*Hmmm...
Dear friends,
After 4 years, Tinker is closing.
When we started in Spring 2007 with a workshop in Paddington Arts in West London, we started by introducing people to Arduino. It was a friendly way to explain concepts like physical computing, interaction design and internet of things. At the time, hardly anyone knew about Arduino in the UK, and in the past 4 years we've seen professionals and academics get behind the technology in ways we never imagined. We sold Arduinos until the end of 2009, and now more than 8 shops distribute the platform across the UK. In London alone, Arduino is being taught at the Royal College of Art, Goldsmith's, Central St Martin's, Architectural Association, London College of Communication, Queen Mary's University, The Bartlett School of Architecture, Ravensbourne College and more.
We believed open source was not only a way of thinking and coding but also a way of working. We shared credit and were transparent about everyone’s involvement every step of the way, building a network of incredibly talented people.
After working with wonderful clients including Arup, BBC, BT, Current Cost, EDF, National Geographic, Nokia, The Evening Standard and recently Wired Magazine, it's truly been a privilege to operate ahead of the curve.
We worked to help bring products and services closer to our ideal of a connected world where the digital and physical meet.
This is a journey I will continue to take as I go back to freelancing.
I'm still in London, working from the bosom of Really Interesting Group (http://www.reallyinterestinggroup.com/) starting this week, finishing up our work on Homesense (homesenseproject.com) with Georgina Voss and evangelising for www.lirec.eu a project about emotional robots.
(...)
I really hope you are well, and that the new year brings you, as it has for me, opportunities for new adventures.
Best,
__________________________________
Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino
CEO & Co-Founder
