Blender Conference
Stepping out of the taxi onto the streets of Amsterdam was surreal. I have never known a city as clean as this one. Yes, the streets are narrow, and many are full of trip hazards. It’s no surprise that hundreds of tourists’ cars and bikes fall into the canals every year. On the other hand, I wouldn’t trade the experience of almost falling down partially hidden stairs into someone’s cellar home for anything. These quirks add to the city’s unique charm.
I stayed with my partner at the recently refurbished Citadines Canal Amsterdam Apart’hotel. It’s a reasonably priced hotel with 24/7 free coffee, its own laundry facilities, and just a 15-minute foggy walk along the picturesque canals towards my ultimate destination.
I have never known a city as easy to navigate as Amsterdam. The single metro line cuts straight through the middle of the city from north to south. Beyond that, the layout is reminiscent of Plato’s description of the fabled Atlantis: concentric rings of canals make it difficult to get lost in the centre, and with GPS maps, everything is just a short walk or pleasant cycle away. Speaking of bicycles—watch out! These cyclists know neither speed limits nor common sense, and some bikes don’t even have functioning brakes. I even saw one person texting while pedalling with no hands.
After a creative walk with my Canon M6 (Mk1 Silver) through Amsterdam, I arrived, victorious and unscathed, at my destination: the Blender Conference at Felix Meritis (it felt like getting to the other side of the road in the classic game Frogger dodging all the cyclists.).
I picked up my badge, smiling even more crazily than usual, and sat down in the conference hall to listen to Ton Roosendaal and Francesco Siddi welcome us all. That was when I felt I had finally found my people. This feeling was cemented as hours passed, and one after another, new people had something fascinating to share—not only in the conference hall but in the canteen as well.
As a maker, I was naturally drawn to other makers; there were many, including a fascinating man called Raymond Nijssen. He loves manipulating maps and told me about a tool called QGIS. Raymond managed to use this software to create laser-cut topology models, using CNC routing and laser technology at his local maker space.
Another person who I found fascinating was Thomas Radeke, an incredibly friendly and skilled model maker who talked about his work with a furniture company. He developed their products for use in online visualisations. His talk, titled Making Modular Sofas & Digital Furniture Twins, was inspiring. You can watch his incredible presentation below. Anyone planning on selling their own modular products online may find his approach to using Blender especially useful.
My favourite Blender announcements were the UI changes. It’s fantastic what a small, dedicated team can achieve.
Another bit of information I didn’t know: Blender’s UI icons are available for all your Blender Python icon needs.
All that aside, by far the scariest part of my whole trip was knowing that I was going to speak in the auditorium. I remember being incredibly confident while rehearsing in front of my partner, but when it came to hundreds of eyes watching me, that confidence evaporated. I vaguely remember feeling sick and light-headed backstage. I pushed through that feeling to deliver my talk on my open-source workflow for CNC manufacturing. I’m glad I overcame my fear, especially because of the lovely, supportive comments I received afterwards from university professors and other industry professionals.
My time in Amsterdam was fantastic. I am eternally grateful for the opportunities the Blender Foundation gave me, and I will always remember my time there fondly. Lots of love to anyone who remembers me from there!
Rob.
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