Regarding the cease of Maker Media’s operations
We at Seeed are saddened by the news surrounding Maker Media. MAKE: Magazine and Maker Faire have been most instrumental in helping cultivate the maker culture and spreading the joy and passion of making around the world.
We are humbled and thankful (as both an open source hardware company and the producer of Maker Faire Shenzhen) for all the passionate and dedicated hard work that Dale Dougherty, Sherry Huss, Sabrina Merlo and all the other employees who have been part of the Maker Media team have provided us. They have helped a global generation discover the joy of creating – something that in many instances had been often overlooked.
In the early years of Seeed, I traveled to San Francisco and witnessed the amazing passion, energy, and strength of the community through events such as Maker Faire Bay Area, and the numerous maker and hackerspaces, and was inspired to bring this back to China in the form of a maker space, Chai Huo, and Maker Faire Shenzhen which has grown and inspired so many Chinese to where it has taken on a culture of its own in China. For inspiring me to provide this to my local community I am forever grateful to the community and the Maker Media team.
In this time as we wait for Dale’s decision on the future of Maker Media and pose to provide support where it’s needed, however, the outcome may be. We will also do our part in our community to carry on the spirit and the work they have been building over the years so that people can keep being inspired to make.
Regarding the status of this years Maker Faire Shenzhen, as Dale has announced that the independent live events will go on, Maker Faire Shenzhen will happen as scheduled on Nov 9th and 10th. We will carry on this precious event in Shenzhen come rain or shine. Also, the call for makers is live now, please click here to apply to secure a spot to show & tell your tinkering story.
In Chinese, there is a simple phrase, “加油” (pinyin: jiayou). It means to add oil or to fight on. To the community that Maker Media has helped inspire and grow across the globe I say, “加油”, and come visit us in November.
– Eric Pan, Maker for makers
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