Meet the Maker: Lock’O’Loop
“Who am I”! I’m Gwen, 33, a French-Canadian freshly arrived from Montreal.
I had worked more than 12 years as a video-game graphist and was already very invested in lowering my environmental impact on a personal level when the feeling that I wasn’t being part of the solution became too much and I needed to do more.
Back in March 2019, during a bike trip with my brother through Belgium, Germany and Netherlands, I met a very special someone here in Delft and after a while, came a moment where I knew I had to seize the opportunity to try something different – but what?
On the different occasions I came to Delft, I could not find any zero waste stores; in Montreal, they spring up like mushrooms but here, I suddenly had to deal with supermarkets and packaging again when I had almost erased them from my life.
It was actually triggering to me, and this is why, after a while, I decided that I would be moving to Delft with all my savings to start a zero waste shop!
Why not a real shop?
After some research, I knew that I had to find a way to combine convenience and low costs. While I love a classic brick-and-mortar shop, it has huge starting and running costs: with a hundred products, you’re already in for 10k€ just in gravity bins! That makes it very hard to offer competitive prices.
Also, there have been some attempts at zero waste stores in the past in the Netherlands, but nowadays, the list of them resembles an obituary, even years before COVID hit. A survey that I did in March 2021 confirmed that very few people knew of any zero waste shop around here.
So that got me thinking: maybe the business model was not the right one…?
Zero waste meets click’n’collect!
And in August 2020, I had an epiphany.
On a biking trip (yet another one!) in the north of France with my boyfriend, we encountered a big vending machine that would sell fresh products farms directly to the consumer, 24/7.
We bought a few things from it, but were a bit frustrated that we had to throw away the glass jars our soups came in, instead of returning them to the farm or the locker.
That’s when it clicked.
I knew back in Montreal of a zero waste shop that only worked through online order and home delivery. They would deliver the goods in jars, by bike, that you could then return when empty. While it was very successful, I rarely used their services, mostly because I really dislike to be stuck at home to wait for a delivery.
But what if I used this farm vending machine instead? Making your basket ready for pick-up anytime of the day or night?
This is how Lockoloop was born: a pun between locker and loop, zero waste meets click’n’collect.
Fortunately, the survey results show that more that 76% of our respondents are on board with the idea! Of course, I’m not closing the door at all on the idea of a B&M shop someday. I know a lot of you, like myself, are attached to this idea of a place where you can be around people who think alike, and have some transparency about the products you buy.
NEW: Vintage Kilo Sale
We are very happy to bring the vintage kilo sale concept to the Maker Faire Delft. With the theme Making for a better society, it’s also always good to see if you can use something existing.
That is why the team from Throwback Classics is coming to Maker Faire Delft both days. They will bring more than 2,500 kg of vintage clothes in all sizes and styles. Always new gems, so also later in the day. For only €25 per kg, you get lots of vintage branded clothes and classics.
So you can score a new vintage outfit in a sustainable way.
Get ready to make, create and innovate at the Maker Faire Delft on 13 & 14 May.
Are you ready for the ultimate celebration of innovation, creativity and sustainable action? Then the Maker Faire Delft is just the thing for you. On 13 & 14 May, TU Delft Science Centre is organizing this unique festival with the theme ‘Making for a better society’. Makers get the chance to show how they are making or will make an impact on our future.
Whether you are a fan of technology, fashionista or do-it-yourselfer, the Maker Faire Delft has something for everyone. We have listed a few highlights for you.
Creative projects will be on display from various educational institutes. TU Delft, Hogeschool Rotterdam and Haagse Hogeschool will present various innovations. Think of TU Delft Hydro Motion, Lunar Zebro or a self-built pick-and-place robot.
New this year is the Maker Market. A place where you can shop for unique and innovative products made by local and international makers. From 3D printed jewellery and recycled bags to innovative electronics and gadgets, the Maker Market is the perfect place to find one-of-a-kind gifts for yourself or your friends.
Alongside the Maker Market, there is also a Throwback Classic kilo sale. There, you can shop for unique and vintage clothes at kilo prices. It is the perfect way to find one-of-a-kind fashion items that matches your style and personality. All clothes are sold by weight, so you can fill your wardrobe nicely and sustainably.
Want to reuse an old piece of your own clothing, but does it have a tear? Then bring it along to the Upcycling Fashion workshop and give your outfit a second life.
A true self-taught maker is Marcel Knotter. He uses parts and stuff that would normally go to the junkyard to build prototypes or complete machines. One of his finest projects is a converted slot machine into an arcade game. Talk to Marcel and find out how he has overcome different obstacles.
Makerspace Delft will create a Sandbox community. An environment for safe discovery and experimentation. They offer various workshops but the best one is a gathering project where visitors make a train out of leftover materials. Towards the end of the faire, you can board the completed Sandbox Community Train, which will go on a mission to promote the idea of a better society!
In short, it promises to be a weekend full of amazing innovations by the most talented makers from the Delft area. So, visit delft.makerfaire.com and book your tickets. Follow us on social media to stay up to date with all the latest news and makers!
Maker Faire Delft 2023 – Call for Makers now open!
Attention makers, participate in the second edition of the Maker Faire Delft!
