What's In the Maker Space—and How You Can Use It

Every day, someone new walks into the shop and says, “so, what exactly do you do here?”
And to be honest, that’s a pretty loaded question.
Our makerspace is stocked with the tools and equipment to allow our members to work in dozens of different mediums. But sometimes, it can be a bit overwhelming to look out across a workshop stuffed with equipment. There are so many possibilities, you don’t know where to start. It happens to me all the time. I call it “creativity paralysis.”
But today, I’m going to break down what’s in the shop and what you can do with it. If you’re stuck in creativity paralysis and don’t know what to do, read on!

Ceramics Studio
​Our ceramics studio is one of the most straightforward areas of the shop, but it’s definitely not a one-size-fits-all medium. After all, a lump of clay is just another blank canvas.
Our ceramics studio is currently stocked with…
Pottery Wheels
Potters have been using pottery wheels to create pieces since the Bronze Age. The earliest fast wheels date back to the third millennium BC, but it’s still the most popular and effective way to create bowls, vases, plates, and other pieces. Our wheel-throwing classes are some of our most popular, but you can use the wheel without taking a class beforehand. We have three in the ceramics studio, and they are first come, first serve.
Slab Roller
Slab building is another common method of making clay sculptures. But working the clay into a thin, consistent slab is a difficult task if done by hand.
A slab roller lets you do this quickly and easily. Just set the desired height, cover the clay with canvas, and get to building.
Canvas Work Table
Clay is remarkably pliable, which makes it very easy to work with. But it can also be pretty sticky, and when you’re rolling the clay against a surface, it can get stuck, ruining your piece.
Canvas can help counteract that adhesion, making your handbuilding less frustrating.
Kilns
Clay is renowned for its durability, but unless it’s fired in a kiln, it remains brittle. We have two kilns in the shop, which our staff operate. We have a full-sized ceramics kiln and a jewelry kiln that can be used to fuse glass and fire smaller pieces.
If you’re taking a class or using the shop with a membership or day pass, we’ll fire your pieces for no extra charge. You can also drop off ready-to-fire pieces and we’ll fire them for the price of a day pass.

Glassworking
There’s a lot you can do with glass. From custom beads to pendants to terrariums to stained glass suncatchers. And you can do it all in the shop with these tools
Glass Cutters
In order to work with stained glass, you need a glass cutter to cut the pieces into the desired shapes. Glass cutters are much easier to use than you might think. You can even cut curves!
Soldering Irons
Whether you’re making a suncatcher, a glass cactus sculpture, or a terrarium, you need to use a soldering iron to keep the pieces in place. Just make sure you don’t touch the metal part—it’s hot!
Lampworking Torches
There’s more than one way to manipulate glass. Lampworking torches allow you to melt glass down into beautiful custom beads.

Jewelry Making
Who doesn’t love making their own jewelry? Our shop has a jewelers bench with plenty of metal working tools to create your own pieces. It would take far too long to list them all, so here are a few.

• Wire wrapping tools
• Ring mandrels
• Handstamping tools
• Files
• Drum tumbler

Fiber Arts and Textiles
Mankind’s relationship with fabric stretches back tens of thousands of years. And if you want to try your own hand at these ancient arts, we have the tools to do it.
Sewing Machines
If you want to make your own custom clothing, stuffed animals, or bags, there’s no tool more essential than a sewing machine. We have a few on hand that you can use if you don’t have one of your own, as well as tools for hand stitching.
Leather Working
Leather is one of the toughest materials, which makes it a popular choice for jackets, shoes, and bags. But if you don’t have the right tools, it can be almost impossible to work with. Luckily, we have leather punches, stitching awls, rotary cutters, and even letter stamps so you can create your own leather goods.
Yarn Crafts
Yarn crafts like knitting and crochet aren’t only relaxing: they’re practical. You can use them to create comfy scarves, socks, hats...you name it. These mediums are easy to do at home, but where’s the fun in that? We have yarn and needles that you can use here, or you can use your own and come for the company.

2D Art
What kind of art studio would we be if you couldn’t make a picture here? Our studio is outfitted with all kinds of paints, paintbrushes, colored pencils, easels, and whatever else you could think of. All free to use with a day pass. Canvases are available for a small material fee. 

