Community Organizing & the Call for Makers

 

Finding and Recruiting of Makers

Our experience is that about 50% of the makers come in through an open application process and about 50% is the result of active outreach to identify and draw in work from the community.   A core group must act as curators to locate and review create work in the community and understand the best way to feature makers.

There are two primary methods for reaching makers:  good old human networking, and an official Call for Makers application process

Networking ensures that those special makers, the gems in your pile of DIY treasure, agree to make an appearance at your event.  Often a one-to-one, human connection is required to motivate the “rock star” or the “hermit” makers to devote the time and energy it takes to participate at Maker Faire.

An official, online Call for Makers opens the proposal process, making it accessible to a larger network of people than even a Maker Faire organizing committee collectively can know.  Promoting an online form and pushing out reminders about the Call for Makers deadline helps promote Maker Faire in general, and get word about your upcoming event circulating through the tendrils of the Internet and social media outlets.  It is also your formal information-collection device about your exhibitors, their content, and their production needs.

The Call for Makers also allows your team to have some curatorial control over who exhibits at your event.  Perhaps some applications are weak, redundant, or completely off-the-mark.  Perhaps you receive far too many applications for your venue.  The Call gives you the opportunity to review and prioritize your applicants, and decline some.

DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF MAKERS

A typical Maker Faire actually has a few sub-sets of Makers.  The Call for Makers should address all of your potential participant groups.

1. Makers.  These are the individuals or groups who are demonstrating a skill or craft, showing a finished piece of work and explaining it, and/or teaching a skill or leading a hands-on activity.  Makers can be anyone from yarn spinners to hackers to terrarium makers to alt energy vehicles to the learn-to-solder booth.
2. Commercial Makers (Vendors).  These are the folks or businesses that want to sell stuff at your Faire. They can be handmade craft vendors, techie kit companies, and even food/drink concessioners.  Vendors are used to paying for their space; you should be prepared to share information about what you are charging (see Designing Your Maker Faire/Vendors)
3. Performers.  Musicians and dancers and snake charmers fit this group.  They are the stage show.
4. Speakers.  You might choose to have workshops or lectures or panel discussions at your Faire.  Speakers might or might not have an actual booth at your Faire.
5. Exhibiting Sponsors.  You won’t use the Call for Makers for finding sponsors (it’s really a hand-held, high-touch activity), but if and when you secure sponsors and they would like exhibit at your Faire, you will want to track them and feed them information like any other maker.  Having them fill out a Call for Makers form (or you doing it for them) will ensure that these exhibiting sponsors receive all necessary production information.

Designing your Call for Makers application form so you can gather information relevant for all categories is helpful (more below in Call for Makers Process).  Makers will be your primary respondents to the Call, but it’s helpful to keep the Call open to the other categories.

MAKERS AND GROUPS TO ENGAGE

Your open “Call for Makers” will likely return half of your desired field of makers.  To achieve an optimal range of makers you will need to get on the phone, send a whole lot of emails, and research on the Internet.

Besides researching and networking for independent, solo makers, you can also outreach to community groups and affiliations, both to spread the word, and to have their club exhibit at the event.  Some examples of these kinds of groups are:

• Nationally organized groups with local chapters (e.g. 4-H, FIRST Robotics, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA and YWCA)
• Schools (especially certain tracks in Engineering, Art, Science, Crafts) — consider from pre-K to college
• Community art centers and art collectives
• Master gardening programs, bee clubs, urban greening groups
• LEGO user groups
• Hacker meetups and hackerspaces

ENSURING A DIVERSE RANGE OF MAKERS

One of the most surprising, stimulating and identifiable traits about Maker Faire is the diversity of topics one might encounter there. Makers come from the worlds of craft, engineering, robotics, arts, education, ecology, gaming and more.

Maker outreach will likely challenge your team to look far and deep into the nooks and crannies of your community.   Look at Maker Faire’s tables below on the kinds of subjects covered; you can use it to drive your search and recognize what and who you might be missing.