On 13 & 14 May 2023, the maker festival, the Maker Faire, will return to Delft. The theme for this year is: Making for a better society.
This time, this dazzling creative event will take place on the TU Delft campus and in the TU Delft Science Centre. The fact that the Maker Faire and Delft go well together is proven by the enthusiasm surrounding the first edition with more than 80 makers and more than 2250 visitors.
The Maker Faire is a festival known for celebrating creativity and taking center stage. Something that fits in perfectly with TU Delft and the city. Which are characterized by innovative technology and a rich history of crafts.
We are happy to announce that the Call for Makers for the Maker Faire Delft is now open! This technical term, where people can register as an exhibitor. Does this make your heart beat faster as a maker, engineer, hobbyist or tinkerer? This is your chance to expand your work to a wider audience.
The Call For Makers will close at the end of April and the program will be further announced. We hope to be able to present a nice list of Delft makers again this year. Would you like to visit the Maker Faire? From April it is also possible to buy a ticket for this Make weekend, so you don’t have to miss anything!
With Maker Faire Delft we offer a great platform for all Delft makers and hope to inspire young and old to start making themselves!
Book extra workshops
During the Maker Faire Delft there are many workshops to follow. Most of them you can just join. You may have to wait your turn, but it promises to be creative weekend.
Would you like to work on your skills even more? Then book an extra workshop. A contribution of €10 is requested to cover the material costs. So get started with ceramics, wood, silver clay or wool. What are you going to make?
Book your extra workshop ticket now*.
More about Zilverklei, Haken, Insectenhotel, Keramiek.
*you can only attend a workshop if you have a valid entry ticket for the Maker Faire Delft. Full=full.
Makers on the moon
Meet the maker(s): Lunar Zebro, an extraterrestrial project. The team consists of a large number of TU Delft students with a shared passion for robots and the moon. Together they try to make the impossible possible; create a network on the moon consisting of lunar rovers. But not just any moon rovers. Lunar Zebro Project produces the smallest and lightest rovers ever. However, despite the small size, the robots remain powerful. For rough terrain, they are equipped with unique six-legged technology and loaded with tools to explore every corner of the moon.
While much testing is still being done in caves and on rugged terrestrial surfaces, the lunar zebro project is launching sky high soon. The prospect is to land the rovers on the moon by 2023. Then, In the course of the lunar day, the rover will test its unique six-legged locomotion. After walking some distance it will take a unique picture of the lander and Earth. While walking, the rover shall avoid craters and boulders bigger than itself by using the onboard Semi-Autonomous Navigation System (SANS). At the end of the day, the rover will enter hibernation mode to face the -233°C lunar night. It will beacon when it wakes up, if ever.
The ultimate goal of lunar zebro project is to create a transmission network on the surface of the moon. In this way, all lunar rovers can communicate with each other and cover the entire lunar surface for rapid communication( radio signals, sharing information etc). The rover could then serve as communication beacons and connect everything on the moon.
Interested in the miraculous project? Do you want to know how future moon explorations work? Then come to the maker faire delft on 4 and 5 June. See you there!
Jerry de Vos: Plastic Scanner
an accessible way of identifying; more recycling
Plastic separation happens every day, but how do they do it? In the Netherlands, plastic waste is neatly separated by complex laser systems. These systems can recognize the type of plastic and thus sort it by type for recycling. However, this is not always possible in less developed countries. They do not have the luxury of waste separators. A new accessible and cheap way of separating waste was needed and with that Jerry had found his graduation subject.
What followed was a smart, mobile, accessible, and affordable plastic scanner for separating waste. But this creative solution didn’t just appear out of thin air. For the project, Jerry needed to further expand his knowledge and skillset and in doing so he got help from people from different disciplines. However, hard work paid off. Jerry applied his plastic scanner for the James Dyson Award and won the prize for a most sustainable design.
With 1st place, Jerry had won resources to further develop his scanner. Moreover, the plastic scanner had already attracted a lot of attention. Many companies are ready to produce the plastic scanner, but Jerry is not convinced yet. According to Jerry, the commercial side of his plastic scanner is limiting development for now and prefers to stick to an open-source project. A project where all hardware and software are published publicly so that developers around the world can contribute to an accessible way of separating plastic.
For Jerry, this is just the beginning of his wondrous project, and so the development just keeps ongoing. With his project, Jerry hopes to offer everyone an opportunity to identify and sort plastic, thereby making steps towards a cleaner world.
Sneak Peek part III
Photonics complicated? Not at all! During the Maker Faire, Phablabs shows with cool demos and building kits that light and science go together very well and that photonics is closer than you think. Play with light and electronics and use photonics for your projects.
Sneak Peek part II
Get introduced to Repaircafe and Students4Sustainability at the Maker Faire Delft. They will work together in the field of circular economy – focus on clothing repair and the repair of electrical appliances – and show that more can be recycled and fixed than you think.
Soon it will be possible to buy your tickets for this awesome making spectacle.
Sneak peek part I
We are busy with the Maker Faire Delft program. To make sure it will be a creative and inventive maker festival!
Things we already know that are coming are a Sound Lab, a Boardgame Lab and an Act Lab. Hopefully we can soon add you project to this list.