{"id":20387,"date":"2015-03-31T19:35:16","date_gmt":"2015-03-31T19:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=20387"},"modified":"2017-04-17T12:26:09","modified_gmt":"2017-04-17T16:26:09","slug":"what-i-learned-from-exhibiting-at-my-first-maker-faire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/what-i-learned-from-exhibiting-at-my-first-maker-faire","title":{"rendered":"What I learned from exhibiting at my first Maker Faire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Vicky Somma, a Shapeways Crew member and owner of the shop <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/shops\/tgaw\" target=\"_blank\">TGAW<\/a>. This piece was first published on <a href=\"https:\/\/tgaw.wordpress.com\" target=\"_blank\">Vicky&#8217;s blog TGAW<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Earlier in March 2015 I had a booth at my very first Maker Faire! The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.makerfairenova.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Nova Mini Maker Faire<\/a>\u00a0in Reston, Virginia. My booth focused on my 3D Prints made with\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.blender.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Blender<\/a>\u00a0(for 3D Modeling) and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Shapeways<\/a>\u00a0(for 3D Printing).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20388\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20388\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20388\" alt=\"Vicky Somma at the NoVa Mini Maker Faire\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647400728_de998d2301_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-wp-pid=\"20388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647400728_de998d2301_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647400728_de998d2301_z-625x416.jpg 625w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647400728_de998d2301_z-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20388\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vicky Somma at the NoVa Mini Maker Faire<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I was interested in knowledge sharing, so I had a monitor displaying a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tgaw.wordpress.com\/2015\/03\/15\/ginormous-blender-3dprinting-prezi-for-makerfairenova\/\" target=\"_blank\">Giant Prezi of Death<\/a>\u00a0of screenshots of my modeling techniques in\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blender.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Blender<\/a>. I also had on hand a variety of prints I had done through\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Shapeways<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/shpws.me\/CcZm\" target=\"_blank\">Library of Congress Ornament<\/a>\u00a0(in Gold Plated Steel, Stainless Steel, and White Strong &amp; Flexible Plastics)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/shpws.me\/Gfal\" target=\"_blank\">Schrodinger\u2019s Cat<\/a>\u00a0(in Full Color Sandstone)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/shpws.me\/Dek1\" target=\"_blank\">Custom Woven Heart Cameo Ornaments<\/a>\u00a0(in Full Color Sandstone)<\/li>\n<li>Occoquan Vapor Ornament (in White Strong &amp; Flexible Plastic)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/shpws.me\/EDig\" target=\"_blank\">Breastfeeding Pendants and Charms<\/a>\u00a0(in a variety of Plastic and Metals)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/shpws.me\/CkYr\" target=\"_blank\">Relay for Life Standing Cancer Ribbons<\/a>\u00a0(in Purple Strong &amp; Flexible Plastic)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/shpws.me\/CcE8\" target=\"_blank\">School Bus Wine Stopper<\/a>\u00a0(in Gold Plated Steel)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/shpws.me\/DejU\" target=\"_blank\">Glowing Cthulhu Pumpkin<\/a>\u00a0(in Orange Strong and Flexible Plastic)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/shpws.me\/Ce56\" target=\"_blank\">Dial-O-Lantern<\/a>\u00a0(in Orange Strong &amp; Flexible Plastic)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/shpws.me\/DVF7\" target=\"_blank\">Elements of Harmony Die<\/a>\u00a0(in Stainless Steel)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_20390\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20390\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20390\" alt=\"Shapeways prints ready to go to the faire\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16846188175_5a2b22073f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-wp-pid=\"20390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16846188175_5a2b22073f_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16846188175_5a2b22073f_z-625x416.jpg 625w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16846188175_5a2b22073f_z-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20390\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shapeways prints ready to go to the faire<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Since I was giving a speech on \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/tgaw.wordpress.com\/2015\/03\/15\/links-from-3d-printing-without-a-3d-printer-makerfairenova\/\" target=\"_blank\">3D Printing without Owning a 3D Printer<\/a>\u201d in the afternoon, I also had a small section of my table dedicated to compliment that speech and to let people know that they could 3D print that day without owning a printer or knowing a thing about modeling.