Originally published at: Member Newsletter – September 2024 – The Claremont MakerSpace
Hello CMS members! September is here and we’re seeing new members sign-up and on-hold members return for the Fall. August was an unusually quiet month despite the many class offerings, but we expect the activity to pick up in the building in the coming weeks. CMS will host an open house and maker market on the 14th and a member/guest social on the 28th; see signup details below.
CMS News…
Open House & Maker Market – On Saturday, September 14th, CMS is holding an Open House and Maker Market from 2pm to 6pm. Each shop will hold demonstrations and members are welcome to participate and also sell your handmade products. Although a yard sale is not the focus of the event, you are welcome to sell yard sale items too. Please complete this form by September 10th to volunteer or have your own table at the event.
Reminder for Actuator Session Zero – Thinking about starting a business? CMS is partnering with our tech friends at Black River Innovation Labs in Springfield VT to offer their Actuator Session Zero class on September 4th. This class is FREE for members and it is an introduction to their FREE 8-week entrepreneurship program. Learn more about BRIC here.
Member Social & Silent Disco – On September 28th, CMS members and up to 3 guests can dance the night away during this fun social event! We’ll follow a pot-luck and BYOB format, and plan to be outside unless the weather does not cooperate. DJ Josh will provide the silent disco headsets to tune in to either of three stations: current hits, great oldies and a request station. Read details and register here. NOTE – All CMS shops will be closed on 9/28 starting at 7pm.
Staffing Update – The hiring process for the Director of Workforce Development & Education is progressing well, and you will receive an announcement this month. Hopefully you can meet the successful candidate at the Open House on September 14th.
Interested in being a Desker? As our number of classes grow, we are still recruiting new desker volunteers to man our front desk. As a Desker, you earn discounts on your monthly membership, depending on the number of shifts you work. If interested, reach out to Valerie at [email protected].
Shop Updates
Wood Shop – Co-Lead Peter Gunn is adjusting the Wood Shop Open Nights for some Fridays in September from 7pm to 9pm. Members certified in the WoodShop or interested in certification are welcome to join regardless of your membership level. If interested, contact Peter at [email protected]. His cutting board class is back on the calendar this month and it is a great way to learn about many of the woodshop tools for certification. Tool Lead Russ Scaduto’s ShopBot class is also back on the calendar.
Jewelry Studio – The holiday season is now approaching and jewelry classes are great for handmade gifts! There will be some wire-wrapped ornament classes added to the schedule later this month. Watch the calendar and postings for details.
Metal Shop – Thanks to the Hypertherm HOPE Foundation, we started a plasma cutting class last week and we will continue to grow classes and use of the plasma cutter. More metal shop upgrades are in progress.
Machine Shop – There will be a lot of activity in the machine shop this month as Lead Joe Sneed updates the manual mills so they operate consistently and we can begin to offer machining classes. This upgrade was funded by a private donor and we are very grateful for the support. More enhancements are being planned as part of our workforce development efforts.
Electronics & Digital Fabrication Lab – A permanent workstation for the amateur radio club is now installed in the shop and Lead Tiffany Vincent is planning an intense training and certification for October. Watch the club page for details. Work to organize all the electronic donations is still in progress; please reach out to Tiffany if you are interested in helping.
Fiber Arts Studio – Updates to the mid-arm quilter have arrived; check in with Lead Allison Zito to learn more. We should receive the repaired serger later this month. CMS is receiving a very large fabric donation for quilting, and there will be more posted about it in the coming weeks.
Computer Lab – An expanded print certification is in progress by Lead Kevin Tyson, and he is now certifying members to use the Canon large format printer. A new instructor joined the CMS team to teach a four week Introduction to Digital Photography class and she will also be offering workshops; watch the calendar for details.
CMS SHOP LEADS:
Wood Shop: John Lambert AND Peter Gunn [email protected]
Machine Shop: Joe Sneed [email protected]
Metal Shop: JoAnn Clifford [email protected]
Jewelry Studio: Melanie Tata [email protected]
Digital Fab. & Electronics Lab: Tiffany Vincent and Brian Spahr [email protected]
Fiber Arts Studio: Allison Zito [email protected]
Computer Lab: Kevin Tyson [email protected]
ShopBot: Russ Scaduto [email protected]
REMINDERS
- Guests/non-members/children are NOT allowed in the building unless they are registered for a class, scheduled for a tour, or attending a public/guest event. We are considering changes but until then, please respect this CMS policy.
- The building closes at 9pm daily. To assist the closer on duty, please start wrapping up your project to be out by 9pm.
- Support your maker community and remember to clean up your work area before you leave.
I’m excited about all the enhancements we are planning. Many thanks to our volunteer Shop Leads and Deskers who keep CMS running, and thank you for being part of the CMS community ! …f
Felicia Dalke, Executive Director, [email protected]
[Note – This WordPress newsletter doesn’t always translate well to email, so please excuse any format issues!]