Does anyone know of any Comaking groups?
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james rock
Dec 22, 2010, 3:32:07 AM12/22/10
to Coworking
Hi,
I work from a coworking facility here in Birmingham, UK called Moseley
Exchange (see: http://www.moseleyexchange.com) and I am helping to set
up another one locally which is focused on Designer/Makers and as well
as office space there is a real aim to provide workshop space with
shared machinery, etc. I suppose you could call this a "comaking"
space? Does anyone know of any other spaces like this?
Look forward to your replies..
James Rock
I work from a coworking facility here in Birmingham, UK called Moseley
Exchange (see: http://www.moseleyexchange.com) and I am helping to set
up another one locally which is focused on Designer/Makers and as well
as office space there is a real aim to provide workshop space with
shared machinery, etc. I suppose you could call this a "comaking"
space? Does anyone know of any other spaces like this?
Look forward to your replies..
James Rock
autena
Dec 22, 2010, 8:37:13 PM12/22/10
to Coworking
http://www.zygotepress.com/
Zygote in Cleveland, Ohio that is focused on printmaking & screen
printing here in Cleveland,OH. No office component. I am friends
with Liz Maugans, who is the director, and is also really fantastic.
Also inspired me to look into Coworking: www.theopenoffice.net
Here is one in Denver that is focused on tinkering with things and
making things:
http://clubworkshop.com/
Zygote in Cleveland, Ohio that is focused on printmaking & screen
printing here in Cleveland,OH. No office component. I am friends
with Liz Maugans, who is the director, and is also really fantastic.
Also inspired me to look into Coworking: www.theopenoffice.net
Here is one in Denver that is focused on tinkering with things and
making things:
http://clubworkshop.com/
Raines Cohen
Dec 23, 2010, 8:41:58 AM12/23/10
to cowo...@googlegroups.com
James -
It sounds like you're talking about Hacker Spaces, a parallel movement to coworking, sharing many principles.
Perhaps the best way to introduce the concept is with a variant on the old saw: How many coworking space members does it take to change a lightbulb? None, because it becomes a hacker space when you start messing with hardware.
While some of the first coworking spaces to use the term came together out of programmers, writers, and other creative professionals sharing space and resources and cooperatively managing the project while pursuing our own ventures, we recognize that, at its core, both movements are, in essence, reconnecting to and building on centuries-old practices pursued by craftspeople, attorneys, architects, artists, and others needing access to specialized tools, peers, and types of spaces that would be expensive or harder to create individually.
Generally speaking (and of course there are exceptions and counter-examples), Hacker Spaces tend to have:
- More of a focus on hardware, soldering, creating, D-I-Y, and the like.
- More smoke, less mirrors.
- Replaces garages rather than home offices.
- More welding, less WarCraft.
- If it's broke, we fix it rather than call a service tech.
- Less desks by default, more drawers and dangerous devices in dedicated spaces.
- More machines and custom tools, less bandwidth and business managers.
- More co-creation and art, hacking and soldering, less coding and graphics and design.
- Less Wired, more Make magazine.
- When you say "give me a file," they hand you an edge-roughening tool, rather than attach and email or reach into a filing cabinet.
- More PERL, FORTH, and Arduino, less C++/Java/Ruby on Rails/JavaScript/Python.
- More microcontrollers, less Microsoft.
- Rather than a Wii, we've got an old-school "insert coin" arcade console.
- More Wiki than WordPress. Flash is something Hacker Space denizens use to take pictures, not enliven websites.
- Stitching rather than Pitching to VCs.
- More 3-D printers, less fax machines.
- More freeganism, less catered cappucino coffees?
While many hacker spaces, like some coworking spaces, are collective/cooperative ventures, some "second-generation" professional-service-model, dare I say "chain" Hacker Spaces have emerged, like TechShop (now with several SF Bay Area locations, including one in the SF Chronicle building next to The Hub coworking space network that I'm a member of). I participated in a coworking/hacker spaces presence at Maker Faire a couple years ago with some of the founders of HackerDojo (Mountain View, CA) and am a member of Ace Monster Toys, just down the street here on the Berkeley/Oakland/Emeryville (CA) border. NoiseBridge (San Francisco) was an area pioneer that I connected with at the BIL unconference near TED.
As someone involved in the Intentional Communities movement, helping people co-create residential neighborhoods for greener living, I see a strong parallel between the evolution of Hacker Spaces and Coworking with the development of Cohousing and EcoVillages: two frameworks, with independent origins, following similar paths, with much to learn from one another, and many opportunities for growth, collaboration and better serving their members by staying in their own silos and talking only to "pure" examples of their own types. We're all struggling to find ways to embrace and support professionals venturing in and growing our realms, while honoring our grassroots cooperative roots.
