[Music]
my dad was a master sergeant in the US
Air Force an aircraft mechanic for the
f-111 a first-of-its-kind jet that could
accelerate to twice the speed of sound
by sweeping back it's variable position
wings my dad worked on a real life
transformer and he liked to transform
things himself he transformed our garage
into a fully outfitted workshop at the
bench grinder sparks would be bouncing
off his calloused hands
he taught me equipment like the drill
press miter saw and more while friends
played football in front of our house I
was fusing iron using the oxy-acetylene
welder a stray drop could send a cascade
of flying molten metal burning through
my shoe and get it trapped right on my
foot dad nurtured and ingenuity mindset
in me that continues to impact my work
today but what I didn't realize at the
time was that I wasn't just learning
manufacturing in design I was learning
that the world could be mashed up modded
repaired reclaimed I believe that we can
transform the world by giving more
people access to spaces like my dad's
garage where companies and breakthroughs
have often emerged other people agree
with me they're called makers and in the
mid-2000s makers like my dad realized
that innovation would be difficult
without access to new technology so they
created maker spaces shared workshops
places where members could get access to
expensive equipment without the cost of
ownership it's kind of like a gym but
instead of the exercise equipment it's
full of tools computer-controlled
routers laser cutters 3d printers sewing
machines car lifts kilns commercial
ovens we're up to almost
1300 of these fablabs in over 100
countries but I believe there's a desire
for more maker spaces like Starbucks
more that's because people around the
world want to bring their innovation to
life but the tools of production are
costly
there are over 1.3 million videos on how
to use a CNC router to shape metal but
CNC routers still cost thousands of
dollars thingiverse.com lets you upload
3d designs they call them things and you
can mod those designs that's called a
remix
but those remixes and things still need
to be rendered on digital fabrication
tools it's cost prohibitive for most
people so where is the place where
people can execute on all of their ideas
I believe that more maker spaces would
allow people in the digital communities
to bring more of their ideas to life
and while equipment is important maker
spaces are really about people there's a
saying in the maker movement they came
for the tools but they stayed for the
people that's because when people are in
maker spaces they're what Zappos founder
Tony Hsieh likes to call collisional
maker spaces allow ideas culture and
Technology to intersect to collide and
when those things collide people make
things that are beautiful innovative or
even desperately needed
I believe that although we are more
digitally connected we're more
physically and emotionally isolated than
ever before not everyone had a maker dad
like mine but I think we all know some
people that would be great maker coaches
and we know some great potential maker
apprentices out there what if there were
local maker spaces from urban to rural
from economically challenged to affluent
and the minds of are you
could collide fuse with the experience
of experts what would happen if we made
it easy for diverse cultures generations
genders and professions to bump into
each other share projects what are you
working on today in a place designed for
innovation and creativity would we see
the world differently transformed like I
was by my dad would we be a more
connected culture creative artisans
craftspeople I believe it's time for
maker spaces to go mainstream and I'm
calling upon every enthusiast
inventor educator elected official
philanthropist entrepreneur and venture
capitalists and angel to take a
makerspace to every town it all starts
with a spark the product the concept the
idea the new sense of community but it
takes a place to bring them all to life
thank you
[Applause]