Status updates and upcoming events (November ’24)
Its been a couple of months and there is both lots of news and also not much. First, many thanks to all of you for the donations and the offers of support and help. There was a real moment where we had to ask ourselves if the Eugene Makerspace should just call it quits, but its been heart-warming and validating to hear from all across the community and we are fully committed to re-opening eventually. We’ll post more about that as plans develop.
[edit: I drafted this back at the end of November and sat on it. Then the holidays happened and time passed. I’m publishing now as its a good snapshot from a time when the hits finally started to slow and we were getting our feet back under us.]
Shop Status
We’ve had the fire marshal’s report and inspectors from both party’s insurance through and the specific cause of the fire is still unknown. We know it started in the woodshop area, but not how. In the meantime, the inspection turned up asbestos at the space, so that has kicked in a whole new level of damage and loss, as professional abatement is now necessary and retrieving anything at all becomes a challenge. EMS’ insurance covered us for liability only, so while some limited salvage will be possible, its probably easiest to think of this as a total loss of all our equipment and materials stored at the space – with some limited exceptions.
This process is on-going and we’re still working through all the repercussions of the fire, so we’re just now getting started with the work of looking for a new space. We’ve heard many offers of help and we’ll definitely put the call out when that time comes. For now, what we can do is maintain and build on the community we have, adapt to the circumstances and seek out new ideas for what a next incarnation of EMS can be. The silver lining to this cloud is that we have an opportunity to re-frame the makerspace and ensure we create the most inclusive and conducive space for your projects; a supportive environment for learning new skills and making new things. If you are just now hearing about your local makerspace, or want to get re-involved, hop on our discord to chat, or join us at one of our upcoming events.
Open snack night and pop-up events
We’re holding a regular get-together 6-8pm Tuesday evening at Play Eugene which we’re calling Open Snack Night. It replaces our weekly public access hours and is a time to socialize and discuss plans. We’ve also been working on a small robot arm and other light projects suitable for the venue.
Last week we had the first of what we hope will be a series of “pop-up makerspace” events. We set up in the classroom at Mecca, and stepped visitors through making/customizing a model for 3d printing and had prints going all day. We had a number of visitors and some great conversations. Our vision for these events is to provide a time and space for working on projects for our members and broader community while we are without our own workshop, and also to be visible in the community, introducing people to Eugene Makerspace and supporting their efforts to learn and make the things they want to exist in the world. Keep an eye out for future events and let us know if you are interested in hosting one.
