getting a bit more space.

[3ric Johanson]

I've been considering renting out one of the empty offices near where the current craft area is. 

One aspect that I've been watching is how much the "craft" events are offsetting costs.   Currently the events are not quite covering the costs, but close. 

There is of course a chicken and egg problem.  Having more events means more people show up; we end up cramped for space pretty quickly. 

So I just wanted to toss this general concept out to the list:

 - if I commit to getting the new space, could folks commit to hosting some events?   

Specifically, I estimate having about 8 events per month (based on the attendance we've seen of 6 to 8 people) would cover the costs of a larger space (including overhead, such as internet, insurance, amortized buildout costs, deposits, and a very tiny budget to maintain equipment).

For those of you who don't know the deets on this:

 - I personally pay the rent.  Love it or hate it, it's pretty easy from an org. perspective.
 - I cover any shortages on rent and budget.  You can have faith that nothing bad will happen if we are short on rent.  I do this for the community of people we have here.
 - I'd love to hit a break even point, or even get closer. 

Anyway, please let me know if you have any questions on any of this, and thank you for your consideration.

-3ric

[clamoring]

Have you seen 6-8 people per week show up on Wednesdays? That's fantastic! 

Does 8 events per month roughly translate to 4 craft nights and 4 regular lab nights?

I haven't been in RElab/craft room in quite some time but my initial thought is to question whether or not we are using the space we currently use to the best effect. I'll be around Saturday, though!

What would we do with the new room?

k.

"Putting the eek in geek"
http://www.clamoring.com/

[Ratha Grimes]

I think it would be pretty sweet to have storage for the quarter shrinker and lasers that does not conflict with the crafting. It would make a big difference in the amount of usable space in the room. One of the other offices would not make a more desirable crafting room IMO as they are a bit smaller, and I strongly prefer the wood floor. But maybe 3ric is hoping to kick the crafters out of unit 5 and reclaim the room for reverse engineering?

Echo Kayobi's question about whether having a well attended craft night each week would meet the requirement.

I won't be here Saturday unfortunately, still out of town.

PS. How was the EL wire event??

[3ric Johanson]

The other space is larger, beatup hardwood floors, corner office with lots of light.

Regarding craftnights: if we had folks using the craft space every Saturday that would work, but there isn't enough attendance from Saturdays right now for the lab in general.

So that's why I expressed this as 8 nights a week.   4 of those could be saturdays if folks utilized it..

I am not bent on making this happen; I am just tossing up an idea!

Hth,
3

[bellavixi kaliaphe]

I talked about this with 3ric already, but I like the larger space and think it would be a better sewing room, but the smaller space might also work.  I don't know if the additional cost will be covered. 

But, the current space is cramped and so there isn't space for a larger workshop, so having a larger space might encourage more people to show up. Or it might not if the need isn't there.

I have offered to open the *sewing space* on Wednesdays.  If we get access sorted out I'll start with this upcoming wednesday at 7. I have also offered to run workshops, starting with one the first or second wednesday..
Susan

[clamoring]

The new space is really nice. I love the windows.

It looks to be about the same amount of space as the existing craft room, by eyeball. Is it actually bigger?

What are our options for moving the non-crafting equipment out of that room? Is this a matter of manpower? Craigslist ads? Is this equipment that belongs to someone? Does it simply need to be stored?

I think having a clean, sorted space will improve attendance. The RElab is dark and cluttered right now. If we could put tables on the wall where equipment is, that would add 3-4 more usable stations. We could also add shelving.

Overall the other room has better light. Is it possible to release the RElab and use the other one instead?

k.

"Putting the eek in geek"
http://www.clamoring.com/

[3ric Johanson]

I would really like to use the fume hood. No matter what we do crafts and chem work don't mix very well.

3

[clamoring]

Agreed! I wasn't aware the fume hood was alive. Good to know.

If current attendance is close to supporting a room I think we can keep the momentum up.

"Putting the eek in geek"
http://www.clamoring.com/

[bellavixi kaliaphe]

I don't know what the status is on the extra room, but I spotted these on the Boeing Surplus site.-  library tables 60" long, 30" tall, but only 18" deep.  this would be prefect for sewing machines (2 per table) and save some space as you usually don't need the full depth of a normal table. they have one lot without any bids yet - 6 for $40.  (I'd think there are fees involved). it runs through tomorrow. Think it would be a good add to the space?

I have a friend who often buys stuff from them who I will ping to see what is involved.

https://active.boeing.com/assocproducts/surplus/ItemDetails.cfm?auctionID=42289&pageID=m43402

Susan

[Ratha Grimes]

Argh, I let this slip off the radar too long. Those did seem ideal. I've been wanting narrower benches. I was figuring on building or buying from HD, which has these 24"x48" folding tables* that cost each what that whole lot of 6 apparently did.

*  http://www.homedepot.com/Storage-Organization-Folding-Tables-Chairs-Folding-Tables/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbtza/R-202599373/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UC64LbQV1VU 

[bellavixi kaliaphe]

I talked to someone who had seen them and her thought was that the diagonal metal pieces that hold the legs out would get in the way of chairs so that you might get one person per table - which made them a good deal but not great. The one you link to would have the same issue.  Here at work they have something that would better but they don't look cheap.

[bellavixi kaliaphe]

A version of these: http://www.ki.com/products/17/1438/Contract_Tables/Hurry_Up!_Tables/.aspx?i=1&ncat=3&sitecat=51

not sure where you can get them, but suspect if we wait for UW to surplus them we'll have a long wait.

[Ratha Grimes]

Which puts me back in the mind of building :)

Only trick is that straightforward plywood and 2x4 construction might be too rough as a surface to work with nice fabric on -- splinters could snag.

[3ric Johanson]

MDF is cheap, easy to sand down and finish, and is rather forgiving.  We also have a full woodshop in the building. I don't think plywood is a good idea, unless we get into fancy stuff.

-3ric

[bellavixi kaliaphe]

Yeah building some might be a good answer.  Can paint and apply a thick layer of acrylic