Photo courtesy Visual Arts Studio
Makerspaces, also known as hackerspaces, tech incubators, innovation labs and fab labs, are places where people gather to make and create. Collaboration is the key as people share ideas, skills, tools and materials.
Elizabeth Cogar loves designing and sewing her dresses and tote bags at a makerspace. “It’s nice being around people while making,” she says. “We learn from each other. I learned to screen print, and I learned more about hand-dyeing from other makers, and now I use these techniques on my dresses.”
Cogar left her full-time job of 17 years doing communications for an independent school and now sells her creations in the store at Studio Two Three, the makerspace where her studio is located. Joining a makerspace has completely changed her professional life. If you’re looking to make a career change or simply support your current professional path, here is a sampling of makerspaces in Richmond and the surrounding counties.
Photo courtesy Build RVA
Build RVA
3301 Rosedale Ave., 804-528-5818
Build RVA is a community makerspace and product incubator providing access to tools such as lasers, computer numerical controlled (CNC) milling and CNC routing; resources; and knowledge for entrepreneurs, creators, makers and tinkerers. Alan Salguero, who volunteers at Build RVA, is currently working on a 3-D model of the Keyblade, a sword from the role-playing game Kingdom Hearts. “The first part of my project is 3-D modeling it in Fusion 360, a 3-D modeling program,” he says. “Then I plan on sculpting it out of aluminum using a CNC milling tormach and a lathe. After that I want to weld all the pieces together.” He says he loves going to Build RVA because it allows him to pursue his passion for simply being creative, and he can make anything that comes to mind using the tools available.
Co-working Membership: $45 per month. Drop in Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with access to a co-working space, meeting rooms and office areas.
Workshop Membership: $65 per month. This includes access to both the co-working and workshop areas with tools and spaces to build your next project such as 3-D printing, vinyl cutting and a woodshop. Other equipment, such as the lasers, welding equipment and metalworking tools, can be rented.
Good to Know: A trial membership is available for $25.
Visual Arts Center
1812 W. Main St., 804-353-0094, info@visarts.org
For all of Visual Arts Center’s 54-year history until now, studios have been accessible only to students taking classes. A new program called Open Studio Access will make VisArts’ 15 professional art studios usable by paid-access users. There will be at least 10 hours available per week in each of the following studios: clay, creative writing, digital arts, drawing and painting, glass, fiber, letterpress, metals, photography, printmaking and wood. More hours may be added if demand increases.
Hourly Rate: $7 per hour, no storage included.
By the Session: $300 per session, which gives you 11 weeks of access and shared project storage (varies by studio).
By the Year: $1,000 per year gives you 52 weeks of access, and individual storage is included.
Good to Know: To take advantage of Open Studio Access, you must be a VisArts member, and you also need to have taken a qualifying class within the past year or apply for a waiver and pass a skills test.
804RVA (Photo by Trevor Dickerson)
804RVA
Fan Gallery, corner of Broad and Allen; Marvin Lang location, 1623 W. Broad St., contact@804rva.com
A co-working space and incubator for anyone with a passion for technology and creativity, 804RVA hosts over 500 free monthly meetups for Richmond’s creatives, technologists and entrepreneurs. They offer free day passes to try out the space.
Social Club Membership: $45 per month and includes unlimited Wi-Fi, phone rooms for private calls, and storage from $30 per month.
Work Club Membership: $250 a month includes 24/7 workspace access and use of either of their locations to sit at an unreserved desk.
Dedicated Desk: $350 a month includes 24/7 access at the Marvin Lang location.
Private Office: $900 a month includes 24/7 access at the Fan Gallery location.
Good to Know: For the times you need to get outside but have to keep working, they offer a rooftop Wi-Fi garden.
HackRVA
1600 Roseneath Road, Suite E, info@hackrva.org
HackRVA markets itself as a gym for the brain, a clubhouse for nerds and a mad scientist’ lair. HackRVA is a space filled with tools, such as a CNC router and 3-D printers, computers and people interested in knowledge and hands-on experience. Members pay dues, and that keeps the space going. The space is run by volunteers, who are also members.
Member: $30 a month gets you 24/7 access with a key and use of the tools.
MemberPlus: For $50 a month, you have the same benefits as a member but with an on-site storage container.
Good to Know: HackRVA has a SawStop Table Saw, which uses an electrical signal to stop the saw blade when it comes into contact with human skin.
Studio Two Three
3300 W. Clay St., 804-254-7302, info@studiotwothree.org
Studio Two Three offers studio access, education and exhibitions. Members have 24/7 access, and facilities for etching, relief, lithography, screen printing and digital printing, as well as a darkroom. Access to printmaking equipment, conference space and maker community. Classes include screen printing, paper marbling, photography, sewing and calligraphy.
