First off, we want to say a great big Thank You to the people who came to the first Craft Night. The vibe was very good, the chats fun, and I loved seeing what everyone was working on. I, for one, had a great time, and hope everyone else did too

Secondly, sorry to all the people that wanted to come that didn’t make it! But, you might be interested in the third point.

Thirdly, we’re going to do it again! The response was phenomenal. Clearly this is something the community has been needing for a long time. So every second Tuesday (from Tuesday, 27th July, until further notice), from 7pm until late, will be Craft Night at TOG!

However, we are still limited on space. For the next few weeks we will have to restrict the numbers, and keep the process whereby you contact us via the Contact Form below (*EDIT* Contact Form removed because this session is full. See below for details.) to book a place. The number 12 seemed to work well, so we’ll keep it. Please only book a place if you’re sure you can come. (And if you end up not being able to make it, that’s okay, just send us an email/text/SMS and let us know so we’re not worried about you.)

Third-and-a-half-ly, the demand really is rather high, and as more people hear about it, more people get interested. This is great, truly, but may mean that in future we’ll have to think about splitting the event up into different types of craft. For example; Sewing, Knitting, Jewellery, etc. Indeed, if there’s specific interest in one area we’re happy to do this (already starting to plot some workshops/courses), but I think it will be nice to keep the general Craft Night as well. At the very least it may mean spreading out into a couple of rooms, but is something we’ll have to come back to in the future.

For now, rejoice! More group crafting lays ahead! Once again, any kind of craft is welcome! So book your place quickly, looks like we’ll fill up fast! Remember, this post is for Tuesday, 27th July (we’ll post more for the other events). And we look forward to meeting you all (eventually)!

(P.S. We do have a photo or two somewhere that prove people came, but have yet to track them down…

P.P.S. Because we like to be in with the cool kids we have a twitter you can follow if interested: http://twitter.com/TOG_Dublin. Also, email crafty@tog.ie for general crafty stuff, not booking places.

P.P.P.S. I forgot to mention, we’re currently looking to compile a good list of places where people can get crafting supplies. If you have somewhere you’d like to mention please feel free to email us, tweet us, or use the form below.)

*EDIT*
Once again, bitter-sweet news, we’re full up! Sorry if you can’t come again this time. But please note: The notice/sign-up for the following craft night (10th August) will go up after the next one (27th July). So, if you want to make sure you’re signed up, make sure to check back here on the 28th!

Okay, because of the popularity we’re trying to think up ways of enabling more people to craft together.
One suggestion is how about a weekend session in addition to the Tuesday one? We need to know numbers of people interested, and whether Saturday or Sunday would suit better? Morning, afternoon, evening?

Also, we understand that people are having trouble knowing if they will be available on a given day (until rotas are done out, etc) until a day or two beforehand.
So, we could do a delayed release thing? Like, have early-bird spots like now, but also keep back a few until the day before? While more fair to some people it’s less fair to others.
Another idea is for the weekend session, not having to book a place. It would be nice if you could let us know if you’re going to try to make it, because having 30 people show up won’t lead to any fun for anyone if we’re not prepared.

We’re very interested in hearing your opinions. Seriously, only hearing our own voices just leaves us talking in circles. Let us know what you need. You can leave a comment here, or more privately an e-mail to crafty@tog.ie

So to start off I want to try get people interested together and see if we can arrange a regular meeting playing with RFID devices, exchanging knowledge and maybe collaborating on some projects. We will meet this Thursday, 15th July 2010, from 7pm to 10pm (to get our buses home). If we have a enough people together and a need to , we will try to start a bi-weekly meet-up. This is not a workshop, we are meeting to discuss the technology. A workshop might me considered in the future if there is a need for it.

Please bring your readers, writers and RFID cards that you would like to show. Some of the known devices within the group include OpenPCD, OpenPICC, Proxmark, TouchaTag (previously TikiTag) and OmniKey readers. If you have any more please bring them along with you. Any non members attending please send me a message so we can expect you. (contact form below)

Hope to see you there

Jester

[contact-form]

Inside the ‘Classroom’ (second door on the left) in the larger, better, whiter, newest TOG premises you’ll find plenty to amaze and astound the most jaded modernist. Any form of craft is welcome, from textile crafts, to paper crafts, to anything else you care for. Specifically on the agenda is Drawing, Painting, Knitting, Sewing, Embroidery, and that’s just the ones we know for sure. Whether you’re into Woodwork, Metalwork, making shoes, making jewelery, making candles, making bags, making clothes, okay, so, simply making ANYTHING, we’d like to see you there. Bring whatever you’re working on, get some more done, or simply show-off a little.

We’ll have sewing machines (and even an overlocker/or serger to our North American friends) set up, and plenty of thread on offer, so if sewing is your thing we have you covered. We mightn’t have other specifics available, but that’s all the more reason to come along. Come, tell us what you’re into, and if we have the numbers we’ll set about sorting you out. One thing we have for sure is space, and a shared desire to make and remake.

Speaking of numbers, the ‘Classroom’ only holds about 12 people, so that’s our limit. If you’re interested in coming along and meeting other crafters then please send us an email below.

