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I think the finances of hackerspaces were always very brittle and Covid killed a lot of them. https://hackerdojo.org/ https://hackerdojo.org/ https://makernex

I think the finances of hackerspaces were always very brittle and Covid killed a lot of them. https://hackerdojo.org/ https://hackerdojo.org/ https://makernexus.org/ https://makernexus.org/ https://sudoroom.org/ https://sudoroom.org/ https://noisebridge.net/ https://noisebridge.net/

xeromal 3y ago
Saw this with a bunch of niche things here in LA. There was this cool welding non-professional welding space that closed down due to covid. I hope something replaces it soon
AlotOfReading 3y ago
Noisebridge came pretty close to going under too. At one point the landlord was asking for an increase in rent to something like 20k/mo before backing down.
- fragmede 3y ago
  They did end up moving though.
kiba 3y ago
The makerspace I am a member of(Freeside Atlanta) manages to survive by the skin of its teeth by moving to a new and bigger space right before the pandemic shutdown and seem to be growing ever since.
AceJohnny2 3y ago
Hackerdojo isn't a Hackerspace in the early 2010's meaning of the word anymore. They converted to a more startup incubator kind of place (and so I stopped going). From their website, looks like they're doing quite well! (for those who remember a previous incarnation of the space, with my partner and some friends we painted the 2 Dinos mural)
- teaearlgraycold 3y ago
  I’ve been there. It’s very quiet and everyone stares daggers at you if you look the type to make noise.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
Animats 3y ago
Good to know that Noisebridge is still around. Hacker Dojo, as mentioned elsewhere, pivoted to something sort of like WeWork. $150/month. Mostly people slaving away at laptops, pre-COVID. Maker Nexus seems from their web site to be doing OK. Pre-COVID, they were mostly sewing and kids classes, but now they seem to have more heavy metal tools. $150/month. Humanmade, in SF, has government support, and is more oriented to training for trades. They ended up with much of TechShop's equipment. $250/month. There's also the woke shop, Double Union. What killed TechShop was that the gym model doesn't work for maker spaces. Gyms work because people pay but don't show up that much. Maker spaces get people whose day job is to be there making stuff.
- threatofrain 3y ago
  Hacker Dojo recently fired its executive director and has been running mostly rudderless in terms of the management of the social space for several months. They're been looking to hire a community manager. Unfortunately Hacker Dojo daytime attendance nowadays is quite low, so they're not really attracting people as a WeWork space. I wonder how they're going to pick it back up.
  - Animats 3y ago
    Yes, cramming people tightly into a small room all day is a bad idea. COVID isn't gone, and winter is coming.
    - sokoloff 3y ago
      We live okay in the presence of many endemic diseases.
- fragmede 3y ago
  No. What killed tech shop is the owner of it took the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle, living out of hotels, causing the fees to be out of line with what was offered. It could have worked if the owner didn't want to live like a billionaire.
mcint 3y ago
https://www.acemakerspace.org/ https://www.acemakerspace.org/ https://circuitlaunch.com/ https://circuitlaunch.com/ (working hard to brand away from /makerspace/ or /hackerspace/, but serving a similar audience and purpose, in a professional/entrepreneur/business-building direction).

xeromal 3y ago

Saw this with a bunch of niche things here in LA. There was this cool welding non-professional welding space that closed down due to covid. I hope something replaces it soon

AlotOfReading 3y ago

Noisebridge came pretty close to going under too. At one point the landlord was asking for an increase in rent to something like 20k/mo before backing down.

fragmede 3y ago
They did end up moving though.

kiba 3y ago

The makerspace I am a member of(Freeside Atlanta) manages to survive by the skin of its teeth by moving to a new and bigger space right before the pandemic shutdown and seem to be growing ever since.

AceJohnny2 3y ago

Hackerdojo isn't a Hackerspace in the early 2010's meaning of the word anymore. They converted to a more startup incubator kind of place (and so I stopped going). From their website, looks like they're doing quite well! (for those who remember a previous incarnation of the space, with my partner and some friends we painted the 2 Dinos mural)

teaearlgraycold 3y ago
I’ve been there. It’s very quiet and everyone stares daggers at you if you look the type to make noise.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

Animats 3y ago

Good to know that Noisebridge is still around. Hacker Dojo, as mentioned elsewhere, pivoted to something sort of like WeWork. $150/month. Mostly people slaving away at laptops, pre-COVID. Maker Nexus seems from their web site to be doing OK. Pre-COVID, they were mostly sewing and kids classes, but now they seem to have more heavy metal tools. $150/month. Humanmade, in SF, has government support, and is more oriented to training for trades. They ended up with much of TechShop's equipment. $250/month. There's also the woke shop, Double Union. What killed TechShop was that the gym model doesn't work for maker spaces. Gyms work because people pay but don't show up that much. Maker spaces get people whose day job is to be there making stuff.

threatofrain 3y ago
Hacker Dojo recently fired its executive director and has been running mostly rudderless in terms of the management of the social space for several months. They're been looking to hire a community manager. Unfortunately Hacker Dojo daytime attendance nowadays is quite low, so they're not really attracting people as a WeWork space. I wonder how they're going to pick it back up.
- Animats 3y ago
  Yes, cramming people tightly into a small room all day is a bad idea. COVID isn't gone, and winter is coming.
  - sokoloff 3y ago
    We live okay in the presence of many endemic diseases.
fragmede 3y ago
No. What killed tech shop is the owner of it took the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle, living out of hotels, causing the fees to be out of line with what was offered. It could have worked if the owner didn't want to live like a billionaire.

mcint 3y ago

https://www.acemakerspace.org/ https://www.acemakerspace.org/ https://circuitlaunch.com/ https://circuitlaunch.com/ (working hard to brand away from /makerspace/ or /hackerspace/, but serving a similar audience and purpose, in a professional/entrepreneur/business-building direction).