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20392\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20392\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20392\" alt=\"Small \u201c3D Printing without Owning a Printer -OR- Knowing Modeling\u201d Section\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16658849800_7ec8dace56_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" data-wp-pid=\"20392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16658849800_7ec8dace56_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16658849800_7ec8dace56_z-625x352.jpg 625w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16658849800_7ec8dace56_z-400x225.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20392\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Small \u201c3D Printing without Owning a Printer -OR- Knowing Modeling\u201d Section<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_20395\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20395\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20395\" alt=\"Giving my talk at Nova Mini Maker Faire\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16649304159_ca2b21b04c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-wp-pid=\"20395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16649304159_ca2b21b04c_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16649304159_ca2b21b04c_z-625x416.jpg 625w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16649304159_ca2b21b04c_z-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20395\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Giving my talk at Nova Mini Maker Faire<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It was an absolutely fantastic time and as with all first experiences, I learned a little along the way. <em>Here are a couple of Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts I came away with.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>DON\u2019T Be Intimidated!<\/strong><br \/>\nAt the informational meeting, the organizers stressed that they want Makers of\u00a0<em>all\u00a0<\/em>levels. You didn\u2019t have to be an expert or a professional. Reinforcing that concept, the NoVa Mini Maker Faire kept posting a badge saying, \u201cWe are All Makers\u201d and they mean it.<\/p>\n<p>I was somewhat nervous about the other 3D modelers. I\u2019m still relatively new to 3D modeling, so at times leading up to the event I had a wee bit of \u201cimposter syndrome.\u201d I was mentally preparing myself for someone coming up, sniffing arrogantly, and saying, \u201cOh, I see you are using the Boolean Modifier. Don\u2019t you know that makes messy meshes?\u201d : )<\/p>\n<p>But the environment of the Maker Faire isn\u2019t like that at all. People are enthusiastic, people are curious, and people are very very very nice. It\u2019s like the Comment thread of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.instructables.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Instructables<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking of Instructables, there\u2019s actually an Instructables out there for \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.instructables.com\/id\/Your-Own-Booth-at-the-Maker-Faire\/\" target=\"_blank\">Your Own Booth at the Maker Faire<\/a>\u201c. A great resource for knowing what to expect! : )<\/p>\n<p><strong>DON\u2019T Be Afraid to Reach Out to Related Vendors<\/strong><br \/>\nLeading up to the Faire, I emailed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Shapeways<\/a>\u00a0to let them know what I was doing and they sent me giveaways for my booth! So I had some nice stickers and postcards for people to take!<\/p>\n<p>And then get this! The Community Advocate from Shapeways, Michael, came down to our faire and helped with the booth. As busy as the faire was, it was great to have an extra voice there. He brought a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/shops\/youknowwho\" target=\"_blank\">good sampling of products<\/a>\u00a0as well which only further showcased the capabilities of Shapeways and 3D Printing!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20396\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20396\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20396\" alt=\"Community Advocate Michael Williams at Nova Mini Maker Faire\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16834399281_88bdcb1993_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-wp-pid=\"20396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16834399281_88bdcb1993_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16834399281_88bdcb1993_z-625x416.jpg 625w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16834399281_88bdcb1993_z-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20396\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Community Advocate Michael Williams at Nova Mini Maker Faire<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Similarly, I had a great experience prepping for the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/tgaw.wordpress.com\/2015\/03\/15\/links-from-3d-printing-without-a-3d-printer-makerfairenova\/\" target=\"_blank\">3D Printing without Owning a 3D Printer<\/a>\u201d speech. I found everyone to be very generous with questions I had. From<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nova-labs.