Michigan Maker Summit, Hosted by One of Our Own

One of the best parts of the maker community is how often the people building real businesses are the same people giving back and pulling others up with them. That’s exactly why the Michigan Maker Summit feels so authentic.

The summit is hosted by Blake Sandborn, one of our LensDigital Innovators and affiliates. Blake isn’t a conference organizer who stepped into making. He’s a maker who built something real and then decided to create a space where others could learn faster and avoid some of the hard lessons.

Blake runs Great Lakes Laser Supply, a business many engravers already know for its hat clips and blanks. If you’ve ever engraved hats at scale, you understand why that niche matters. His products solve very practical problems makers run into every day, and that practical mindset shows up all over the Summit.

Check out the Summit, everything is very interactive. Machines are running. People are looking around setups, asking real questions, comparing machines, techniques, and learning by doing. This isn’t a sit-back-and-listen kind of event. It’s hands-on, shop-floor learning, the kind that actually sticks.

Also, make sure you catch the Fox 17 Morning Mix segment covering the event. We loved seeing the Grip 2 on display, set up and working the way makers actually use it in their shops. No polish for the sake of polish. Just tools being used in the real world, which is exactly what events like this should highlight.

The Michigan Maker Summit is at an intersection of tools, technique, and business strategy. You’ll see lasers and engraving systems in action, but you’ll also hear the conversations that matter just as much. Pricing, workflow, material choices, scaling production, and finding products and gift ideas that actually sell. Those random conversations are often where the biggest breakthroughs happen.

If you’re anywhere near Michigan and serious about laser engraving, fabrication, or building a maker business that lasts, this is worth your time. And if you want to learn more about the event Blake has put together, you can find all the details here:

https://www.michiganmakersummit.com/#about-us