South London Makerspace

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Tom Newsom

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Nov 1, 2013, 9:23:04 AM11/1/13
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Hi. Thought it was time I introduced this to you all.

I'm a LHS member of several years now, but don't get to the space very much these days due to its location. A group of us with similar concerns have therefore set up the above-titled organisation to set up a space south of the river. After over a year of muddling around the idea, we've progressed beyond the "talking about it in pubs" stage and are now into the "raising starting capital and a hair's breadth from securing a space" stage. We're a registered company, and have been in some very promising talks with Network Rail with regards to securing a low-rent railway arch in Loughborough Junction. There's some (recent) background reading over on our blog: http://www.southlondonmakerspace.org/ and facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SouthLondonMakerspace

We're currently holding biweekly meetings on Saturdays at the London College of Communication in Elephant & Castle. If anybody wants to come and say hi, lend a hand, or just tinker on a project, it would be great to see you there. The next date is 9th November, and you can register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/9077841067 (required in order to get checked in at the front desk)

We've also had some great conversations with Russ on the topic, and he's given us some very useful advice. We also have his formal blessing, so please don't get the idea that we're trying to be in competition with LHS. We will complement and hopefully collaborate in the future :-)

All feedback and questions welcome!

Mark Steward

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Nov 1, 2013, 9:33:33 AM11/1/13
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Woohoo! Congratulations!


Mark


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Martin Dittus

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Nov 1, 2013, 10:03:39 AM11/1/13
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Yes it's an exciting time -- finally we're seeing some promising attempts at setting up further hackspaces and similar orgs in London. It's overdue, and the city's certainly big enough for many different approaches in different locations.

(In case you haven't seen it yet: I started tracking such efforts on the wiki -- lmk if I'm missing any.)
http://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/view/User:Martind/LondonSpaces

m.

Aden

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Nov 1, 2013, 10:22:03 AM11/1/13
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It's a shame it's a makerspace and not another hackspace.


On Fri, Nov 1, 2013 at 1:23 PM, Tom Newsom <tom.n...@gmail.com> wrote:

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Tom Newsom

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Nov 1, 2013, 10:33:23 AM11/1/13
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Pfft, semantics :-P
It's a community owned workshop and the name is inconsequential really. It will be whatever its members want it to be!

chrisbob12

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Nov 2, 2013, 3:46:30 AM11/2/13
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Best wishes and all! From a Lewisham perspective, I don't think it's likely to be much more accessible than LHS, though.

Luca Torrente

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Nov 2, 2013, 7:22:04 AM11/2/13
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I live in Loughborough junction and this sounds like a dream to me, commuting to the LHS takes me more than one hour, it is worth it but a bit of a pain at times. 
I won't be able make it to the meeting on the 9th but if it is happening again the 23rd I'll come and meet you guys, I would be very happy to help to make this happen.
Cheers,
Luca


On 2 November 2013 07:46, chrisbob12 <chris...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Best wishes and all! From a Lewisham perspective, I don't think it's likely to be much more accessible than LHS, though.

Tom Newsom

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Nov 19, 2013, 10:16:05 AM11/19/13
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Momentum builds...

Network Rail have now confirmed their offer of a peppercorn rent for 12 months on a railway arch in Loughborough Junction. While there is some Bureaucracy still to be clambered over, we should have the keys before Christmas. There will then follow a rather intense period of tidying, building and decorating before we open for full-time Making in early 2014. More details on the blog: http://www.southlondonmakerspace.org/thank-yous-and-what-happens-next/

We're holding another Make Day meeting at the London College of Communications on Saturday 7th December. Exact details to follow soon, but if you haven't got all day, the important bit is a presentation and discussion on our progress at 1.30pm. If the stars align and our bank account is open in time, we should also be able to start accepting paying members on that day.

Excite!

Tom Newsom

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Nov 19, 2013, 11:24:59 AM11/19/13
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Details for the make day & meeting are now confirmed:

Saturday 7th December
10:30 - 16:30 with presentation and discussion at 13:00
For fire safety and security reasons, if you want to attend you need to register here:

Please only register if you're going to come - we always fill the registration up, but not everyone comes, which can frustrate! You can change your mind and de-register at any point.

Hope to see you there :)

Henry Sands

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Nov 19, 2013, 11:29:57 AM11/19/13
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Grats! I wish you guys all the best! keep us in the loop for any building days.

Tom Newsom

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Dec 5, 2013, 7:24:36 AM12/5/13
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Just a gentle bump - our last meeting before Christmas is this Saturday in Elephant & Castle. If you want to have a say in our plans, or just want to find out what we're up to and who we are, you'd be very welcome!

Details in the quoted text below:

Glen

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Dec 5, 2013, 9:29:30 AM12/5/13
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I've been talking with Wandsworth council and Wandsworth, Bromley and Croydon library about turning a disused power station in Crystal Palace into a hackspace.

Tom Newsom

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Dec 5, 2013, 10:55:23 AM12/5/13
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Tell me more! We could join forces even!

geekinesis

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Dec 5, 2013, 5:00:39 PM12/5/13
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Typical, I wait 10 years for a hack/make space in south london and suddenly three come along all at once.... (possibly 4)

Lutfu Gonenc

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Feb 10, 2014, 11:05:34 AM2/10/14
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Any updates on the Wandsworth makerspace?

Paul Randle-Jolliffe

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Feb 10, 2014, 9:12:42 PM2/10/14
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Tipping points

Tom Newsom

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Mar 24, 2014, 3:47:14 AM3/24/14
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A Worthwhile Bump

South London Makerspace is finally getting its own space. We've got a large retail unit in Herne Hill rent-free for two months, which we're going to use as a demonstration makerspace and rallying point for potential members. We reckon we've already got about half the money we'll need for the period, but could use some more. To find out more about the space, and how you can help by becoming a member, check out http://southlondonmakerspace.org/2014/03/23/full-speed-ahead/

Look forward to seeing some of you there, even if just to visit!
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