As I travel around the world searching for fellow HW nerds, I’m happy to share my findings with you, dear SolidSmack reader. In this article, I bring you the best events and organizations to check out in the San Francisco Bay area. There more than, perhaps, anywhere, the term “tech” gets conflated with “software”. However,…
We stopped by Circuit Launch in Oakland, California to get a tour of this electronics hardware co-working space and its toys. They boast 31,000 square feet of space, mechanical and electronic prototyping tools, VR and mixed reality studios, educational opportunities and, at the time of our visit, about 80 members/quirky HW nerds. If you want…
Justin Mrazik is a Bay Area-based industrial designer who chooses to work in wood because of the life and warmth that it brings to everyday objects. The life and warmth his products exude can be felt with one visit to his kitchen. The small wooden spice shelf. The salt serving spoon. Kitchen Utensil I prototypes in each drawer. A hand-turned…
When it comes to manufacturing equipment ranging from various CNC mills to common woodworking tools and 3D printers, few would expect these space-hogging machines to live on prime waterfront property – let alone prime waterfront property in San Francisco. Yet, Autodesk’s Pier 9 workshop was built with exactly that in mind and is only a…
Since opening in the fall of 2013, Autodesk’s Pier 9 has been nothing short of a dream factory where designers and engineers have access to literally every tool possible for cranking out the next great product design or innovation. Located on Pier 9 overlooking the San Francisco Bay, the facility is available to lucky Autodesk…
We’re always talking about the future of design, the future of technology, the future of MAKING. In a world where 15-year-olds are filing patents for 3D printer technologies, a world where virtual reality can let users explore their real-time reality in a third-person view…how do we find the next ‘big thing’? Maker Galaxy is a…