Last night we closed out the 2015-2016 Next Top Makers program with a celebration and showcase at Brooklyn Army Terminal Annex Building, the home of Futureworks NYC. The evening kicked off with more than 120 guests visiting this year’s Fellows as well as showcasers from last year’s cohort and throughout New York City. Thanks to Tito’s for the fantastic cocktails we drank through sunset, to Bronx Brewery for the four kinds of brews (American Rye, personal favorite) and to Bronx Beer Hall, our uptown partner, for a delicious spread. After the initial showcase, this year’s Fellows – Thimble, Wear.Works, StrongArm, Bon Bouton, blink blink and Dog Parker – presented to the audience. In turn, guests pledged support for the companies by way of investment, marketing, supply chain and operational help and connections. After a champagne toast, we said goodbye to the first of many advanced manufacturing events at Brooklyn Army Terminal’s Annex Building.

NYCEDC VP Miquela Creator

Thimble Co-Founder Oscar Pedroso

Wear.Works Founders Keith Kirkland and Kevin Yoo

StrongArm’s Rahul Bhansali

Bon Bouton Co-Founder Linh Le

Dog Parker Co-Founders Chelsea Brownridge and Todd Schechter

Cocktails provided by Tito’s and Popular Mechanics

The Crated’s Maddy Maxey and Freewrite’s Charlie Weikert

BotFactory’s JFBrandon and Nico Vansnick

BotFactory’s technology

DIYAbility’s video-gaming tech for disabled gamers

FeatherFab’s Phil Chacko (red and black) and Will Watts (black and white)

StrongArm’s Bhansali, Sean Petterson, Emily Slawek

Food by Bronx Beer Hall

Google’s Shreenath Regunathan and friends

Estee Lauder’s Joanie Taylor and friend

A peek into the past

To the future!