Background:
I’m writing this after the show. Just got home on Sunday.
Staff
Like last time, they were all amazingly helpful. Not only did they help, they were incredibly personable. They remembered names, and personal details about me - that is incredible considering the number of people they interact with. They were genuinely helpful. Loved what they do.
Applying:
It wasn’t too difficult - I did it 2 weeks beforehand (because of my poor planning), and they streamlined it. They had space, so didn’t have an issue with helping me.
https://bayarea.makerfaire.com/#/booth/155002000002540017
Questions to onboard were simple, but I mostly just left the previous info that was already there. I uploaded new videos and images though.
Get help:
I didn’t have anyone helping man the station this year and it was just as exhausting as last time. I need to recruit others to sit there and guide/help others so that I can sit, get a break, get food, see other booths - perhaps get kids of friends who are interested and may want to help.
Pre-Planning:
Unknowns:
I did not know what the space would look like and unlike last time, I didn’t have time to go up the week before to see it - and I think they moved me last minute. The booth beside me was a bit loud. I came on Saturday to set up (rather than Friday like last time and so I didn’t show to the Friday crowd). It worked out overall, but maybe being there for Friday would be better (will need to figure out where to stay and prepare to be exhausted!)
Getting there:
It is far! Be prepared for that! It was about an hour from SF.
Parking the primary lot is far - about a 20-30 min walk at least. If you have things, it won’t be easy without a trolley or cart. There is a closer parking but it is hard to know if you are allowed to park there - I did park there and didn’t get a ticket or anything, but that might have been luck.
Setting up:
I had used the same task rabbit as last time to pick up and drop things - he was able to do it but his availability was sparse, so potential to be booked if not done early. Cost was $250 each way. Same as last year, TV sat out in the open which staff seemed to be ok with. Overall, pretty safe place.
Venue Flow:
I should have implemented some sort of counter. But if I was there for both days from 11 to 4, and 1 run through happens every 2 minutes, then that would be about 300 people came through.
Editors apparently came by (Ralf, beside me, got 2 editor choice awards! He definitely had help as I mentioned above). I didn’t see editors and when I ran into one later, he said he didn’t see my booth. That might because I wasn’t there on Friday and I started an hour late on both days. This means GET THERE early.
Signage
I put up small sign holders with a QR code. A lot of people took an image of it and I think followed up after.
Food:
It was hard to get food again. And no water. see: Get help above.
AV, Power, etc plan for everything! dongles, extension cords, sound, etc - they might have stuff to help with, but don’t count on it. I had an extension cord that was about 25 m – didn’t need that length, but close to it!
Background:
This past year, I had the opportunity to present at the Maker Faire Bay Area festival - I was excited but also nervous! I had submitted an application past the deadline and was fortunate to get through, but then that is when the real work started.
This was the first Maker Faire in the Bay Area since before the pandemic and so there wasn’t a lot of recent info out there and any info that we could find was even for a different venue. This festival had a lot of unknowns and planning for them was challenging.
I am writing this to capture my observations from our experience which might help others.
Staff
Can’t stress enough how amazing they all were. No one ever seemed stressed or curt - they extended help in any way they could. Communicate with them and take their advice when they provide it.
Applying:
It wasn’t too difficult - they ask a bunch of questions which you might not have answers to at present but you can update so apply as soon as you can and give as much info that you can. It helps the Maker Faire team plan for your needs.
I didn’t have a web page or final exhibit at all when first applying and just posted a description and some basic photographs initially.
Get help:
I recruited co-artists right away. They helped take an initial summer project to a fully fledged exhibitable installation helping with everything from project planning, to sound editing, brochure development and name/title generation. We eventually settled on the name: Feedback Loop and our crew became the Blurry Dragonfruits (the latter being the name of our cohort at NYU Tisch School of Art).
Budgets: nearly everything needs to be paid for by yourself outside of tables/chairs/power
If you need an extension cord, get it. A power bar, bring it. Dongles? Bring extras! I had one fail and luckily I had an extra in my bag. That was on the set up day. So for the first day, I first stopped at Best Buy and bought a ton of extra items and confirmed that I could return them afterwards if not used.
Pre-Planning:
Unknowns:
What the space would look like - we went the day before to get a better idea, but that still wasn’t very easy to imagine - it was a complete blank space. It would have helped to be able to see it weeks/months in advance - luckily my installation didn’t suffer, but I can imagine some people would have a hard time adapting.
Lighting: it was dark enough
Getting there:
It is far! Be prepared for that!
Parking the primary lot is far - about a 20-30 min walk at least. If you have things, it won’t be easy.
There is closer parking but it is hard to know if you are allowed to park there - I did and didn’t get a ticket or anything.
Setting up:
I had used task rabbits to pick up and drop things - they seemed to have a pretty ok time dealing with the loading team and to navigate to my space before I got there. But note - all the expensive items just sit out in the open - that can be problematic!
Venue Flow:
It is hard to tell how many people will come. On the first day (Friday) there were a ton of kids as they came as part of school trips. The second and third day were busy but with more adults and little kids. Total numbers on both days were quite high with peaks and lows but generally a steady stream of people coming and going. Because our installation didn’t require guidance during the interaction, it gave me space to chat with people waiting or observing. But if you need to give guidance to a user while using your installation, you may need to have another person who can chat to others to keep them engaged.
It is important to specify your requirements
Signage
it wasn’t the greatest. There wasn’t an easy place – in hindsight, I would have put up our own.
Food:
I didn’t get time to go get food at all - it is not easy. The lines are insane and so you don’t have time to wait in lines. On the second day, I brought some snacks which I ducked out to eat. I hope they address this for future events.
Overall:
Such a great time. You can tell that a lot of exhibitors are showcasing items that they have iterated on over years, while others are presenting for the purpose of attracting customers, and others presenting for the first time (like us). If you’re interested in participating, take the leap! It is a welcoming event and everyone is willing to help. Feel free to reach out.