But we’re really excited to be able to announce the concept and lineup for our August event: Micro Manufacturing. The UK has become increasingly reliant on the service economy and the financial services industry, to the detriment of its manufacturing base, but enterprising craftspeople are increasingly taking advantage of Internet retail and new printing technologies to make products and sell them in innovative new ways. In the process, they could reinvent manufacturing as an economically potent force in the UK.

We’re going to look at companies like Ponoko, Folksy and Digital Forming, who are removing the traditional barriers to entry such as specialised design skills and machinery, and helping normal people to express themselves creatively, produce goods and make money. By using such tools and websites, and tapping into a customer base online, any individual can have the global reach of a multinational brand and make products cheaply. Which companies and people are pioneering this shift, and how can ordinary people get involved? Will the micromanufacturing movement challenge and supplement the behemoths of global trade, or will it only ever be a niche concern? These are the kinds of topics and questions we’re hoping to explore.

Our lineup for the panel debate is as follows:

Brendan Dawes is a founder and creative director of product design company Beep Industries and digital design firm magneticNorth, both based in Manchester. Beep Industries recently launched MoviePeg (pictured above), a simple stand for the iPhone to prop it up for easy viewing of videos; they’re currently working on Red Pop, an iPhone peripheral that adds a big red button and grip for more easily taking photos. Brendan also works with a Thing-O-Matic 3D printer for personal projects, which are collected along with his software, writings and presentations at brendandawes.com.

Assa Ashuach is the creative director of Digital Forming, one of London’s leading 3D printing companies. By allowing ordinary people to ‘co-create’ work with Assa and the Digital Forming team, the company aims to bring high-quality, bespoke product design to the man in the street, and allow them a hand in the creative process. Assa has previously designed products for Nestlé, Nike and Vodafone; runs his own Assa Ashuach Studio; has exhibited his work at the Science Museum, Design Museum and Galleria Gracis, Milan; and runs MA design classes at London Metropolitan University.

Soner Ozenc is a product designer and founder of design firm Razorlab, which allows customers to have their own designs laser cut and laser engraved. They’ve seen their services used by clients like Apple, O2, Selfridges, and fashion designers Hussein Chalayan and Giles Deacon. They’re also the first UK company, and only the third one in Europe, to partner with New Zealand-based Ponoko, the world leaders in micromanufacturing; the partnership means that UK-based Ponoko users can use Razorlab for their creations, and avoid the huge shipping fees.

The event will take place on Wednesday August 10 at The Book Club, Shoreditch, London, from 7-9.30pm. Expect the usual big screen Twitter feed, well-stocked bar, boundary-pushing discussion and fascinating fellow members of the public, plus a very exciting interactive segment of the evening that’ll we’ll unveil nearer the time. Tickets go on sale from July 14; before then, remember to pick up a ticket and come along to our Instant Art event, where we’ll be exploring the effect of the mobile Internet on the art world. Hopefully see you there!