GALA Makerspace in planning stages

WOLFEBORO — Although it may look quiet from the outside, inside 23 Bay St., volunteer teams are drawing up floor plans and equipment lists to be incorporated into professional architectural designs to build the new GALA Community Makerspace, with construction due to start in the spring of 2020.

A makerspace operates much like a gym, but instead of exercise equipment there are tools, and instead of trying to get fit, people are there to learn a new skill, develop or scale up a business idea, gain credentialing for employment mobility or career transition, or to tinker, fix, or repair everyday household items.

Makerspaces combine community, education, and equipment that provide participants the opportunity, place, and peer collaboration to design and create projects that may not otherwise be possible for someone working alone. One of the inspirations driving the GALA Makerspace is its potential to play a key role in substance misuse prevention, workforce development, waste reduction, and self-propelled educational opportunities.

The GALA Makerspace will be a community-building hub that addresses some of the state’s workplace challenges by equipping participants with practical skills, training, specialized tools and equipment, and creative competencies that strengthen job creation and retention. It will also provide collaborative space and resources such as a tool library and repair cafe for learning, engaging in hobbies, or fixing or up-cycling things that may otherwise be destined for the landfill. GALA is also designing the space to help build social capital and community, which are goals identified by that state as critical to economic development.  

The volunteers planning the workshop areas are known as shop advisor teams. Each team is made up of people who have the knowledge and experience to design a work space that is functional, flexible, and allows for the seamless flow of projects and collaboration within and between groups. The teams are planning spaces for a wood shop, metal shop, fine arts, fiber arts and jewelry, a computer lab and a commercial kitchen. There will be spaces for co-working and career development, community events and meetings, classrooms, and dedicated small offices available for long- and short-term rent. A gallery and retail space are also envisioned to showcase items crafted in the makerspace.

The teams’ recommendations will be presented to the GALA Building Committee on Friday, Oct. 11, and from there to the architects, Scott Simons Architects of Portland, Maine. 

“We are blessed in the greater Wolfeboro area to have so many gifted creatives who understand and enthusiastically support the big-picture concept of a makerspace,” said GALA Assistant Director Carol Holyoake. “Not only have they have worked in these areas as a teacher or professional, but they intuitively understand the collaborative nature of a makerspace and its various shops, and the opportunities that contribute to the creative process when the right environment is in place." 

For more information about the GALA Makerspace, contact Josh Arnold, GALA executive director, at 603-569-1500 or josh@galacommunity.org.