This Friday, June 23, Westside Makerspace is celebrating their “Big Relaunch Night” at the Yellow Cab Tavern at 6pm.
I wanted to know all about the relaunch event and what event goers could expect.
Samantha Walker-Baskin, spokesperson for the Makerspace, said, “We are so excited to celebrate the relaunch of the Makerspace at our new intermediate location! Makerspace is having a party to celebrate our relaunch in our intermediate space! Attendees will get to see what we’ve been up to, watch the premiere of our mini-documentary (Directed by Yellow Springs resident Cameron James Henderson and produced by academy award winning Dayton filmmakers Steven Bognar and the late Julia Reichert), grab a copy of our Zine “Who We Are” (designed by Dayton’s very own artistically magical Rachel DB Creative), and hear updates about our next moves.”
I was curious about how the relaunch happened. The answer was, “We opened our pilot location at the West Branch Library in 2022, and we had a blast meeting new makers in Dayton who shared our excitement in building a forever home. In January of 2023, our time at the branch's opportunity space ended and we packed up and moved to our intermediate space. We have taken time since January to reset our equipment, and organize our strategy for managing memberships, classes and events at our temporary home. And now it's finally time to reopen our doors!”
Admittedly, I had no idea what a makerspace even was. I inquired about the definition of the term and got, “The Westside Makerspace is a developing STEM and arts Co-op in West Dayton, and a collaborative journey to provide a location for creative entrepreneurs, youths and hobbyists to develop and practice skills using shared tools, equipment and works spaces that otherwise are inaccessible to many makers in the community. The Makerspace provides an alternative place to work, learn, create and collaborate using equipment such as laser engravers, cnc routers and other woodworking tools, 3D printers, sewing machines, sublimation printers and more. The Makerspace helps emerging entrepreneurs by removing the obstacle of upfront capital costs to starting new businesses, provides an alternative learning environment for students, as well as a fun social workspace for hobbyists.The Westside Makerspace was founded in 2019 by a small group of engineers and creatives, who recognized that a resource like the Makerspace was missing in West Dayton.”
I wondered if someone was interested in the makerspace program, could they participate? And how so?
Walker-Baskin revealed, “In July, we are opening up the space to our former members to begin using the equipment again. We are also recommencing our schedule of classes to the general public. We will also open applications for our Leadership and Design Program; a 9 week scholarship program that allows students to learn how to use every piece of equipment currently in our Makerspace. This training will prepare applicants to apply to become a "Westside Makerspace fellow" and enjoy the benefits of subsidized membership and 24/7 access to the makerspace in exchange for their undertaking operational tasks. This program will be available to the general public, and begins in August. We are always looking for volunteers to dedicate their time to help, and any creative entrepreneurs, hobbyists and youths/ youth programming coordinators who need access to tools, equipment and space to complete their projects, or run their programs.
Have a creative business idea? Want to socialize with other creatives, learn new skills or teach a class? Come to the Makerspace! “
In closing, I mused about the future plans of the Westside Makerspace. Walker-Baskin said, “We will continue our membership campaign to find as many makers in Dayton as we can. We plan to stay at our intermediate location until we are finished building out our permanent home (location is still undecided, but we are getting close!)
We are projected to be in our forever home by 2025. Our future home will offer a similar plan to our current prototype, with the addition of amenities such as coworking and office spaces, private studios for rent, and larger work spaces with more equipment.“
