TechShop RDU to Close

Our friends and sponsor since our first event, TechShop RDU, are closing their doors on Saturday April 20.  Below is an email that I sent out to our mailing list.  I encourage you to share your fond memories of TechShop in the comments.  A "wake" is even planned for Saturday night.

The Maker Culture in North Carolina is an unstoppable force of creativity and that is especially true in the Triangle region: Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill.  This concentration of talented and intelligent people is one of the reasons that the community workshop, TechShop, opened its doors in 2009 as TechShop Durham.  TechShop RDU is closing its doors on Saturday, April 20.

TechShop in Raleigh/Durham was a bold experiment.  It was a bold experiment whose driving force, Scott Saxon, answered the question of "should we?" with a pioneering rallying call of "OF COURSE WE SHOULD!"

TechShop RDU was a rallying point for all of the Triangle Makerati and it holds a very dear place in my heart.  Maker Faire North Carolina was created in the halls of TechShop in October of 2009.  We were born from a conversation: "Should we have a Maker Faire like those people in Rhode Island?"  My answer?  "OF COURSE WE SHOULD!" and now, four years later, we are planning our fourth epic event.

The pioneering spirit is vital to Makers.  It is our lifeblood.  Makers will make.  Doers will do. We Makers always answer the question of "why?" with "because I can!" and never back down from a challenge.

TechShop RDU didn't fail.  TechShop RDU sparked a fire in the Makers of North Carolina the likes of which I've never seen.  It launched projects, products, careers, and grand ideas.

It is up to our community to carry that momentum on to the next build, the next iteration: version 2.0.  One of you on this mailing list will be the founder of a new hackerspace, makerspace, or community workshop because, as I'll always say, Makers Gonna Make.

Sincerely,
Jon Danforth
Founder, Maker Faire North Carolina (created at TechShop RDU)

Makers Meetup Tonight in Burlington, NC

The Burlington Makers Meetup Group (Burlington, NC) - Meetup is tonight at 7:30PM at the Burlington Mall Starbucks.

This is a group for makers, artists, programmers, tinkerers, boffins, crafters, educators, and anyone who likes the kinds of projects and articles in "Make Magazine." It is a group for people who think “How can I make that?” instead of “where can I buy that.” Its a group for those who want to share their talents, knowledge, skills, and ideas with each other and with the world.

My name is Ben Harris and I'm a maker. I own my own small business (cottage industry) here in Burlington NC making science kits. I've recently become involved with Maker Faire (both in CA and here in NC!). I also own a CNC router, many bench power tools, a ton of hand tools, and lots of electronics equipment. I'm interested in exploring the idea of opening a “maker space” somewhere in Alamance county and would like to find out if there are other like minded people who might want to join such a space OR who might want to help out with creating such a space for others.

If you like to make things with your own two hands (either technical OR artistic or both!), and you like to share that with the world, and you are somewhere in/near Burlington-Graham/Alamance County then please join my new group.

Meetup to Organize Triangle Hackerspace

A meetup group has formed in the Triangle area that intends to start a hackerspace.  The kickoff meeting for the project will be on Fri Aug 6 @ 6:45 PM in Durham.

From their site:

This is a group formed to discuss the formation of a hackerspace in the triangle. Everyone is welcome to come to our meetings and get involved at the ground level.

Our goal is to form a hackerspace that is representative of an interdisciplinary community for learning, teaching, and creating. Instead of starting with a defined range of projects or programming, we want to create a hackerspace that is driven by its members. Hackerspaces, at any stage of their development, promote people to be hackers in the broadest sense: to learn all they can about the fields that interest them, explore their bounds, and create new and interesting ways to apply that knowledge. Here is what you need to know:

- EVERYONE is welcome. No exceptions.

- A hackerspace will be whatever its members and the community make it. That's why YOU should get involved. The more diverse, the better.

- We are leaning towards a member-driven community with sponsorship opportunities for local businesses

- The proposed location is Downtown Durham. The location is currently flexible.

Reminder: CarolinaCon 6 Starts Today in Raleigh

Raleigh's own original hacker conference, CarolinaCon, is back for its 6th year.  Registration starts at 6:00 tonight for this three-day conference.

When: CarolinaCon will be March 19th (7pm-10pm), 20th (10am-10pm), and 21st (10am-4pm)

Where: Holiday Inn at 4100 Glenwood Avenue; Raleigh, NC 27612

Cost: $20.00 for admission, the $20.00 covers all three days

www.carolinacon.org

Make:RDU Meeting Today at 2:00PM

Today is the third Saturday of the month! That must mean it's time for Make:RDU!
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Come out to Camille's Sidewalk Cafe today at 2:00PM and get your MAKE on with other like-minded hackers, artists, and technical wizards.  Project sharing is highly encouraged in this friendly roundtable discussion.

There's likely to be a good bit of chatter about the Maker Faire:NC too!