Arts	Crafts	Engineering
AIA Local Chapters	4H Groups	3D Printers
Art Cars	Bazaar Bizarre	Amateur Aviation Groups
Art Museums	Bobbin Lace Makers Guild	Amateur Radio Groups
Blacksmithing	Book Making and Binding	Amateur Rocketry Groups
Burning Man	Boy Scouts	American Engineering Assoc.
Comic Groups	Card Making	Arduino Groups
Filmmaking	Ceramics & Pottery	ArtBot Groups
Fiber Artists	Children’s After School Programs	ASME
Fire Arts	Clothing Making	Bicycle Groups
Holyographic Groups	Craftster	CAPITAL Best Robotics
Jewelry Making	Crocheting	Car Repair Groups
Kinetic Art Groups	Doll Making	Catapult Groups
LEGO Users Groups	Embroidery (groups, associations)	Circuit Bending
Metal Arts	Etsy	CNC Groups
Neon Art	Felting	Combot Robots
Painting	Fiber Arts Groups	Computer Modders
Photography Groups	Folk Art	Computer User Groups
Pinball Groups	Girl Scouts	DIY Drones
Recycled Arts	Glass Blowers	DIY Energy
Steampunk	Jewelry Making	DIY Radio Groups
The Long Now Foundation	Journal Making	Electric Cars
Yoyo Clubs	Knitting	Engineers Without Borders
	Lacemaking	Fab Labs
	Model Makers	FIRST Robotics
Food/Sustainability	Moldmaking	Hackers Groups
Audubon & Bird Groups	Mosaics	IEEE
Beekeeping	Museums of Craft and Folk Arts	Insect Bots
Beer Brewing	Open Source Embroidery	Intel Computer Clubhouse Network
Cake Making	Origami	Kids and Technology Groups
Cheese Making	Painting	LED Art
Chocolate Making	Quilters	MIDI User Groups
Citizen Science	Renegade Crafts Fair	Model Railroad Clubs
Composting	Scrapbooking	Odyssey of the Mind
Cooking Classes	Sewing	R/C Model Clubs
Culinary Programs	Silk Screening Groups	Repair Groups
Edible Schoolyards	Smart Materials	Rube Goldberg Groups
Edible Communities	Soapmaking	Soapbox Derby
Farmers Markets	Swap-O-Rama-Rama	Solar Cars
Homegrown.org	The National Needle Arts (TNNA)	Tech Shop
Local Foragers	Weavers and Spinners	Underwater Robotics
Master Gardeners	Woodworking	WALL-E Builders
Molecular Gastronomy	YMCA	Women In Engineering Groups
Mycology	YWCA	HAM Radio Operators
Permaculture
Preserving	Green	Science
Seed Saver Libraries	Calcars.org	Adult Education/Community Colleges
Slow Food	Co-Housing	Astronomy Clubs
Vegetarian Groups	Community Bike Groups	Chemistry
Wine Making	Composting	Children’s Museums
Youth Programs – Urban Roots	Eco Modding	Computer Museums
	Environmental Kids Groups	DIY Biology
	Fix Your Bike Groups	DIY Energy
Music	Green Arts Groups	DIY Forensics
Circuit Bending	Green Cleaning	DIY Science
Dance Groups	Hybrid Car Groups	Dorkbot
Electronic Music/Theremin	PARK(ing) Day	Exploratorium
Instrument Hacking	Recycling Groups	Kite Making and Flying
Instrument Making	Solar Groups	Paper Airplane Making
Jug Bands	Solar Ovens	Robots
Marching Band	Treehugger	Rocketry Groups
Music Classes	Water Groups	Science Museums
Taiko Drummers	Wind Power	Science Workshops
Theater Groups		Space Exploration
	Other	Teachers Resource/Support Groups
	Board Games	Telescope Makers
	Chess Groups	Tesla Coils
	Computer Gaming	University Programs
	Halloween	Zoology Groups
	Hula Hoops
	Juggling
	Meetups
	School Groups
	Star Wars Clubs
	Wax Sculptures
	Specialty Schools/Education

Our committee found itself spending quite a bit of time on the “human networking” task, looking for holes in the breadth of types of makers who had applied, and making calls and sending emails to specific groups and individuals.  This is one of those questions of scale, and how much energy and time the organizing team has to spend.  But any Maker Faire should express the breadth of interests captured in the maker spirit, so do your best to represent a wide range of kinds of making at your event.