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">NovaLabs<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.meetup.com\/Virginia-Tech-NVC-MakerLabClub\/\" target=\"_blank\">Virginia Tech Northern Virginia Center MakerLabClub<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.3dhubs.com\/washington\/hubs\/ara\" target=\"_blank\">Ara\u2019s Hub<\/a>\u00a0(through 3DHubs) to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.printedsolid.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">PrintedSolid<\/a>, everyone was happy to help me with information. Don\u2019t be afraid of looking like an idiot. If you have questions, ask!<\/p>\n<p><strong>DO Stage Your Items Ahead of Time<\/strong><br \/>\nWe staged everything ahead of time on my Mom\u2019s dining room table. This made it very easy for us to know what else to pack (extension cord, monitor cables, mounting goo, tablecloths, signs, packing tape, etc).<\/p>\n<p><strong>DO Ask for Help<\/strong><br \/>\nMy forte doesn\u2019t lie with decoration, so I recruited my Mom. She instantly had suggestions for tablecloths, how to display the Christmas ornaments (a metal tree she had in her room) and a little dark cove to showcase the glowing Cthulhu Jack-O-Lanterns (a collapsible grocery crate she had in her car). Not only that, she was a key supply gatherer. I mentioned I needed something to sticky to mount my signs. The very next morning, I woke up and found some sticky goo in my staging area. My Mom was a big help.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20397\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20397\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20397\" alt=\"My mom makes a puppy through Pupworkshop\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16820205606_79307ca626_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-wp-pid=\"20397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16820205606_79307ca626_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16820205606_79307ca626_z-625x416.jpg 625w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16820205606_79307ca626_z-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20397\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">My mom makes a puppy through Pupworkshop<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I also recruited my friends Britt and Chris to help with the booth during my speech. With that, I really underestimated their work load. I pitched it as warm bodies watching the booth, but pretty much everyone that assisted me that day (my husband, Michael from Shapeways, my Mom, Britt and Chris) was busy the whole day. Chris, Ryan, and Michael did a lot of talking and question answering. Britt and Mom did a lot of kid-wrangling. : )<\/p>\n<p>I also recruited people to help me with some first hand research for the \u201c3D Printing without a 3D Printer\u201d talk. My Mom designed a puppy through\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pupworkshop.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pupworkshop<\/a>. My sister-in-law drew an angel we printed via the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/creator\/2dto3d\" target=\"_blank\">Shapeways\u2019 2D to 3D App<\/a>. Finally, my three year old even accrued a personalized 3D object by making a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/shpws.me\/EELT\" target=\"_blank\">Color Me Teddy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20398\" style=\"width: 643px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20398\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20398\" alt=\"My three year old designs a Color Me Teddy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16844977822_1443705f32_z.jpg\" width=\"633\" height=\"392\" data-wp-pid=\"20398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16844977822_1443705f32_z.jpg 633w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16844977822_1443705f32_z-625x387.jpg 625w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16844977822_1443705f32_z-400x247.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 633px) 100vw, 633px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20398\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">My three year old designs a Color Me Teddy<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>DO Enjoy the Free Feedback<\/strong><br \/>\nLike most Shapeways shop owners, I have Google Analytics enabled gathering data about my referrals and traffic. But you know what is even better? Watching people\u2019s eyes light up. Watching people revel in how beautiful the Library of Congress ornament is or laughing when they get Schrodinger\u2019s Cat. You get instant feedback on how people are responding to your designs.<\/p>\n<p>And some of the lessons may be surprising. Over the holiday break, I was playing with Python scripting for Blender to make customized Cancer Ribbons. I was thinking people would like an interface to order ribbons \u201cIn Honor Of\u201d or \u201cIn Memory Of\u201d their loved ones sort of like Relay for Life Luminaries. But watching the response at the Faire, if I do put time towards automating something through code, I may want to focus on faces for the Dial-O-Lantern. That got an overwhelmingly larger response at the faire.