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> Europe’s largest makerspace for founders, startups, SMEs and many other creators This feels like it'll have none of the community character that makes maker'

by ongy 2y ago

> Europe’s largest makerspace for founders, startups, SMEs and many other creators This feels like it'll have none of the community character that makes maker's spaces what they are And more of a rental machines co-working space sort of character

Lucasoato 2y ago
If it’s almost free and access is guaranteed depending on merit it’s a good thing. If it’s super expensive and for few people… early stage startups shouldn’t waste too much money on offices anyway…
- grumpy-de-sre 2y ago
  It's private/public partnership with an established "makerspace" called Motion.Lab. Historically their cheapest memberships have been 250 EUR per month. Unless something changes this initiative is an incubator/business park. It's interesting that the state is contributing, but it looks like the intention there is to encourage industrial startups to the city. That's probably a great thing to do but I think calling it a makerspace is stretching the definition a bit.
ValentineC 2y ago
+1 to this. That said, it'll probably allow people to get more things done than at a community space, especially with professional operators making sure things are maintained properly. Since it seems to be initiated and funded by the state, I give it between 2 to 4 years before funding runs out, politics change at the top, and the space shutters to make way for newer, more exciting ideas though.
arlcode 2y ago
Indeed. I believe it is a different category altogether and probably good that they are kept separate. Just as cheap office spaces for fledgling machine sharing opportunities may give founders the help they need in the very first stages of a company. Community spaces on the other hand move at a slower pace and are driven by the enthusiasm and volunteer time of their members. Both of which are hard to maintain if the effort ultimately benefits a commercial venture. These kind of "shared hobby cellars" are still very viable and can collect and impressive inventory of tooling. Sometimes people move from one to the other. Different use cases different approaches. It's unfortunate that the same name is applied to both.
joshvm 2y ago
Liverpool had one of these. The universities bought in and in principle academics had access to use the space and materials costed to the institution. So yes, a co-working space with access to fabrication equipment and a few small companies in residence. Very expensive for private consumers and we were never sure who'd get the bill if we used the fancier machines, so it was underutilised. Eg some high end LPKF PCB equipment that could do printed antennas and all sorts of interesting stuff, but the rental cost was rarely worth it over rush ordering from places like oshpark. Kind of an odd setup because any company that actually needed the kit (eg a darkroom for optical prep) would be better off renting a tiny industrial space and building out their own labs, and contracting out the rest. And since the universities paid into it they could have pushed for ownership and made it a proper facility for students and researchers. https://lbndaily.co.uk/sensor-city-in-liverpool-could-reopen-in-months https://lbndaily.co.uk/sensor-city-in-liverpool-could-reopen...
- dagw 2y ago
  That matches my experience with this sort of makerspace. It launched with much fanfare and I was really excited. However it was far too expensive for me to use as a private individual, and didn't have enough high end or specialised equipment to make it worthwhile for most companies in the area. It was very disappointing all around. I walked past it on my way to and from work and never saw anybody there. A couple of years later it closed down.
esafak 2y ago
I balked when I saw it refer to the makers as "stakeholders". It sounds like something a "policymaker" who's never set foot in a makerspace would say. Good luck, I suppose.

by ongy 2y ago

Lucasoato 2y ago

If it’s almost free and access is guaranteed depending on merit it’s a good thing. If it’s super expensive and for few people… early stage startups shouldn’t waste too much money on offices anyway…

grumpy-de-sre 2y ago
It's private/public partnership with an established "makerspace" called Motion.Lab. Historically their cheapest memberships have been 250 EUR per month. Unless something changes this initiative is an incubator/business park. It's interesting that the state is contributing, but it looks like the intention there is to encourage industrial startups to the city. That's probably a great thing to do but I think calling it a makerspace is stretching the definition a bit.

ValentineC 2y ago

+1 to this. That said, it'll probably allow people to get more things done than at a community space, especially with professional operators making sure things are maintained properly. Since it seems to be initiated and funded by the state, I give it between 2 to 4 years before funding runs out, politics change at the top, and the space shutters to make way for newer, more exciting ideas though.

arlcode 2y ago

Indeed. I believe it is a different category altogether and probably good that they are kept separate. Just as cheap office spaces for fledgling machine sharing opportunities may give founders the help they need in the very first stages of a company. Community spaces on the other hand move at a slower pace and are driven by the enthusiasm and volunteer time of their members. Both of which are hard to maintain if the effort ultimately benefits a commercial venture. These kind of "shared hobby cellars" are still very viable and can collect and impressive inventory of tooling. Sometimes people move from one to the other. Different use cases different approaches. It's unfortunate that the same name is applied to both.

joshvm 2y ago

Liverpool had one of these. The universities bought in and in principle academics had access to use the space and materials costed to the institution. So yes, a co-working space with access to fabrication equipment and a few small companies in residence. Very expensive for private consumers and we were never sure who'd get the bill if we used the fancier machines, so it was underutilised. Eg some high end LPKF PCB equipment that could do printed antennas and all sorts of interesting stuff, but the rental cost was rarely worth it over rush ordering from places like oshpark. Kind of an odd setup because any company that actually needed the kit (eg a darkroom for optical prep) would be better off renting a tiny industrial space and building out their own labs, and contracting out the rest. And since the universities paid into it they could have pushed for ownership and made it a proper facility for students and researchers. https://lbndaily.co.uk/sensor-city-in-liverpool-could-reopen-in-months https://lbndaily.co.uk/sensor-city-in-liverpool-could-reopen...

dagw 2y ago
That matches my experience with this sort of makerspace. It launched with much fanfare and I was really excited. However it was far too expensive for me to use as a private individual, and didn't have enough high end or specialised equipment to make it worthwhile for most companies in the area. It was very disappointing all around. I walked past it on my way to and from work and never saw anybody there. A couple of years later it closed down.

esafak 2y ago

I balked when I saw it refer to the makers as "stakeholders". It sounds like something a "policymaker" who's never set foot in a makerspace would say. Good luck, I suppose.