Check out our ⭐ Upcoming Events ⭐ page for info on our ‘pop up’ events and open snack nights. To keep up on all the latest, join us on our Discord.
November 20, 2024 – Hope on the wind
EUGENE MAKERSPACE (EMS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on providing the Lane County area with tools and equipment for working with wood, metal, plastics, and more. For over 10 years, EMS has provided a collaborative and creative space away from home, for artists and makers to meet up and collaborate on amazing projects.
In the early hours of Sunday, September 15, a fire ravaged our community workshop. The damage was extensive to our beloved makerspace, and the fire, heat, and smoke damaged or destroyed most of our tools and materials
Over the past two months, as the ashes have settled, we’ve had many ups and downs. Fire investigators determined that the site was now contaminated with asbestos as well, turning a ‘simple’ task of picking through the rubble to find what was still usable, into an expensive and time consuming hazmat procedure. We’ve had to make hard choices to ask recovery experts to prioritize items that seem ‘least harmed’, while also being ‘worth the cost’ of the $100+/hour fee for asbestos abatement on every item.
Some of the more valuable items from the electronics room have been recovered. Some of the printers, vinyl cutters, and so on. We don’t know if any of them will truly be usable after the fire, but we have hope. There will hopefully be more to come.
And we’re looking for a new home for our workshop, too!
Combining those items we can recover, with some wonderful donated tools from generous members of the community, and other donations that people have offered in time, we may well have the beginnings of a new makerspace within our grasp.
In the interim, we’re hosting some fun and social gatherings. Our traditional “Open Hacks” have morphed into “Open Snacks” at our “Open Snack Night” events at Play Eugene. We’ve also been working with local groups, like MECCA’s non-profit art supply store and activity center, and Nexus Business Lounge to be able to offer “Pop-Up” Maker events to work on small electronics and 3D printing projects, and spread the word about what the Eugene Makerspace is all about.
To help everyone keep up on the latest activities we have planned, we’ve created a new Upcoming Events page, with live data direct from our events calendar.
Please help support EMS’s rebuild and recovery!
👉 Contribute to our gofundme campaign.
👉 Become a member, or support us on patreon.
Stay up to date with EMS
Press Release: https://eugenemakerspace.com/press-release-september-15-2024-eugene-makerspace-fire/
