Makespace has been open over four months now and we have over 130 members. Yay!
We still have space for more if you’d like to join, and becoming a member is quite streamlined now: learn about membership and then sign up. As ever, there are lots of ways to get involved, for both members and visitors.
We have a great deal more equipment already. If you’re a member and a fan of (or keen to get started with) any of the kit you can volunteer to be a community owner. Owners of specific bits of equipment make sure it’s in order, that consumables are available, and support and induct other members in using it. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time, especially as we get larger teams of owners, and it helps Makespace be better for all of us.
We’ve also changed the layout of the space, to make some kit more accessible in the main space (laser cutter, CNC Mill, vacuum former), and to make it better for events with a new projector and screen, and to add more equipment in the workshop. The separate ‘classroom’ is still available for events, and we’ve furnished the second upstairs room with sofas. The stock of snacks and drinks is better than ever, too, and the aircon is fully operational, which has been much appreciated this month! There are still a few bits of work for Members to do, such as adding a window bench in the cafe and shelves in the kitchen, and setting up some new second hand equipment such as small mills.
Our events programme has been quieter with the summer holidays, but even so we’ve had some great things happening, including:
* Dorkbot Anglia 12, where JK Brook of Bad Timing and David Chatting of the Curiosity Collective introduced Richard Hoadley, a composer who works with algorithms and live notations mediated with physical interaction; Colin Dewar who has created an automatic random art generator from an old Super 8 projector some ink and some electronics; and Tom Scott, a Multimedia artist who works with Super 8, audio and video media, in the digital realm, who talked about his recent Postcard View project – incorporating the Raspberry Pi.
* Project speed-dating, a chance to meet others and explore ideas for working together
* A new Arduino And Cake series
* A special Maker Night featuring Sugru to make and fix things, to produce new Instructables for people to reuse around the world
* Other talks, and many other regular meetups, including Cambridge Mac Developers, GameSpace, K1 Cohousing, Cambridge Clojure, OpenDCU.org & Pi-makers, and Arty Crafty Maker Night.
We’d love to see more regular (and irregular!) events – it’s easy for Members to organise something at Makespace, just book the time on our Meetup Group!
It’s still very helpful if you can spread the word of Makespace to others (we have posters, stickers and cards on the table by the entrance door), and do like or share Makespace on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.
If you have any feedback about Makespace, good or bad, and whether you are a Member or not, please post on the Google Group if you are happy to share your thoughts publicly, or email management@makespace.org if you’d prefer to keep it confidential to the Directors, Jonny, Simon and me.
We’re hoping to kick off the autumn season once people are back from holidays with some public events including Maker Nights and more. There are also ideas for some big community projects underway. Get involved! Find out more at the space, in the Google Group, or try our IRC channel #makespace to chat with other Cambridge area makers. There is no shortage of things to make and fix, and people to build things and learn things with.
