Makerspace: A Workshop For The Imagination At The Boileroom

Published on: 25 Jan, 2018
Updated on: 23 Jan, 2018

By Louisa Magnussen

Imagine a gym membership where instead of exercising you get to fiddle with a laser cutter, 3D printer and wood working apparatus and you’ve got the general idea of Makerspace.

The team at Surrey and Hampshire Makerspace based at the Boileroom in Guildford.

Surrey and Hampshire Makerspace all began in a warehouse in Farnborough five years ago where enthusiasts would gather to create exciting technologies, arts and crafts.

Now Chris Millar, Matt Prior and Mark Hanford run SHMakerspace or Hackspace (also referred to as a hacklab, hackerspace or creative space) from a studio at the Boileroom, Stoke Fields, Guildford.

Chris said: “It’s more of an ‘anarchistic democracy’ as the members really run it together. We wanted to find a space where members could let themselves in to work. Like a gym membership.

SHMakerspace also has a forum where people can pose their tech and craft-related questions and get responses from others working in their field to help complete tricky projects.

Among other equipment SHMakerspace boast a laser cutting machine, 3D printer, soldering irons and wood working tools.

Chris added: “There is a huge skills gap in this country and Makerspace enables STEM.”

STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) is a government initiative that began seven years ago and is aimed at closing that skills gap by educating those who are not technology minded.

Makerspace is mostly aimed at adults and the members range from artsy types to the technology minded.

Chris said: “It’s nice because you get all sorts turning up. People who have never picked up a soldering iron before can come and learn how to do it.”

Makerspace is also involved with the Guildford Repair Café (hosted by Guildford Borough Council) where people take their old, broken machinery and get them fixed rather than dumping them.

Dale Dougherty, founder and CEO of Makerspace, said: “What you see in the ‘maker movement’ is a wide range of people, young and old, who are developing their talents and discovering new ways to solve interesting, everyday problems by working together on projects.”

One member of Makerspace creates broaches using the laser cutter that she sells on her Etsy account. The same member had tried to join the London Makerspace workshop but found it was overcrowded.

The Surrey and Hampshire Makerspace currently has 27 members who share the studio at the Boileroom and they are all about to be able to let themselves in and out as they please. That in itself is a project the members are working on. The idea is to give all members key cards and there is even talk of hooking the door up to personalised greetings as the members enter.

To find out more you can drop in on one of the Makerspace open evenings on Friday nights at 6pm or check out the website at: shmakerspace.org.