Maker Media, Home Of Maker Faire And Magazine, Ceases Operations

Maker Media, the company that made homebrew gadget-making into a craze, has laid off its entire staff and is stopping its operations.

Financial problems were the reason for the abrupt closure, according to TechCrunch. The company has not declared bankruptcy and has hopes of a revival at some point.

Maker Media CEO and founder Dale Dougherty said a lack of corporate sponsorship, investor disinterest and the high costs of magazine publishing were to blame.

“I started this 15 years ago and it’s always been a struggle as a business to make this work,” he told TechCrunch. “Print publishing is not a great business for anybody, but it works…barely. Events are hard . . . there was a drop off in corporate sponsorship.”

Maker was the place to go for coverage of 3D printing, electronics, robotics, metal and woodworking. After its 2005 launch, the magazine expanded into its live Maker Faire a year later in San Mateo, California. It also licensed the name to other exhibitors.

Dougherty hopes to keep the magazine’s archives online and continue licensing the name. “I hope to be able to get control of the assets of the company and restart it. We’re not necessarily going to do everything we did in the past, but I’m committed to keeping the print magazine going and the Maker Faire licensing program.”