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If you have been around the makerspace this year for classes you maybe picked up one of our class catalogues. We publish one each quarter so you can see what classes and workshops are coming up and plan accordingly. 

This time, we decided to add a little more information in the catalogue for you too. You can find info on our upcoming featured artists, plan to attend a pop up makers' market, get info on our premier music and art festival we're hosting in September, and on how to plan a DIY party with us. 

We're excited, moving forward, to add even more valuable information for you in this catalogue. You can pick one up in the shop mid September (Art Beat wiped out our first order of catalogues) or look at it now with this online PDF version. 

This catalogue lists all our scheduled classes and workshops from the beginning of September through the end of November. Sometimes classes are added last minute, and we always add those to our Facebook events and notify our email subscribers. You can join our email list here to make sure you stay up to date and even get an occasional subscribers' only perk. 

We want to make it easier for you to tackle some of our cool projects, so we started with a DIY kit. One of our most popular classes is the soldered glass terrarium class. However, it's only offered about once or twice a quarter. So I thought, why not make it to go? It's the exact same result with only a few changes that make it easier for you to do at home. 

In the class, you learn to cut the glass, clean, tape, and solder it, and you can sign up for that class here. But the kit gives you pre-cut pieces of glass, and a solderless technique to put it together. You may not be learning the stained glass basics like in the class, but you can do this anywhere and still have a great looking addition to your room decor once you're done. 

To finish the look of this project, we include some preserved moss, a live air plant (one of my favorite low maintenance plants), and a few stones. 

Maybe you are wondering what good a membership would do you and what a makerspace can offer. Here are my top 7 reasons you should try a membership today. 

1. You get access to all of our tools and equipment including stations for 3D printing, laser cutting, stained glass and soldering, ceramics, woodworking, jewelry and metal work, textiles and leather, drawing, painting, printing and more. If you can dream it, we can help you make it. 

2. You get discounts on classes and workshops from 5%-20% depending on the membership level you choose. 

3. You don't have to take over your house with messy projects. Use our space and designated storage and work stations. Or get a private studio and keep all your work safe and secure and out of your living room.

4. You can work with others in a creative and collaborative environment instead of working holed up on your own. Full memberships allow you to add family members at a great discounted rate. The more, the merrier. 

5. You save money! When you start working on any project, there's always another tool to buy or a piece of equipment that you wish you could afford. Being a member of our makerspace gives you access to our tools and equipment that cost thousands of dollars so you don't have to waste money investing in tools you'll only use a few times. 

6. You get a little storage space to call your own so you don't have to lug your personal materials back and forth during a project. 

7. And lastly, when you get a membership at MAKE SOUTH BEND, you help support our mission and vision of celebrating makers in the community, creating new ones, and supporting small business. Maybe you'll start a new business from here. 

Learn more about memberships and apply online at www.makesouthbend.com/membership or click the image below.

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.

Wow! That was fun. We had over 20 people be part of our crowdfunding campaign this last month, and we are currently working on getting their rewards packages together. We raised over $2,500 of donations through our campaign just through social media. We got a no interest loan of $10,000 from family, and 1st Source gave us an SBA loan for the rest. So, we are funded and ready to go. Thank you so much to everyone who helped us, believed in us, donated, volunteered to paint or guided us in the business plan. We are incredibly grateful and looking at mid February to open.

Now we are on to stocking the store, getting classes lined up with instructors and furnishing the space with tools and equipment for members to use.