Also, if you’re just looking for inspiration or maybe for a new hobby to pick up, come take a look. There will be some books, and all ten issues of Craft: Magazine around for flicking through. Never know what might spark your interest! This event is a one-time only affair, so make sure you don’t miss out. (*whispers* If we get the numbers we will see about a more regular event, but for now it’s just the one.)

*EDIT*
We’re sorry, but we’re full! No spaces left for Tuesday. Let us know if you’re disappointed and that will encourage us to hold another one soon.

If you want to just come and have a look around and hang out that should be okay as there’s a Social Night on in the space as well, so plenty of people to talk to. But please, still let us know that you’re coming, we don’t want anyone getting lost!

We watched Sneakers ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/ ) last night with the projector on one of our newly painted walls and it worked quite well. We had 6 visitors to the space last night and it was great to show people around the space after so much hard work has gone into making it our new home.

Our Social nights are always great ways to check out the space as well as have a chat with a few of our members and get a feel for what we want to do with the space. As usual, we have events on in the space during the weeks ahead and the list is always growing. I even got a few ideas for some bi-weekly/monthly group nights and I’ll try ask about these on the list next week. RFID and/or lock picking anyone?

We are kicking things off with an open social night on Friday from 7.30pm. If you haven’t been to the new space, it’s a great chance to drop in for a chat and have a look around. We promise we wont make you do any painting, well only if you want to .

On Saturday and Sunday the hackathon starts at about 1pm each day until late. Feel free to come along and work on your own project for a few hours or give a hand around the space. There will be members hacking the space over the weekend running cable, power points, painting, putting together furniture and all sorts of things.

As always are events are open to all at no cost (expect classes).

update: Also will be having bit of a BBQ tomorrow starting around 5 ish see you there.

Event Description:

Members of TOG will be entering a team into one the the world’s biggest competition for self-made, autonomous, and mobile robots. The RobotChallenge is a huge event that takes place in Vienna in March. In build up to this competition, several of the Irish teams will be coming together for a night of Robotics. We have invited other teams through robots.ie, to come to the space,discuss and show the progress they have made on their robots.  We are also opening up this evening to the public (see booking below) to show Amateur Robotics is alive and well in Ireland. There will be a number of basic robotics kits (cost to be confirmed) for those who wish to kick start themselves in the world of robotics.

Cost:

This is a free event open to all.Use contact form below for booking.

When:

Friday 12th of February. 19.00 to 22.00

Where:

In TOG. See location page.

Participants must be at least 18 years old. Event open to ALL. Limited to 8 participants per Event.

To book please use the contact form below.

[contact-form]

Event Description:

This event is cancelled. An  Introduction to the Arduino Platform will now take place on this evening.

This will be a hands-on night were participants will be challenged to constructed the largest, strongest, or most creative three-dimensional structures using craft materials like paper or matchsticks and a small bit of glue.

Cost:

This is a free event open to all.Use contact form below for booking.

When:

Thursday 11th of February. 19.00 to 22.00

Where:

In TOG. See location page.

No craft skills required. Participants must be at least 18 years old. Event open to ALL. Limited to 12 participants per Event.

To book please use the contact form below.

Event Description:

Amateur Radio is a hobby of constructing, experimenting and communicating. A licensed radio experimenter can operate two-way radio equipment from almost anywhere, and can talk across town or around the world. Ireland is a hive for Amateur Radio enthusiasts , with over 35 clubs around the country. The scope and possibilities are endless with Radio, for example, experiments with home-built equipment or antennas, sending TV pictures, operating through satellites, or just having a quiet chat with friends at home or abroad. This evening is a chance for the public to get an introduction to Amateur Radio and to see how it all works.

Cost:

This is a free event open to all.Use contact form below for booking.

When:

Tuesday 9th of February. 19.00 to 22.00

This event is booked out. Please join our mailing list to keep up to date for future events. Mailing List Subscribe Link

Where:

In TOG. See location page.

Participants must be at least 18 years old. Event open to ALL. Limited to 12 participants per Event.

To book please use the contact form below.

[contact-form]

Event Description:

The night will be a quick introduction to the Arduino platform; showing you the Arduino development environment, the features of the Arduino programming language, and showing some Arduino hardware and shields.

Cost:

This is a free event open to all.Use contact form below for booking.

When:

Wednesday 10th of February. 19.00 to 22.00 Booked out. Another day added.

Thursday 11th of February. 19.00 to 22.00.

This event is booked out. Please join our mailing list to keep up to date for future events. Mailing List Subscribe Link

Where:

In TOG. See location page.

No electronics skills required. Participants must be at least 18 years old. Event open to ALL. Limited to 12 participants per Event.

To book please use the contact form below.

[contact-form]

Event Description:

On this night a demonstration will be given on using open source electronic design tools to create a circuit board from schematic to pcb layout. The demonstration will concentrate on using the schematic capture tool gschem and the circuit board layout tool pcb on Linux. Highlighting how to use the two programs together, and creating suitable symbols & land-patterns.

Cost:

This is a free event open to all.Use contact form below for booking.

When:

Monday 8th of February. 19.00 to 22.00.

This event is booked out. Please join our mailing list to keep up to date for future events. Mailing List Subscribe Link

Where:

In TOG. See location page.

No electronics skills required. Participants must be at least 18 years old. Event open to ALL. Limited to 12 participants per Event.

To book please use the contact form below.