Raines Cohen, Coworking Coach @CoworkingCoach
Planning for Sustainable Communities (Berkeley, CA)
Still drawing inspiration from the Coworking Europe conference in Brussels last month
P.S. Do check out the wikipedia article on Guilds I reference above for the pre-history of collaborative shared spaces. Did you know that these proto-coworking ventures, starting over 1.5 millennia ago, were part of the development of corporations, patents, apprenticeship, insurance, retirement funds, money (rather than trading/bartering goods), social-security equivalents, unions, bar associations, and the like? Does coworking belong in the "Modern Guilds" section of that article?
P.S. The wikipedia article on coworking just got flagged for potentially inappropriate "tone" by an anonymous user but the Talk pages don't elaborate on any particular concerns.
P.P.P.S. Don't they have a nice clean simple table-on-a-wiki list of Hacker Spaces? This may be something for CoworkingDB, excuse me, Open Coworking Data, to emulate.
james rock
Dec 24, 2010, 4:26:50 AM12/24/10
to Coworking
Thanks Autena, thats great info that I will follow up on. Here is the
space here in Birmingham UK that I mentioned. Its a listed building
going back about 150 years and was originally a printing works :-
http://makeitzone.org/
Merry Christmas
James
space here in Birmingham UK that I mentioned. Its a listed building
going back about 150 years and was originally a printing works :-
http://makeitzone.org/
Merry Christmas
James
james rock
Dec 24, 2010, 4:36:33 AM12/24/10
to Coworking
Wow Raine... thats an awful lot of really useful information - thank
you so much!
I haven't heard of Hacker Spaces so will check them out. Thanks for
the tip about guilds I will also follow that up - although from my
knowledge they tended to be around a single area of expertise e.g
tailors; furniture makers; etc whilst at this embryonic stage the
intention is to offer a wider platform of skills and experience.
Provision of shared machinery; welding area; etc Linking the makers
with museum and shop / coffee shop for customers is one of the
benefits - in many respect like an artists studios and we have some of
those as well as crafts based people.
Merry Christmas to you....
Thanks again for all this - James Rock
> It sounds like you're talking about Hacker Spaces <http://hackerspaces.org/>,
> - More smoke, less mirrors.
> - Replaces garages rather than home offices.
> - More welding, less WarCraft.
> - If it's broke, we fix it rather than call a service tech.
> - Less desks by default, more drawers and dangerous devices in dedicated
> spaces.
> - More machines and custom tools, less bandwidth and business managers.
> - More co-creation and art, hacking and soldering, less coding and
> graphics and design.
> - Less Wired, more Make magazine.
> - When you say "give me a file," they hand you an edge-roughening tool,
> Rails/JavaScript/Python.
> - More microcontrollers, less Microsoft.
> - Rather than a Wii, we've got an old-school "insert coin" arcade
> console.
> - More Wiki than WordPress. Flash is something Hacker Space denizens use
> - More 3-D printers, less fax machines.
> - More freeganism, less catered cappucino coffees?
> member of
> *). I participated in a coworking/hacker spaces presence at Maker
> Faire<http://makerfaire.com/>a couple years ago with some of the
> founders of
> HackerDojo <http://www.HackerDojo.com/> (Mountain View, CA) and am a member
> of Ace Monster Toys <http://acemonstertoys.org/>, just down the street here
> EcoVillages <http://gen.ecovillage.org/>: two frameworks, with independent
> CoworkingCoach <http://twitter.com/CoworkingCoach/>
> something for CoworkingDB, excuse me, *Open Coworking Data*, to emulate.
you so much!
I haven't heard of Hacker Spaces so will check them out. Thanks for
the tip about guilds I will also follow that up - although from my
knowledge they tended to be around a single area of expertise e.g
tailors; furniture makers; etc whilst at this embryonic stage the
intention is to offer a wider platform of skills and experience.
Provision of shared machinery; welding area; etc Linking the makers
with museum and shop / coffee shop for customers is one of the
benefits - in many respect like an artists studios and we have some of
those as well as crafts based people.
Merry Christmas to you....
Thanks again for all this - James Rock
> It sounds like you're talking about Hacker Spaces <http://hackerspaces.org/>,
> a parallel movement to coworking, sharing many principles.
>
> Perhaps the best way to introduce the concept is with a variant on the old
> saw: How many coworking space members does it take to change a lightbulb?
> None, because it becomes a hacker space when you start messing with
> hardware.
