Making Makespace

One of the new things I'll be working on in 2011 is Makespace.

Makespace will be a physical space in Cambridge, where people can come together to design, build or fix almost anything, and the community of those who share the space and help and train each other. Ultimately, it will be a place in the city containing many things:
  • A FabLab including a 2D laser cutter, 3D printer, CNC router, soldering stations, etc
  • A meeting and training area
  • Flexible access control and facilities
  • The surroundings to meet, work, build, socialise and do amazing things
As a community resource, we hope to bring together a network of enthusiasts and innovators, the prototyping industry, consultants, businesses and educational communities in a mutually beneficial way. Makespace should support people from all across the East of England, using Cambridge as the initial hub.  We won't be the first FabLab in the UK - that honour went to Manchester - but with any luck we'll be the second.

For many aspects of Makespace we'll be drawing on the best bits of other hack spaces around the UK and the world, but, in addition, I think it's very important that we can make a space and a community which is inclusive and accessible to all, regardless of age, gender and so on.

It's a very exciting project, bringing the wonders of engineering into people's own hands, and I'm delighted to be able to be part of it as a founding director. We incorporated as a not for profit at the end of 2010, and are currently working on the logistics for our first space(s)!

There's more information linked from our website, and if you'd like to stay in touch, please join the Meetup group, which is acting as a mailing list at the moment too.