Event Recap: Highlights from the Bay Area Maker Faire 2014!

The Bay Area Maker Faire came to a close on May 18th, but also opened many new possibilities and friendships! As a two-year veteran of the largest Maker Faire in the United States, the i.materialise community outreach team came ready to connect with the hundreds of makers who visited our booth! We’re glad that so many of you enjoyed playing with our chainmail armor samples, 3D printed metals and “moving part” designs. Thanks for visiting our booth! Connecting with you was the best part of our day. Here are some highlights from the Bay Area Maker Faire in San Mateo.

Spending Time with So Many Talented Gardeners, Cooks and Foodies!
California’s Bay Area is home to rich soil and trendsetting gourmet foods, so it isn’t surprising that so many gardeners, juice gourmets and foodies attended this Maker Faire. Some of you asked about our new ceramic colors! To answer your questions, our bright new colors are completely food-safe, non-toxic, and allergy-friendly. They are very durable, and meant to be used and re-used as plates, drinking cups, and even cake toppers!

i.materialise booth

New ceramic colors catching the attention of foodies

Franky’s Appearance on the “Future of 3D Printing” Panel
The “Future of 3D Printing” panel featured our very own Franky! He commented on Materialise’s role in the medical market for 3D printing, and shared his excitement about the young maker movement and their crazy ideas and passion. There were several questions after the panel, including “what is the best way to print metal” and “what are some easy-to-use softwares that make 3D printed designs?” If you missed us, you can still ask us via our contact page.

Our very own Franky on the stage!

Our very own Franky on the stage!

Anouk Wipprecht’s Dress
Anouk Wipprecht is a fashion designer whose work includes pieces for Cirque du Soleil, and whose line of wearable tech couture dresses have been featured in Elle Magazine, Makezine, and Wired! Anouk sets a high standard for wearable tech by creating something that is both beautiful and functional: her dresses interact with the wearer and environment. She uses i.materialise to print pieces for her couture line, including the shoulder covering featured here. This metallic silver dress is so stunning in-person that a fleet of cameras followed it to our booth. Thanks for coming by, Anouk!

Anouk Wipprecht’s Dress

Anouk stopping by at i.materialise booth

Main Trend: Metal
Metal and metallic pieces could be seen in every corner of the Faire, from weather-proof drones to steampunk-inspired “wearable tech”. i.materialise’s own collection of metal jewelry pieces received a lot of attention. We’re proud to say that our metals consist entirely of real silver, brass and titanium.

Metal Dragon

A metalic dragon shining under the blue sky

Metal bike

The brownish gold metal color is perfect for this antique-looking bike

Seeing Our Satisfied Customers!
This is the second year i.materialise has attended Bay Area Maker Faire, and this is one of the highlights of our year! From longtime customers to new users, from the most experienced designer to the youngest, most energetic upstart, we enjoyed sharing our passion for 3D printing with you.

See you next year in San Mateo!

See you again in San Mateo!

The next Bay Area Maker Faire is just a year away. In the meantime, we are here to help you make your dreams into 3D printed reality. What would you like to see us bring to a Maker Faire? Art, demos, tutorials? Let us know in the comments below!