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20403\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20403\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20403\" alt=\"Vicky works the booth with Dyson\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647872610_56f1028db2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-wp-pid=\"20403\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647872610_56f1028db2_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647872610_56f1028db2_z-625x416.jpg 625w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647872610_56f1028db2_z-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20403\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vicky works the booth with Dyson<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>DO Know the Event is Family Friendly<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Maker Faire is family friendly, which meant we were able to bring our boys. At times, I had a cute accessory as I worked my booth.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DO Have An Activity for Kids<\/strong><br \/>\nRelated to the Family Friendly aspect of the event, do have an activity for kids. In my case, I went with a contest for the Dial-O-Lantern! My faces actually started as drawings, so we invited kids to draw faces for a new Dial-O-Lantern. We\u2019re picking six winning faces and sending each winning child a print that includes\u00a0<em>their<\/em>\u00a0face. This turned out to be a good activity. The amount of entries exceeded our expectations (and makes selecting the winners a tough task).<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20404\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20404\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20404\" alt=\"Working on a Dial-O-Lantern face\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647880308_bb268a27bf_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" data-wp-pid=\"20404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647880308_bb268a27bf_z.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647880308_bb268a27bf_z-625x416.jpg 625w, https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16647880308_bb268a27bf_z-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20404\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Working on a Dial-O-Lantern face<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>DO Check Twitter<\/strong><br \/>\nAlthough you are getting first hand feedback from your booth visitors, be sure to keep an eye on Social Media as well. I got a HUGE thrill walking between buildings when I saw that the Editor-in-Chief of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.geekdad.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Geek Dad<\/a>\u00a0appreciated\u00a0<em>and<\/em>\u00a0tweeted my Schrodinger\u2019s Cat. Geek Dad! We have Geek Dad books on our bookshelf!<\/p>\n<p><strong>DO Have Business Cards \/ Contact Info<\/strong><br \/>\nThe day before the faire, I actually picked up some quickie business cards from Staples. And here\u2019s the thing. I designed those cards assuming there would be a lot of leftovers. At the top and bottom I included lines for every millimeter. Why? When I\u2019m designing 3D models, I am constantly measuring things and getting out rulers to gauge how big I want to make something. But rulers are also popular with my boys, so it seems they are frequently misplaced.<\/p>\n<p>So I figured if I was going to have a bunch of unused business cards around, I might as well make them handy. And although I do have a few I can use for measurement, I don\u2019t have nearly as much leftover business cards as I expected! I was very surprised by how many business cards people snatched up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DO Make It Easy For People To Learn More<\/strong><br \/>\nI printed QR codes for pretty much everything. My presentations were both put online (Prezi and SlideShare respectively). I used\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bufferapp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">BufferApp<\/a>\u00a0to \u201clive tweet\u201d links during my talk (Hat Tip,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/printingeveryday.com\/?p=1076\" target=\"_blank\">Jess Hedstrom<\/a>). I coordinated with the Nova Mini Maker Faire so all the links from my PowerPoint were easy to find on their blog. You want people to learn more\u2013 make it as easy as possible!<\/p>\n<p>Those are my take-aways from my very first Maker Faire. It was an absolutely fantastic time. I can hardly wait for next year!<\/p>\n<p>You can read more about the NoVa Mini Maker Faire on their blog at<a href=\"http:\/\/www.makerfairenova.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.makerfairenova.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>More of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/tgaw\/sets\/72157650928854147\" target=\"_blank\">our photos from the event<\/a>\u00a0are on Flickr.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Vicky Somma, a Shapeways Crew member and owner of the shop TGAW. This piece was first published on Vicky&#8217;s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":20390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[481,478],"tags":[1210,761,1209],"class_list":["post-20387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shapeways","category-community","tag-how-to-maker-faire","tag-maker-faire","tag-nova-mini-maker-faire"],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/16846188175_5a2b22073f_z-625x416.jpg","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.9 (Yoast SEO v23.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What I learned from exhibiting at my first Maker Faire - Shapeways Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Vicky Somma, a Shapeways Crew member and owner of the shop TGAW. 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