Category: Advocacy

Here’s a travel diary from one of our members, Jeffrey, who recently attended FAB25, a global gathering of fab labs and makers held this year in Brno and Prague. He shares highlights from workshops, talks, late-night chats, and even a few vegan cakes.

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After wrapping up the multimeter workshop at Metalab in Vienna, I continued my summer travels by heading to FAB25 in Prague, the annual gathering of fab labs and makers from around the world. This year’s theme? Bridge the Gap. And what better way to bridge communities than by bringing a bit of Ireland to the Czech Republic?

Day 1 – Brno

The conference this year was split between two cities: Brno and Prague. To kick things off, I jumped on a ~2-hour bus from Vienna over to Brno. After an uneven journey and a quick check-in, I was meeting people right away.

I caught up with Andreas Kopp and Charles Eck from the Erfindergarden Foundation based in Munich. We talked about all things repair and what we should cover in our upcoming working group session together.

The conference kicked off with a great opening, especially a talk from Scotty Allen on storytelling and making. There were also some interesting sounds and beats from Noisy Pots, a Czech duo who put on a great show to get things started.

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Day 2 – Brno

The day kicked off in the beautiful Janáček Theatre with talks about the future of the Fab Foundation. In the afternoon, I joined the first of a three-part workshop by the Vulca Network (of which I’m a member), titled Define Your Erasmus+ Strategy.

The session explored how fab labs and makerspaces can access Erasmus+ funding and collaborate internationally. It was practical, clear, and very encouraging, demystifying a system that often feels daunting.

Later that day, I helped run the session How Repair Cafés Can Save the World alongside Andreas Kopp and Rafael Calado from Repair Café Lisboa. We explored how to start, sustain, and connect Repair Cafés across regions and the role they play in circularity, empowerment, and community resilience.

The evening ended with the Conquer the Castle Party, complete with traditional Czech music, brilliant views of the city, and lots of maker chat.

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Continue reading “From Vienna to FAB25: A Maker’s Journey Continues”

Here’s a post from one of our members, Jeffrey, about his recent trip to Vienna and a visit to a fellow hackerspace.

It’s not every day you get to revisit a place that helped shape your own hackerspace journey. Earlier this month, Jeffrey made a stopover in Vienna on his way to FAB25.cz, and while he was there, he paid a long-overdue visit to Metalab, Vienna’s oldest hackerspace.

His last time in the city was way back in 2010, for a line-following robot competition. Jeffrey and fellow Tog member Robert Fitzsimons built a painfully slow but determined robot. Of the robots that actually finished the course, they came in last, but technically not last overall, since a few didn’t finish at all. A win’s a win! Old Photos.

That trip also included a visit to Metalab, which left a lasting impression. Its open layout and strong community vibe were a big influence on how we later designed Tog 2.

This time around, Jeffrey got the chance to give back by running a multimeter workshop. There was a great turnout, with participants learning how to properly use a multimeter to measure voltage, current, and resistance. It was a fun and hands-on evening full of questions, demos, and the kind of tinkering we love to see.

After the workshop, Jeffrey got a tour of the space from Hetti, a longtime Metalab member. From the workshop room humming away to the welcoming lounge area full of creativity, it’s clear Metalab continues to thrive.

And making the visit even more special, Meg, one of Tog’s founders, who now lives in Vienna, gave Jeffrey a tour of the city and the best swimming spot to get away from the heat.

📸 Check out the photo album from the workshop and Metalab tour.

Big thanks to the crew at Metalab for the warm welcome and to everyone who joined the workshop. If you’re ever in Vienna, be sure to drop by. It’s a space full of great people and maker magic.