 

“CALL FOR MAKERS” PROCESS

The Call for Makers process involves five steps:

1. Decide on your Call for Makers opening and closing dates.
2. Set up an online form.
3. Promote the Call for Makers.
4. Accept makers.
5. Decline some makers.
6. Collect Fire Safety Plans as necessary.
7. Receive signed Maker Participation Agreements.

1:  Decide on your Call for Makers opening and closing dates.  Deadlines or calls to action are what make people perform.  Committing to dates for the opening and closing of the Call for Makers will drive traffic to your blog/website and make people aware of both the event and your open application process.

The amount of time your Call for Makers is open depends on how much lead time you have, and also how big your event is.  We recommend keeping your Call for Makers open for at least a month, and closing it no later than six weeks (up to 10 weeks) prior to your event.  This lead time will give you the space to continue a curated recruitment of makers for a few weeks until you really need to get into space planning and mapping.  (See Timelines for more info on schedule.)

2:  Set up an online form. Forms on the Internet are getting simpler and easier to use all the time.  Maker Faire will set up a Google Call for Makers form for you when setting up your website blog.

Here is the form.  You are free to customize the questions, but the questions are distilled from much Maker Faire experience.    There is also a bit of code we embedded in our form to enable a maker to receive a confirmation and copy of the form submission.

If you want to make your own, you can select >File, >Make a Copy from this backend version of the form.

Or you can make your own from scratch.  Setting up a Google Docs form is very easy:

 

1. Open https://docs.google.com
2. Click on the “Create New” button to get a menu and choose “Form”
3. Follow the prompts to create your own form.

HINT: Make sure to “Edit confirmation” (under the “More actions” button) to tailor the message that applicants receive once they have hit submit.  This is your chance to ask them to “Like” you on Facebook, follow you on Twitter, and forward the Call for Makers announcement to their friends.  You should also give them some indication of when they will hear “yay” or “nay” from you.

3:  Promote the Call for Makers.  Broadcasting your Call for Makers far and wide is critical to having a successful mini Maker Faire.  This is your first big PR outreach for your event, and it can involve quite a bit of work to get prepared to do it well.  Of course, you will want to scale the size of your effort to your vision of your Mini Maker Faire. That is, if you expect to have a small event with just ten makers, you won’t want to spread the word so widely that you have to reject 90 worthy applicants. Be strategic.

Here are some ways of doing it:

Blog Post. Write a post announcing the Call for Makers describing your event, the kinds of exhibits you are looking for, and the opening and closing dates for the Call for Makers.   Follow this post with others announcing great “headliner” makers that you have already pre-booked (see “Our First Maker”) to generate excitement, news coverage, and word of mouth.  (Twitter and post on Facebook every time you publish on your blog—more on websites and social media in Marketing the Event.

Email blasts.  Email a short blurb to all your contacts with a link to your form.  To do this, start building your master database or a contact list of organizations and makers you want to invite.  You can use a variety of tools for your master database or contact list (see Maker Management Tools for more information).   Be careful when using a personal account not to email too many addresses at one time or your account could be tagged as a spammer.  Consider using a (free) mail blast service like MailChimp.com.

Facebook Posts/Twitter Posts.  Let the people do the work for you!  Announce your Call for Makers and all updates about your event via your Facebook and Twitter feeds.  Ask your audience to “RT” (retweet) and “share.”  (See Social Media for more information.)

Public Service Announcement.  If radio is big in your community, it’s really easy these days to write and record a 15 or 20 or 30 second public service announcement. (We used Garage Band on a recent MacBook to record our .mp3 file.)  Here is an example script:

 

Maker Faire is coming to Oakland on Sunday, October 24th.  Over 100 exhibits, activities, workshops, rides, craft booths and bands—all in a spirit of Do-It-Yourself.  Build a rocket, make a Halloween costume, and so much more!  Get tickets for the East Bay Mini Maker Faire at ebmakerfaire.com.

(See Public Relations for more information.)

Celebrate! If you have the bandwidth, do a meet-up at some bar or community gathering spot to honor the opening or closing of the Call.  You’ll build community and get the word out.

Press Release or Post Announcement.  Many print publications and broadcast outlets still appreciate press releases, and they often require a significant lead time to include your event in their calendar or to be considered as a story.  Here is a sample Call for Makers Press release.   (See Public Relations for more information.)