>
> While some of the first coworking spaces to use the term came together out
> of programmers, writers, and other creative professionals sharing space and
> resources and cooperatively managing the project while pursuing our own
> ventures, we recognize that, at its core, both movements are, in essence,
> reconnecting to and building on centuries-old
> practices<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilds>pursued by craftspeople,
>
> Perhaps the best way to introduce the concept is with a variant on the old
> saw: How many coworking space members does it take to change a lightbulb?
> None, because it becomes a hacker space when you start messing with
> hardware.
>
> While some of the first coworking spaces to use the term came together out
> of programmers, writers, and other creative professionals sharing space and
> resources and cooperatively managing the project while pursuing our own
> ventures, we recognize that, at its core, both movements are, in essence,
> reconnecting to and building on centuries-old
> attorneys, architects, artists, and others needing
> access to specialized tools, peers, and types of spaces that would be
> expensive or harder to create individually.
>
> Generally speaking (and of course there are exceptions and
> counter-examples), Hacker Spaces tend to have:
>
> - More of a focus on hardware, soldering, creating, D-I-Y, and the like.
> access to specialized tools, peers, and types of spaces that would be
> expensive or harder to create individually.
>
> Generally speaking (and of course there are exceptions and
> counter-examples), Hacker Spaces tend to have:
>
> - More smoke, less mirrors.
> - Replaces garages rather than home offices.
> - More welding, less WarCraft.
> - If it's broke, we fix it rather than call a service tech.
> - Less desks by default, more drawers and dangerous devices in dedicated
> spaces.
> - More machines and custom tools, less bandwidth and business managers.
> - More co-creation and art, hacking and soldering, less coding and
> graphics and design.
> - Less Wired, more Make magazine.
> - When you say "give me a file," they hand you an edge-roughening tool,
> rather than attach and email or reach into a filing cabinet.
> - More PERL, FORTH, and Arduino, less C++/Java/Ruby on
> Rails/JavaScript/Python.
> - More microcontrollers, less Microsoft.
> - Rather than a Wii, we've got an old-school "insert coin" arcade
> console.
> - More Wiki than WordPress. Flash is something Hacker Space denizens use
> to take pictures, not enliven websites.
> - Stitching rather than Pitching to VCs.
> - More 3-D printers, less fax machines.
> - More freeganism, less catered cappucino coffees?
>
> Of course, some of these distinctions are reflections more of the stage of
> different fields of development and their relation to different economic
> institutions, and the priorities of the space founders, so don't take them
> as part of a definition of either coworking or hacker spaces - what do you
> see as key differences in the personalities, projects, and ventures each
> type attracts? A few coworking communities like Carrboro Coworking
> Collaborative (NC) are listed as Hacker Spaces, and vice-versa.
>
> While many hacker spaces, like some coworking spaces, are
> collective/cooperative ventures, some "second-generation"
> professional-service-model, dare I say "chain" Hacker Spaces have emerged,
> like TechShop <http://techshop.ws/> (*now with several SF Bay Area
> Of course, some of these distinctions are reflections more of the stage of
> different fields of development and their relation to different economic
> institutions, and the priorities of the space founders, so don't take them
> as part of a definition of either coworking or hacker spaces - what do you
> see as key differences in the personalities, projects, and ventures each
> type attracts? A few coworking communities like Carrboro Coworking
> Collaborative (NC) are listed as Hacker Spaces, and vice-versa.
>
> While many hacker spaces, like some coworking spaces, are
> collective/cooperative ventures, some "second-generation"
> professional-service-model, dare I say "chain" Hacker Spaces have emerged,
> locations, including one in the SF Chronicle building next to The
> Hub<http://www.HubBayArea.com/>coworking space network that I'm a
> member of
> *). I participated in a coworking/hacker spaces presence at Maker
> Faire<http://makerfaire.com/>a couple years ago with some of the
> founders of
> HackerDojo <http://www.HackerDojo.com/> (Mountain View, CA) and am a member
> of Ace Monster Toys <http://acemonstertoys.org/>, just down the street here
> on the Berkeley/Oakland/Emeryville (CA) border.
> NoiseBridge<http://noisebridge.net/>(San Francisco) was an area
> pioneer that I connected with at the BIL
> unconference near TED.
>
> As someone involved in the Intentional Communities
> <http://ic.org/>movement, helping people co-create residential
> unconference near TED.
>
> As someone involved in the Intentional Communities
> neighborhoods for greener
> living, I see a strong parallel between the evolution of Hacker Spaces and
> Coworking with the development of Cohousing <http://www.cohousing.org/> and
> living, I see a strong parallel between the evolution of Hacker Spaces and
> EcoVillages <http://gen.ecovillage.org/>: two frameworks, with independent
> origins, following similar paths, with much to learn from one another, and
> many opportunities for growth, collaboration and better serving their
> members by staying in their own silos and talking only to "pure" examples of
> their own types. We're all struggling to find ways to embrace and support
> professionals venturing in and growing our realms, while honoring our
> grassroots cooperative roots.