Printmaking
Printmaking is one of the most ancient methods of duplicating art work. There are several different methods—and you can try a few in the shop.
Screenprinting Studio
Everyone loves a great T-shirt. Just look at Threadless.com, which has been printing beautiful and clever shirt designs for almost twenty years. But if you have a design you want to make for your band, slow-pitch softball team, your annual church picnic, or maybe just an inside joke you want to wear on your sleeve, you can use our screenprinting studio to make it a reality.
Our studio is full stocked with an exposing table, washout sink, a four-color press, a flash dryer, and other tools to make high-quality prints of your own. You can also print on tote bags, pillowcases, skateboards, paper, or just about anything else you like.
We offer screenprinting classes, but they are not required to use the studio. Although, it is highly recommended that you contact us first to make sure we have screens available—unless you plan on bringing your own.
Block Printing
Block printing works much like a stamp. You carve away all the negative space, then ink what’s left over and press it onto cardstock, paper, fabric, or whatever you like. We have some simple carving tools that you can use to cut your own designs into linoleum blocks, which we also have on hand.
Letterpressing
The printing press was an absolute revolution. And while printing from a computer or copy machine is the go-to method these days, there’s something satisfying about arranging the type yourself.
We have a type set in the shop, as well as a rolling flat bed press for consistent prints. Great for greeting cards and posters!

Woodshop
Don’t have a garage? Use ours! Our woodshop is stocked with enough tools to make all of your woodworking dreams come true. Our current woodshop inventory includes:

• Table saw
• Miter saw
• Scroll saw
• Drill press
• Wood lathe and chisels
• Belt sander
• Bench grinders
• Power sander
• Power drills
• Hand planer
• Handsaws
• Various hand tools

All members must take our woodshop safety and basic use class before they can use the class—no matter your skill level. Insurance reasons—you understand.

Tech Lab
Technology is more accessible than ever. And you can experience that firsthand in our tech lab, which is stocked with a few great tools. You can learn how to use all of these tools in our basic usage Tech Lab 101 class.
3D Printer
3D printing is one of the most exciting mediums in the last decade, making breakthroughs in medicine, design, and just plain old hobbying. 3D printers allow you to design your own three-dimensional designs and bring them into the real world. Or, you can download models from websites like Thingiverse. You can use the machine yourself, or send us your designs to print for you. Models cost 10¢/gram, or 5¢/gram for members.
Laser Cutter
A laser cutter uses a high-powered laser beam to etch wood, leather, acrylic, glass, or other materials. It can also cut through thin pieces of wood, acrylic, and leather.
Use the laser cutter to create a set of customized photographic wood coasters, make jigsaw puzzles, cut geometric necklace pendants, or more. Your imagination is the limit!
Plot Cutter
Our Silhouette plot cutter can cut thin materials like vinyl, paper, cardboard, or fabric with precision. Create die-cut greeting cards, vinyl decals, or intricate heat transfers with ease.
CNC Machine
Computer Numerical Control machines or now the standard in industry to manufacture objects with precision. Unlike the laser cutter, this machine uses three axes.  It uses a small, computer controlled router to turn wood and acrylic into intricate relief sculptures.

Miscellaneous
And wouldn’t you know it, we’re not done yet. We have plenty of other tools that don’t really fit into the other categories. Such as…
Button Maker
Buttons are a great way to send a message on your bag, jacket lapel, punk rock vest, or more. Show your support for a local political candidate, promote your band, or make promotional items for your small business. You could see options to custom order buttons, but there’s something satisfying about making them yourself.
Heat Press
One of the easiest ways to make customized clothing is to print your design onto iron-ons and...iron it on. But we all know that looks a bit tacky. And it doesn’t last long, either.
Think of a heat press like an iron-on on steroids. It’s the same basic process, but the end result is much, much nicer.
Etc., Etc.
There are tons of tools we haven’t even mentioned yet that are absolutely indispensable for a number of art forms. From glue guns to calligraphy pens to wood burning irons, our shop is stocked full of valuable tools that can help you bring what’s in your head into the real world.

What will you MAKE?
Have you been staring at your Pinterest board wishing you were able to make the same things for your house? Or maybe you’ve had an idea that’s been knocking on the inside of your head, begging to come out.
Don’t wish any more. Come into the shop and let us help you turn your dreams into reality. Buy a day pass, check out our membership rates to get more access to the space, or maybe just stop by for a free tour. We’ll be glad to meet you!