Barnes and Noble Maker Faire Volunteers Needed

Great idea. None of the ones near me actually do this (sadly) although i suppose we could try and initiate that conversation and convince them to if time permits. Closest one to me that did this last time was a couple of hours away (one way).

It is a great way to connect with other makers (current and future).

 

I'll be contacting mine in town to see if icanhelp,maybe bring and setup a printer or two for them to share and compare if BN allows

 

I've worked many makerfaires and other types of events, including the B&N event. Some perspective / thoughts in no particular order to help you feel out whether this is something you may want to do:

-B&N has taken over in place of the make magazine Makershed at the flagship Makerfaire events. So, they should be pretty heavily into doing this and doing it the right way. I'm pretty sure that all stores are encouraged to participate, so if your local store isn't you should ask them about it. They may be eager to get your participation.
-At makerfaires, you have tables full of makers of all different types, from hobbyists, to businesses, to (in the case of the extremely weird Washington DC National) government bodies. B&N shouldn't have any objection to machines other than theirs being shown.
-That being said, between my partner and I, we have done three of these B&N events. I did two as Printed Solid and he did one just helping out. One of the stores I exhibited in was all about whatever I had to show and was not concerned about showing up the Davincis (which, let's be honest, it doesn't take much to do), the other was lukewarm but didn't object to anything, and the one my friend helped out at was absolutely obnoxious and probably would not have allowed any type of competitive machine to be shown.

-If you're not intimidated by public engagement / speaking, I'd encourage you to reach out to your local shop and ask if you can get a table to show off what you do and to bring in a printer that will be working. There's a better than even chance that their Davincis will be broken down.
-Keep in mind that there will be big differences in character between locations. The one I worked that was in a strip mall was pretty chill and had plenty of space for me. People there were very engaged and it was fun. The one at the regular mall... was in a mall. I had a few of my pieces stolen (which has never happened at any other maker faire), a few pieces broken, and many people reaching to touch hot and moving parts of the printer. They also gave me very little space, so it was hard to stop people if they were reaching for my printer. In addition, the people at that event reacted to me like I was one of the kiosks in the center of the mall selling iron on t-shirt designs. For the most part, were not very engaged and tried to avoid eye contact or any discussion. Of course, that is what I'm generally doing in a mall as well, so I can't blame them

 

@Printed Solid thank you for sharing your experiences. The BN in my town is a full store on their own. I've called and left a message for the manager to give me a buzz. They called and left a very polite message indicating they wanted to meet when available to ensure I'm more of an advanced hobbyist vs a new hobbyist as they need experienced users/businesses to be able to answer questions. I don't know where I rank up so I figure I'll let the decide when we meet lol.

Regardless they seemed excited, and mentioned having a printer they don't know how to run lol. I'll keep everyone posted