Communal Studio: $200 for three months. Darkroom access is an extra $10 per month. Includes print shop, lounge, kitchen, meeting space and digital lab.
Darkroom: A six-month contract at $50 per month plus a $25 deposit.
Private Studio: Mezzanine-level studios are $200 per month, and ground-level studios are $250 per month.
Good to Know: Studio Two Three offers part-time internships for credit and not for credit.
Gather
409 E. Main St.; 2920 W. Broad St.; 2400 Old Brick Road
Gather offers 24/7 access to co-working space, Wi-Fi, video-conferencing equipment, networking events, copy/print/fax/scan machine, phone booths, conference rooms and freshly-ground coffee.
Pay as You Go: $40 a month. Includes basic membership and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. access.
Co-working: $250 a month. Includes 24/7 access, private or coworking seating, showers and gym.
Dedicated Desk: $350 a month.
Office: month-to-month $550 to $3,100; yearly $500 to $2,800 a month.
Good to Know: The downtown location boasts a gym and a game room.
Photo courtesy The Broad
The Broad
209 N. Foushee St., heythere@wethebroad.com
The Broad is a co-working space and community center for women set to open in February in Jackson Ward.
Community Membership: $75 a month. This membership gives access Monday through Friday from 5 to 9 p.m., as well as all-day access on Saturdays. It includes member-only events and programming, as well as free weekly yoga.
Collaborator Membership: $125 a month. This is ideal for those who work from home, the coffee shop or the studio. It offers four day passes a month as well as all community membership benefits.
Co-working Membership: $250 a month. This includes access Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., as well as all other membership benefits, such as all-day access on Saturdays. Bring a friend whenever you want with unlimited guest passes.
Good to Know: The Breather Room, a place to nurse, pump, coach or take a deep breath, will be furnished with comfortable chairs and a mini fridge for sanitary and comfortable pumping or private nursing.
Real Life Center for Entrepreneurial and Leadership Excellence
14702 Village Square Place, Midlothian, 804-464-8129, info@rlcrva.com
Real Life Center is a co-working and collaborative space in Woodlake with space for everyday tasks, rooms for intentional collaboration, access to mentors for business development and opportunities to network.
Real Life Entrepreneur Membership: $365 a year or $36 a month, $25 a day. Benefits include member pricing on all meeting and event-space rentals; hosting your own Real Life Talk for lead generation and sales activity; ongoing monthly networking events and sessions; monthly Mastermind group coaching sessions with a personal coach; complimentary parking and coffee service; and private breakout rooms.
Good to Know: The co-working space is in Woodlake with a view of Swift Creek Reservoir.
BizWorks
2545 Bellwood Road, 804-275-5190 or info@bizworkscenter.org
A nonprofit small-business incubator offering office and warehouse space. In addition to networking and flexible office space, BizWorks offers management guidance, customized advisory services, access to business resources and shared administrative services.
Daily Rates: $25 a day includes access to the space during normal operating hours, Wi-Fi, admission to member-related events, cubicle space and a desk as available, plus pay-per-copy printing, faxing and scanning.
Co-work Membership: $50 a month. This rate includes access to the space during normal operating hours; a dedicated desk or cubicle once a week; and priority access to events; Wi-Fi; free admission to member-related events; cubicle space and a dedicated desk up to four times a month; coffee; pay-per-copy printing, faxing and scanning; and priority access to reserve a conference and multipurpose room once a month.
Good to Know: BizWorks offers marketing, customer development and business planning assistance. They also offer management human resources assistance and advisory services.
Photo courtesy Shockoe Bottom Clay Studios & Gallery
Shockoe Bottom Clay Studios & Gallery
1714 E. Main St., 804-775-0832; 8942 Quioccasin Road, 804-447-0541
Shockoe Bottom Clay offers the opportunity to create art in affordable studio space and display it in a light-filled gallery. Sally Ann McKinsey Sisk, who has her studio at Shockoe Bottom Clay and exhibits her work in their gallery, likes having a private studio in a community environment. “It’s a space that energizes me to experiment in my studio practice and inspires me to explore new ideas,” she says. “Each artist may have different practices and unique work, but we support one another in our individual goals.” Spaces include worktables, a slab roller, a wedging table, use of the kilns, and off-street parking.
Rental Rates: $150 to $350 a month. Rent includes all utilities, however kiln firings are an additional $25 per kiln load.
Good to Know: In the near future, additional art spaces will be available at 1716 E. Main St.