>
> Raines Cohen, Coworking Coach <http://www.CoworkingCoach.com/> @
> many opportunities for growth, collaboration and better serving their
> members by staying in their own silos and talking only to "pure" examples of
> their own types. We're all struggling to find ways to embrace and support
> professionals venturing in and growing our realms, while honoring our
> grassroots cooperative roots.
>
> CoworkingCoach <http://twitter.com/CoworkingCoach/>
> Planning for Sustainable Communities (Berkeley, CA)
> Still drawing inspiration from the Coworking Europe conference in Brussels
> last month
>
> P.S. Do check out the wikipedia article on
> Guilds<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilds>I reference above for the
> Still drawing inspiration from the Coworking Europe conference in Brussels
> last month
>
> P.S. Do check out the wikipedia article on
> pre-history of collaborative shared spaces. Did
> you know that these proto-coworking ventures, starting over 1.5 millennia
> ago, were part of the development of corporations, patents, apprenticeship,
> insurance, retirement funds, money (rather than trading/bartering goods),
> social-security equivalents, unions, bar associations, and the like? Does
> coworking belong in the "Modern Guilds" section of that article?
>
> P.S. The wikipedia article on
> coworking<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/coworking>just got flagged for
> you know that these proto-coworking ventures, starting over 1.5 millennia
> ago, were part of the development of corporations, patents, apprenticeship,
> insurance, retirement funds, money (rather than trading/bartering goods),
> social-security equivalents, unions, bar associations, and the like? Does
> coworking belong in the "Modern Guilds" section of that article?
>
> P.S. The wikipedia article on
> potentially inappropriate "tone" by an anonymous user
> but the Talk pages don't elaborate on any particular concerns.
>
> P.P.P.S. Don't they have a nice clean simple table-on-a-wiki list of Hacker
> Spaces <http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/List_of_Hacker_Spaces>? This may be
> but the Talk pages don't elaborate on any particular concerns.
>
> P.P.P.S. Don't they have a nice clean simple table-on-a-wiki list of Hacker
> something for CoworkingDB, excuse me, *Open Coworking Data*, to emulate.
sk...@emergentresearch.com
Dec 24, 2010, 12:18:12 PM12/24/10
to Coworking
Raines: Nice reply and good description of the hackerspace
movement.
James: We included hackerspaces - I like your term "comaking" better
- in our census last summer. Our list (Excel file) can be found at:
http://db.tt/jNpKyiV
The list is not a complete list of US hackerspaces. They had to also
meet our coworking requirements. At the bottom of the Excel page is a
list of 28 maker/hacker space that also met our coworking
definitions.
We also use the term "industrial coworking" for this group. We did a
post on them. It is at:
http://www.smallbizlabs.com/2010/08/techshop-ford-partner-on-automotive-innovation-center.html
The post also provides a link to our report on makers as small
businesses.
Happy Holidays!
Steve
> > > James Rock- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
movement.
James: We included hackerspaces - I like your term "comaking" better
- in our census last summer. Our list (Excel file) can be found at:
http://db.tt/jNpKyiV
The list is not a complete list of US hackerspaces. They had to also
meet our coworking requirements. At the bottom of the Excel page is a
list of 28 maker/hacker space that also met our coworking
definitions.
We also use the term "industrial coworking" for this group. We did a
post on them. It is at:
http://www.smallbizlabs.com/2010/08/techshop-ford-partner-on-automotive-innovation-center.html
The post also provides a link to our report on makers as small
businesses.
Happy Holidays!
Steve
>
> - Show quoted text -
Message has been deleted
Josef Davies-Coates
Feb 21, 2011, 11:26:06 AM2/21/11
to cowo...@googlegroups.com
On 29 December 2010 01:26, Jesse <jesse...@gmail.com> wrote:
They are called Hackspaces in UK too:
Check out the Hackspace Foundation
http://hackspace.org.uk/
Here is my video tour of the London Hackspace:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6WPYpcCd0M
Enjoy!
Josef.
--
Josef Davies-Coates
07974 88 88 95
http://uniteddiversity.com
Together We Have Everything
It does sound like what you're looking for are what's called a hackerspace, or makerspace, on this side of the pond.
They are called Hackspaces in UK too:
Check out the Hackspace Foundation
http://hackspace.org.uk/
Here is my video tour of the London Hackspace:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6WPYpcCd0M
Enjoy!
Josef.
--
Josef Davies-Coates
07974 88 88 95
http://uniteddiversity.com
Together We Have Everything
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