It's been an exciting whirlwind since we opened on February 17th. We had many friendly faces stop by our shop. We sold lots of chocolate and handcut soaps. We partied with our crowdfunders and volunteers that Friday and then were on the news the next morning. You can see the news story here. 

This week we had an artist mixer with about 30 local creatives, just a meet and greet. I was overwhelmed by the amount of creativity and camaraderie that night. It's refreshing to see that our arts community does want to support each other and collaborate. It'll only get better from here. 

We hosted our very first class, a realistic art class focused on seeing details like an artist in the image of an eye. Here is a photo of some of the work. Michelle Weldy, the instructor, did an excellent and thorough job and will have two more realistic art classes in March. 

Then, of course, we had a lot of fun on our new 3D printer by SeeMeCNC, a local company. As you can see here, it allows you to print some fun detail. And let me assure you that the blemishes in these prints were because of the file design, not the printer. Now, for your enjoyment, some beefy armed art. 

We had one late addition to our space, a gallery. Now you can stop by and view some local art, as well as purchase it. The current exhibit that will run through March is "Marriage of Mathematics and Biology" by Allison Eve and Jonathan Walker. 

It's been about a month of renovating and the changes are extreme. We are just about done with painting and furnishing the space, and we can't wait to share it with you.

We made tables, got desks from our friends at Bendix Coffee and found a great deal of chairs online.

We still have some shelving to put up, but the furniture is all in. We're hoping to have the shop open next week, and classes are being scheduled now. I'm also finishing up the orientation packets for the makerspace memberships. Get excited!

Inventory is rolling in and shelves are being filled with some fine local goods. So far we have stock in from Davis Chocolates, Indiana Oil Co., Brown Dog Soaps, Bendix Coffee, and The FitzGerald Found and Fashioned. We have one more week and at least five more vendors dropping off goods before we open the store.

If you have some great local goods you make or know someone else who does, email submissions to info@makesouthbend.com. We're looking for quality, simple, handcrafted items made in the area.