4: Accept Makers.  It’s time to watch your event take shape! Makers need to plan ahead, so make sure you email a notification of acceptance to them on the date you promised.  Send accepted makers an acceptance letter or email, a maker manual if you have one, and a maker participation agreement if you have one. (Click on links for example documents you can copy and customize.) Include some information on next steps—for example, a “save the date” for an open house or walkthrough at the event venue.

You may find that you need to extend the deadline for acceptances. Even if you do not publicly announce the extension, at least you can leave open a webpage that can be a “back door” where additional applications might be submitted. After you’ve accepted your makers, you may notice that you need to recruit additional kinds of makers to give a better balance to the content areas of your event. If you do extend the deadline, however, give your organizing team a hard deadline internally for accepting new makers.

You can drive yourself crazy rearranging floorplans and schedules to accommodate new gems in the final weeks and days before your event. Keep in mind that you can always have the last-minute makers at your next Mini Maker Faire next year!

5. Reject applicants. However hard it is to say “no”, do send those applicants who don’t fit your event or who don’t meet your standards a courteous decline note. You want them to walk away feeling good about your event and about continuing to make. We recommend saying very little of substance in the decline letter, as anyone who is particularly disappointed may read too much into what you wrote. Keep the tone neutral about their project yet encouraging of making in general. In our experience, most of the “declines” were small businesses trying to pose as makers to avoid the fee for being a vendor.  We also decline some music performers for curatorial or space reasons.  We also were limited on vendor spaces and thus had to decline about 30% of our craft vendor applicants.  Mentioning an “overwhelming response” to the Call for Makers is polite. Some applicants will want to contribute to the event in other ways even if they cannot have a booth.

6. Collect Fire Safety Plans as needed. As you prepare for the event, you may have to get an approval from a fire marshal. For the well-being of your attendees and all your makers, vendors, performers, staff, etc., you will want to flag any exhibit that can pose a danger to the exhibitor or a visitor. Any exhibits or performances with fire, explosions, hazardous chemicals, launches, sharp or otherwise dangerous materials or tools should be accompanied by a safety plan. It will make both you and the maker more confident that you are all aware of the foreseeable risks, considered possible consequences, and have taken all the precautions you could to ensure everyone’s safety.

See Propane, Gasoline, and Other Fuel for more information on fire; you are also welcome to copy and adapt this fire safety plan form from East Bay Mini Maker Faire.

7. Collect signed Participation Agreements. If you are very organized you can have your makers sign a pledge of allegiance to your event.   It can include maker guidelines, as well as any waiver information and media releases.  Here is a maker agreement from Bay Area Maker Faire.

At this step, you should also collect payments and signed commercial maker participation agreements from every commercial maker.

 

Community Development

Site Open House

Host an open house one or two weeks before the event date to 1) give makers to get a first-hand look at the site, 2) let them see where they will be located, and 3) meet face-to-face and ask any questions they might have.  If you have a site map designed already, give a copy to everyone who shows up and either lead a tour, send section leaders out with makers, or let them tour themselves using the map.  It’s ideal to have a solid draft of your maker layout at this point so you can share approximate location with the makers and deal right then with any production hurdles or questions.

There is an opportunity here to make this gathering more social (pot-luck or meet-up at a local bar), but the emphasis is really on generating clarity and getting makers excited about the event.

Media Referrals

Most makers love the exposure Maker Faire brings to their work.  Have your PR team or leader prepared with a list of different kinds of makers with contact information and a little description of their work. This will enable you to pass on reporters directly to your makers, giving them some well-deserved attention.   (See Public Relations and Managing Media Requests for more information.)

Maker Dinner

Makers love to mill about and talk to each other.  They don’t have much time to do this while the event is going on, so organizing a dinner or other gathering beforehand is a nice gesture and a great contributor to building maker community.

Maker Faire Bay Area has a maker dinner on the Friday night before the Faire, and that works because people are traveling and arriving for a complete weekend.  For one-day events it is often more successful to combine a dinner with a preview Open House, or other earlier Town Hall event.  OR forgo the dinner, do a Town Hall, but plan to feed your makers lunch on the day of the event.