Workshop or being a Speaker. (We’re also looking for teams to take part in the Power Racing Series!)

We’ll be accepting applications until August 1st, 2016, so don’t delay! If you have any questions about participating at Maker Faire Milwaukee, please get in touch with the team at makers@makerfairemilwaukee.com

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