Curious, for those who have successfully started a #hackerspace, #repaircafe, #techcoop, or some other collaborative community space dedicated to technology:
What sorts of local partnerships did you look for when organizing?
I'm interested in building this kind of space, and I'm trying to brainstorm what local groups I might be able to join forces with. A local ham radio club, a mutual aid network, and a punk space are on my list. If you have other inventive ideas, I'm all ears!
@spencer
Hi, I am one of the founder organisers of the Rugby and Coventry Repair Cafes and I now run them both.
Happy to chat or I can just send you the notes I've made.
Where are you based?
Martin
@repaircaferugby Hi there, Martin! I'd love your notes; I'm currently very early in the ideating stages—this is barely more than a pipe dream—so I don't quite feel committed enough to trouble you for a chat.
I'm located in the US, in the state of Oregon.
@spencer men's shed, museum? model boat club/shop?
@spencer I was part of a team that started a MakerSpace at a community college. Fully grant funded for the first two years, but piecemeal after that, it was closed after 7 years.
We never were able to manage any corporate sponsorships but the groups we worked most closely with were welders, especially those starting their businesses (they used our equipment to complete their jobs), robot builders especially the 250-lb BattleBots versions, rocketry/aerospace people, cosplay people, game designers, people who sew, theater tech people and bicycle people who tuned and repaired their bikes. The other big population we served until we were no longer allowed to let the general community participate, was retired people who have knowledge and skills but no longer have a workshop. Bonus for that, they were great mentors!
Background, full wood and metal shop including plasma cutter and CNC router, plus the “21st century tools” 3D printers, laser cutter/engraver, vinyl cutter, button makers, sewing, embroidery and serger. Lots of 8’x6’ high tables for any use, plus outdoor spaces. Lots of free materials of all sorts.
Happy to answer questions. Look us up (even though inactive) on IG @mountiemakerspace or on FB same. Yes, yes, bad platforms but that’s where we were in 2017 so stayed.
@spencer We considered working with some of those but none was really physically close enough or big enough when we started a Repair Café ~3Y ago, but our RC is part of an umbrella organisation that I currently run. We have been asked to start another branch and I suspect we would start another project the same way.
https://www.ttkingston.org/ttk-groups-and-projects/kingston-repair-cafe/
@spencer
We started with one guy making a Facebook / Twitter post back in 2012 asking if anyone was interested in starting a Hackspace. First meeting was 4 or 5 folks in a pub, soon we started weekly Monday evening Hackspace get-togethers in a room rented from another community group. They allowed us to store some equipment in a side room including our first big purchase, a laser cutter. Slowly we got more members and a core group of organisers and "doers". We got help from the local council and councillors. Through the council we were able to get a list of unoccupied / unused (semi derelict) buildings in their property portfolio. One was a disused public toilet. It took us nearly 3 years of negotiation and admin (we had to set up a company to lease the building from the council) to finally get the keys to the building. We gutted the building, refitted it ourselves and formally opened in 2019. 5 years after we first approached the council. The key was the core group of people who DID stuff.
I belong to a multiple hacklabs, and the community depends of the space and neighbourght.
We use to share space in the same building with other collectives, and the collaborations depends of the ecosystem of each community.
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