chrisgilmerproj

Since I started this blog about a year ago I've been trying to find a way to connect to the DIY community.  I've made projects on my own and posted them online, read blogs and tips from other makers, and worked with friends on a few projects.  Through all of that I've learned the limitations of what I can do on my own.  But it's clear to me that the DIY community is growing, if not sprawling, across the US and that there'd have to be others nearby that I could work with.  That's when I started looking into Hacker Spaces. What I found was encouraging but not quite what I'd wanted.  I think a hacker space is great if you can get down to the space a couple times a week and if the resources provided fit your needs.  But I don't really live near any hacker space that I can get to easily after work.  I also don't do enough hardware intensive projects to warrant paying the membership fee for tools I may rarely use.  I need a place where I can casually connect with people that want to work with me on a specific project or who can provide access to a tool I might need for just a weekend. Then in January, with all these thoughts running through my head, I headed out for coffee with my girlfriend.  Standing in line I remember thinking how I wish there as a coffee shop filled with makers, people I could sit down with and bounce ideas off of.  And I wish that one of those people would offer me an hour on their laser cutter or CNC so I could make whatever unique part I wanted for my latest project.  That's when I thought of the MakerCafe and decided I needed to build what I wanted instead of looking for it. MakerCafe is a social networking website for people that want to collaboratively build projects and share tools and other resources.  I want it to be a place where you can meet other people locally or across the country to start working on a project.  Then, if you need a specific tool or part, you can turn to the community for help.  Maybe you need to cut something out of plexiglass and there's a guy in the city who will do it for you.  Maybe you need a sewing machine or a serger and don't own one, but the lady down the street would be happy to teach you how.  I want to help build a community of people that make things together and give them the tools to do it. Now I've been working on MakerCafe for about two months.  I'm mostly doing the work on my own but I hope to get more help soon.  I've already made some huge progress on the site and I hope by the middle of the summer I'll be able to launch a beta to get feedback on what works and what doesn't.  As I work on it I've decided I need to post my ideas and look for feedback.  This site isn't a secret and I want it to be useful for others.  I'm even looking for help with building it.  So keep looking back here for more updates and I'll keep working hard to get the site up and running.