Maker Faire is an event unlike any other. It is a weekend long exhibition with 90,000 visitors that is at its core, a spectacle of scientists, DIY enthusiasts, crafters and artists. They come together to share their inventions and celebrate their unique alternative culture. This year General Hydroponics is a sponsor of the Maker Faire Bay Area. We even won Blue Ribbons for our part in the event (more on that later this week). But last year, the year before that, and all the way back to the beginning- General Hydroponics has been made of makers.

A maker is a person who builds- who does- who creates. Makers as individuals are people, together they are a movement. You might be familiar with their slogans: “If you can’t open it, you don’t own it!” or “You are going to poke your eye out!” A maker is anyone with a desire to hack their computer, hack their media or hack their tools. Our favorite makers are the ones who hack their food supply by building hydroponic urban gardens. We love makers with plants that twitter their need for water. And who can forget makers who build micro controllers for their gardens with nails from the hardware store as their soil condition probes.

To start our introduction to Maker Faire, I’m going to use this fast-paced action montage. The music is from GH’s very own Andy Graham. Andy is a musical genius, and his instrument of choice is the didgeridoo. He is our resident inventor, who spends most of his time as an engineering fixer. For many people, his music is the soundtrack of the Maker Faire. If you’ve ever called General Hydroponics, you will instantly recognize him as our alternative to “on hold” muzak. But his most important role is as the house drummer for the GH after-hours-jam-band. More on Andy later, for now, enjoy the tour: