Deciding to go to this year’s CREATESouth was a bit of a last minute decision. Seemed like everything was going on this weekend. CREATESouth, Cupcake Camp Summerville, Pet Fest, LUG meeting (which ended up getting moved).
CREATESouth 2012 was smaller than previous ones I’ve been to, but I think this year was better, with presentations that were more interesting. Keynotes by Philippa Ballantine and Heather Solos were both very good.
Lunch was once again delicious BBQ provided by Andre Pope and Proud Purveyors of Pork.
There were a lot of sessions that I would have liked to see. I ended up going to the DIY Metallurgy/Metal Casting, Budget Barista and BBQ sessions. I found all of the sessions interesting and inspiring.
The DIY Metallurgy/Metal Casting session was perhaps the coolest one with a hands on part where we actually got to do some sand casting. Packed sand to make molds, and poured the metal to make these little CREATESouth logos. I think I may have found a new hobby.
Budget Barista was a good session looking at some of the variables that go into making a good cup of coffee. Did you know a hot air popcorn popper can be used to roast coffee beans? I’m not a huge coffee drinker, but have been known to consume a cup now and then. After seeing the Aeropress in action at the session, I think it’s my new want item.
The Art and Science of BBQ ended up being an outdoor session with Andre Pope talking about how to do BBQ and showing his BBQ rig. I learned that you don’t need a big huge smoker setup to do BBQ and that it’s easier than it looks. You can make BBQ in a slow cooker, which I’ve done before but never really considered it real BBQ. Now that I know better, I’m inspired to do more BBQ.
Had a really good time at CREATESouth this year, and I’m really glad I decided to go. Got inspired to do new things, at least two of which I’ll probably do. The metal casting sounds like it will be really cool to take up as a hobby, but it’s probably not something I should get into right now.
Check out my photos from the day over in the gallery or on Flickr.