Wednesday, May 14

Bravo to a #Maker #Dad !

I was excited this morning when I found that Structur3D was launching its Universal 3D Printing Paste Extruder - Discov3ry - at the Maker Faire this weekend in San Mateo CA. (I'm going so I'll get to see it!) This is a plug-n-play device that can be attached to existing RepRap-style 3D printers including Makerbots and Ultimakers. You can print just about anything that's not solid - like food prints, take cake frosting for instance. Ceramics, silicone, latex, etc  - you get the idea. Structur3D will launch its Kickstarter campaign to coincide with the debut of their beauty this weekend.

I was actually more excited when I found this video of Charles Mire, co-founder of Structur3D Printing called "I Am A Maker Dad". Bravo to you, Charles, and your wife Michelle, for encouraging your girls to be all they can be! Science and technology interests make for a good future for your girls!

Saturday, March 8

The Maker Movement in Rwanda

Making is cultural atavism - Why the maker movement belongs in Rwanda

"In the West, the Maker Movement is a counter-culture.  In Rwanda, however, making is the national doctrine....In Rwanda, we are all Makers."

I ponder these words as I'm reading the above linked article about Rwandan makers. I went to Rwanda 20 years ago -  Kigali, Rwanda to be specific, prior to the genocide. That experience alone made Rwanda special to me.

I remember seeing the cover of TIME magazine as it reported on the genocide months later. The cover was a large pile of bodies, all clothed in those beautiful printed fabrics that people wear everyday. Right in the center of that pile was a woman wearing a dress with the same fabric that I had in my closet - a dress made for me by a tailor I met there. I can't explain how impacting that was! I was now connected to Rwanda deeply, in a way I never imagined. So reading about Afrimakers has made my heart soar! This is Making at it's finest.  #Maker #Afrimakers