Author: tdr

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Memory Lane -> 2009

Sometimes we get a bit nostalgic for the early days in Tog.  We had our first tiny place in Arran Quay, a small three room office unit. We started running our first workshops and open days for the public there. We have changed a lot in the last nine plus years. To showcase the early space and show oof photos of when we were all much younger, we have created a photo collage of what we got upto in 2009. It was started way back during Science Hackday Dublin but only finished during our recent finishaton.  You can now see it hanging on the wall in our space or view the individual photos on our gallery. 

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Farewell Tog 2.0

We used to have a space on a quiet lane near the back of Dublin Castle. Warehouse Unit C on Chancery lane was our place to call home from 2010 till 2015. It was a big step up for us moving from a small office unit on Arron Quay to a proper industrial style unit ( Check out this walk though of Tog 1.0 here) . We called it Tog 2.0 and moved in the summer of 2010. The unit had been empty for a number of years and had suffered extensive damage during the Big Freeze of 2010. The unit required a lot of repairs and renovations but we knew we could make it work and find the money to pay for a bigger space.  Check out the video below by a very exited Robert Fitzsimons soon after we got the keys or our photos from our gallery. 

 

 

It took us about a month to get the space ready to open to the public with members doing all the work including fixing the 12 leaks. You can read the blog post from the time here.  

 

 

Over the years in Tog 2.0, we held 100’s of events and built many a project. Some of my personal favourites are the Security Saturday event and the Rubens Tube just to name a few. It was in this space that we fell in love with pizza ovens, a love that continues today with our 3rd version in use today at our open socials. Finally, one of the most important things to happen in Tog 2.0 was the start of our obsession with ducks. We have taken our love of ducks in many directions and places we would have not thought possible. Giant Ducks, painted ducks, photo shoots, plot them, taken in strays, even put them on our clothing.

Our time at Tog 2.0 came to an end with the owner of the building deciding they wanted to build on the site and not giving us a new long term lease. After a long search we found Tog 3.0 and moved in October 2015 which brought an end to Tog 2.0. The building once again was left vacant for a number of years with it only recently being knocked down. 

 

 

Farewell Tog 2.0, you serviced us well for many years. 

Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night sweet prince:
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!

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Museums and Makers Inspiring Each Other Video

A few months back we teamed up with the Chester Beatty Library, to put on a night that gave makers and museums people a chance to learn from each other. Below is the video from the event with interviews with Don Undeen of BoomHiFive, Georgetown University Maker Hub, and Jenny Siung, Head of Education, Chester Beatty Library, and our own Jeffrey Roe giving their thoughts on makers and museums.

 

 

This event was part of the Making Museum project, an 18-month EU-funded training initiative (Erasmus+ 20172019) exploring how museum staff can up-skill in creativity, innovation, creative collaborations with local maker communities, and embed these ideas in their public programmes for audiences. 

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Coolest Projects 2018

Coolest Projects offers young people from the international CoderDojo, Code Club, Raspberry Jam and wider Raspberry Pi community the opportunity to present the projects they have created at their local club. The event is both a competition and an exhibition to inspire and enable innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, and technology skills in young coders aged up to 18.

Tog will be showcasing at Coolest Prjects again this year. We will have soldering classes, Lockpicking demos and a host of projects on display. The event runs from 10am – 6pm on Saturday 26th of May in RDS Simmonscourt. This family and educator friendly event is free for all young people under 18 to attend. More tickets visit -> https://www.universe.com/events/coolest-projects-international-2018-tickets-JVCBH7

 

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Dublin Maker 2018 – Open Call

The Open Call for Dublin Maker 2018 projects now has gone live. You have probably noticed celebrations in your local villages and parishes to mark this event or perhaps spotted one of the numerous and bankrupting sky writing campaigns we have commissioned to display the Dublin Maker Logo above the city.

In any case, what we want to know is do you have cool stuff? and do want to show if off to 10,000 people? This is your chance. We are looking for all sorts of makers, tinkerers, artists, inventors, hackers and do-it-yourselfers.

Whether you have taken part before or still tinkering on something crafty, we’d love for you to apply for a place at our biggest Dublin Maker yet. Take the opportunity to glimpse into the future, get hands-on and join the Maker Revolution. There’s nothing else like it. Remember, your project doesn’t need to be finished, and it definitely doesn’t need to be for sale. We want you to share how you make, so in-progress, hobbyist projects are A-OK!

Go on, throw in a project! The Open Call closes 28th of May.

http://www.dublinmaker.ie/open-call/

We are very proud to be a supporting organisation for such a great event. We hope to see you all their with our new creations for 2018.