Your stories, from the Innovation Trail

The Innovation Trail went to the Rochester Public Market last weekend - just days after Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection - to hear from you.

With all that's been written about the demise of Kodak, we wanted to capture the human side of the equation - in a city where Kodak still matters.

Why? Because for many thousands of Rochesterians Kodak is more than just a company.

Kevin Purdy makes connections.

When we sat down with the former editor of Gawker's Lifehacker blog at TEDxRochester in November 2011, he had just wrapped up organizing Buffalo's TEDx.

Purdy talked to us about what he's doing when he's not writing about tech, food and "Other Freelance Nonsense."

Top of the list: hooking people up (not like that).

Like the music? It's "The 19th letter - no words" by Buffalo-based Fourem.

Kodak may be struggling, but its legacy lives on in the Rochester community.

Did you or a family member work for the company? Did you grow up in the shadow of one of Kodak's plants? Did working at Kodak springboard you to a new career, or drag you from one Kodak town to another during your childhood?

Whatever your Kodak story, the Innovation Trail wants to hear it.

Eric Lee makes old computers new again. 

We met this high school student at BarCampRochester in October 2011, where he sat down with us in our listening booth.  Eric told us about how he unearthed an old iMac at his summer job, and then found a way to bring the iconic Apple machine into the modern age.

Like the music? It's Buffalo-based Fourem's "Voyage to the Center of the Lung."

Mike Centola makes AR-15 rifles, similar to the M16s that the military uses.

The Innovation Trail sat down with Centola in our listening booth at BarCamp Rochester in October 2011.  He told us that even though his Webster-based business manufactures weapons, he's not a hunter - he's an ASPCA and Lollypop Farm supporter. So he says when hunters come into his shop looking for parts or weapons, he keeps his opinions to himself.  

After all, for Centola, it's about being able to turn your hobby into a career.

Sarah C. Rutherford is a maker of things and making things happen.  She's an illustrator and painter, who works out of a space at Rochester's Public Market.

The Innovation Trail sat down with Rutherford in our listening booth at TEDxRochester in November 2011.  She told us about the connections she sees between art and food - and how Rochester has been a conducive environment to bringing those connections to life.

Like the music? It's "And Put to Rest Manic Limbs" by Buffalo-based Poverty Hymns.

John "Magnus" Champlin makes your world a little bit more interesting.

The Innovation Trail caught up with Champlin in our listening booth at TEDxRochester in November 2011.  He told us about his efforts to add "factoids" to the built environment, by designing QR codes that entice and surprise the person who finds them.

Like the music? It's Buffalo-based Fourem's "Voyage to the Center of the Lung."

Support for "What do you make?" comes from Advanced Motion Systems.

Derek Adams makes devotees of the "Madden" video game very, very happy.

The Innovation Trail caught up with Adams in our listening booth at BarCamp Rochester in October 2011.

He told us about the tool he's developed, called League Manager, that gives the Madden players the fantasy football-style features that they've been clamoring for for years.

Like the music? It's Zev Noah's "Transcription."

Support for "What do you make?" comes from Advanced Motion Systems.  

Elouise Oyzon makes fun things. 

The Innovation Trail caught up with Oyzon in our listening booth at TEDxRochester in November 2011.  She told us about her efforts to make her workplace as fun as possible, through a pilot project at the Rochester Institute of Technology called "Just Press Play."

The Microsoft-sponsored project adds a "game layer" to the college experience, giving students a chance to win "achievements," for engaging "in a playful way with their educational environments and experiences."

The Innovation Trail spent its Saturday listening to your stories, about what you make, using our brand new listening booth.

And boy, does what you make run the gamut: from tactical firearms, to dot matrix printers, to connections between people, the folks at BarCamp Rochester are an industrious bunch.

Here are the stories of just a few of the people we met, about the cool stuff they make.

Brian Boucheron, the robot artist 

"It's really neat the sounds it makes, all the motors going, the pen rapidly hitting the paper - that's what got me into drawing with robots."

Eric Lee, the high-school obsolescence enthusiast

"I was cleaning out the utility closet and beneath layers of dust I found this antiquated piece of technology and I just thought it looked so amazing ... I wanted to breathe life back into it."

Brian Vogel, the hang gliding tinkerer

"The first time I went hang gliding I took a tandem flight and we got up to about to about 5,000 feet and I could see the Great Lakes, and Rochester looked about the size of a postage stamp ... you just start running and you're in the air."