Calligrafae6d ago

Does anyone here have any experience running or even just attending a community space that's a kind of drop-in art studio/creative workspace? Like somewhere that has a bunch of different art and craft supplies and tools, you can take your own project, you can speak with people there, learn new skills, try the stuff they've got, etc.

I'm interested in knowing what activities went on there, how you ran it or what you got from it as a participant, etc.

 

#AskFedi

Show threadAvner

@welshpixie I was a founding member of one of Chicago's hackerspaces. Also briefly on the board.

Depending on what point in the space's history we're talking about, activities ranged from electronics and fiber crafts to 3D printing, woodworking, and hot metals. There was eventually a kitchen area, so of course that meant cooking and beer brewing (Beer Church, every Sunday). There were lots of events run out of there, by and for the members (primarily).

CC @toba

Mar 31 at 8:06pmWeb
Show threadCalligrafae5d ago
@Avner @toba I guess in Chicago it's a bit different, I'm up in a small rural valley in Wales - how did you get people to start coming and using the space?
Show threadAvner5d ago

@welshpixie @toba we didn't lease a space until we had enough paying members to afford one, so it was less "build it and they will come" and more active community building.

I don't remember getting people to use the space being a problem, though cashflow certainly was at times. There was a price hike, at one point, and I'd be surprised if they haven't raised prices again since then.

Part of the answer was having people organize events regularly, and not being dicks to new folks.

Show threadAvner5d ago
@welshpixie @toba ooh, I just remembered that there was a scanning electron microscope there! One of the nearby universities was getting rid of it, I think, and one of our members diverted it from going to the landfill. No idea if it's still there, but I think at the time it was one of only a few in the world that wasn't owned by a university or corporation.
Show threadCalligrafae5d ago
@Avner @toba ooh nice!
Show threadCalligrafae5d ago
@Avner @toba thank you! This particular thing is a space that exists already that was supposed to be a community space with side cafe but most of the focus went to the cafe and now they can't get funding because funders look at their site and go 'oh it's retail' so they want to push back into the hackerspace direction
Show threadAvner5d ago
@welshpixie @toba as for what I got out of it: community, a place to work on projects, access to tools and supplies I wouldn't have access to otherwise, not to mention people who would teach me how to use them. It was also, frankly, pretty chaotic and suffered from a lot of the downsides of the hacker culture at-large, but it was a really important place for me when I was involved and I'm happy that they're still around.