Diderik van Wingerden

Hi Marcin,

My website: http://think-innovation.com/

Most recent and related to Open Source Design, I advised 3 companies via the Danish Design Center's REMODEL program on Open Source Manufacturing, I was part of the Expert Panel.

At the moment I do not feel ready yet to fully take on the Makerspace/Microfactory project. With a previous project blowing up in my face, I am rebuilding my confidence, being reflective on my strengths and limitations and feeling the waters for a new initiative. One learning point is that building community is essential, gathering people around me. From that the actual results take shape. There is no coherent Open Source Design community in The Netherlands yet, so creating that is part of the task. It feels a bit like a chicken-and-egg problem: without a community no results and without showing results no people interested in joining. So probably these go hand in hand somehow iteratively. Maybe it would be good to have an advisor or mentor to guide me. Figuring out everything on my own is a struggle, but I will get there. But with some support the process could be a bit less muddy, streamlined and give me some piece of mind.

As for feeling the waters, I am currently:

- Initiating the world's first magazine on Open Source Design, I was able to form a small community of interested people willing to contribute. - Learning more about making by making things the local FabLab and Makerspace: 3D Printing, Lasercutting and CNC Milling - Reading, talking to people and writing about the potential of Open Source Design, distributed scaling models and cooperative ownership aimed towards providing the fundamental basics for living and humanitarian development.

My intuition tells me I am on the path of something good and I should relax and go with the flow as things will evolve. My rationale and impatience is telling me I am not moving fast enough and wasting time. My ego is telling me that I have no idea what I am doing, probably making too many mistakes and pursuing something ridiculous that everyone in my direct social environment will laugh at.

Warm regards, Diderik