Crafts Council Learning Participation What we learned from co-creating in makerspaces

Setting up a makerspace

What to consider and what to avoid when setting up a makerspace by Colonnade House in Worthing

Colonnade House is a creative hub in the centre of Worthing that was set up by Worthing Borough Council with funding from the government’s Coastal Communities Fund.

Colonnade House worked with Tech Resort, a Community Interest Company specialising in promoting and sharing digital skills, and Community Works, who support voluntary organisations in the area, to trial makerspace activity in the space. Here Clare Halstead, Creative Hub Manager for Adur & Worthing Councils shares key learning from the process of setting up a makerspace.

Who would use a maker space? Professionals? Community groups? The public?

All kinds of people took part in Space to Make—they ranged from hobbyists to people already making and selling their own products, from community groups to individual creative professionals who all had ideas that would benefit from access to digital tech; and participants of all ages took part, from children to retired people.

There were inevitably people who weren’t able to take part in the project, or who weren’t interested. We made contact with a few secondary schools and colleges, and although some were interested in the opportunities, the logistics and short timescale made this impractical. The primary school that did take part was the result of a connection through a studio member, and their activity took place in school.

Access to our spaces created a barrier at times – we were able to run a session on the ground floor led by a participant who uses a power chair, but the laser cutter was set up on the second floor so access to this was more limited.

What equipment should there be in a makerspace?

We bought a limited range of equipment and the choices we made were based on initial discussions with studio members and with Tech Resort. We bought a Glowforge laser cutter which is aimed at a home market, and had a very user friendly interface. We bought Creality Ender 3 3D printers which came in kit form for home assembly. All other equipment and resources were supplied by Tech Resort.

Feedback from participants included suggestions for other equipment such as screen printing facilities. One of the key pieces of feedback was the value of access to equipment that individuals couldn’t afford to buy for themselves – but also access to the expertise to learn how to use it.

How much space do you need for a makerspace?

We had to limit the materials used on the laser cutter because we didn’t have a proper extraction system, and we also discovered that the filament used in 3D printers is sensitive to moisture, so we had to store it carefully.

Equipment can be noisy too, and Colonnade House is an old building with wooden floors. Because of fumes, we set up the laser cutter in a second floor studio where it could be sited next to a window which opened, but this raised access issues. This project was a trial run, but it highlighted the kind of issues that would need to be considered to make a more permanent space.

Expertise is vital but we don’t all have to be experts.
Clare Halstead, Creative Hub Manager

What skills are needed to run a makerspace?

Access to skills and knowledge is crucial, however the wider the range of people that took part the more there was evidence of skill sharing through collaboration. Amongst families there was a high level of interest for more opportunities for young people to access digital tech as schools (particularly primary schools) have limited resources, and there is awareness of the value of these skills for gaining future employment.

‘The tech event today has been fantastic. The variable levels of skill for kids in school can mean they can be held back. Here is a great way to grow kids learning. A tech hub making the most of this in Worthing is a great way to help the next generation.’

What would people pay to use a makerspace and how would it be priced for different kinds of users?

We didn’t test options for pricing in the project, but we did get feedback on the kinds of uses people would have for a makerspace – here are some examples:

‘Brilliant – I would and will use more classes when available. From basic coding to bigger 3D printing and if possible 3D scanning. I restore classic cars for a business so would use this to make parts that you can’t get.’

‘Maker Spaces are valuable both to small companies for prototyping and hobbyists. Such a facility can support start-up companies during the day and be available to the community during non-working time. Many people follow hobbies but lack sophisticated equipment.’

‘I am a one-man company and cannot afford the sort of equipment that would benefit my work, often having to make-do without, or pay huge fees to outsource. I would most benefit from having use of 3D Printers, laser cutters/engravers, 3D modelling software and a CNC Router.’

‘A place where such equipment is available to rent would be useful for creatives in Worthing to try out ideas. Screen printing facilities would also be useful, enabling artists to create large scale versions of their designs to sell (or T-shirts, bags etc)’

Key learning and recommendations:

Expertise is vital but we don’t all have to be experts.

There is a need for access to ‘hard knowledge’ especially around electronics and coding and knowing how to use the equipment. Without the partnership with Tech Resort the project wouldn’t have achieved nearly as much, or been up and running so quickly. For a future makerspace project, securing the expertise to support learning and training would be essential, but alongside this, the ability to play and tinker with ideas and equipment is just as vital, along with the ‘how hard can it be?’ ethos that Tech Resort employs. Being able to say that you don’t know the answer but you’re going to try and work it out gives people permission to be curious, to explore and to collaborate.

Don’t be afraid - the quickest route to confidence in the language of digital technology is to use the tech yourself.

As a staff team we entered the project with some trepidation as we were very aware of our lack of knowledge, but as soon as we started using the equipment and engaging with the sessions these fears subsided. We saw this happen to others in the project through a number of ‘lightbulb’ moments, especially in the workshops with Tech Resort. One of our community participants said that although she didn’t become an expert in coding, the project gave her enough of the language and principles to be able to talk to someone who was, and to be able to collaborate with them in the future on the illuminated processional structures that she had in mind.

We need to be open to all the different uses that people will have for the space.

We now have a clearer idea of what a makerspace at Colonnade House could look like in the future. Our potential users range from young people to retired people, from artists to inventors, from engineers to animators, from people with expertise to complete novices. We will need to think about maintaining an inclusive ethos that allows all the users to access the space, to achieve their aims, to share ideas with each other and to develop their skills.

We asked people which uses of a makerspace would be most important to them – the most popular were:

Hourly hire of specific piece of equipment; Individual learning and skills development; Opportunity to develop new projects through training and /or collaboration; Producing one-off items for repairs or customization; Prototyping new products; Short-run production of items.

Balancing the needs of all these users is something that will require more thought and planning.

We have identified a gap in Worthing for access to digital tech

The enthusiasm with which people engaged with the project has shown that there is an appetite for digital technology and a lack of local access to it. We asked people who took part where they currently access digital tech and the answer was mainly ‘we don’t’. Those that did use facilities in Brighton thought they would save time and money if there was something available locally.

The equipment that project participants were most interested in was: 3D printer, 3D scanner, laser cutter, screen printing and large format printing. However, other features of a makerspace that were important to people were a community of people to collaborate with and learn from and an expert to help them learn how to use the equipment.

At one end of the scale, the more expensive pieces of equipment such as a laser cutter are relatively easy to learn how to use, whereas at the other end of the scale, electronics and microcontrollers can be bought cheaply, but require higher level of skills and knowledge to use.

The 3D printers were offered out to local projects after Space to Make was complete, and they have already been used by one of the project participants to print PPE for healthcare workers during the Covid crisis – this is just one example of how a community could make use of a makerspace in the future.

Setting up a makerspace

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