We’ve got a grant, and we’ve got premises

Press release: click here

After a whirlwind of a month, we have several really exciting bits of news to share with you!

We applied to the Social Value Forum Development Fund from PAVO in July, and in August we found out that we were successful. We have been awarded an incredible £24,000 (and a bit), which will cover our running costs for a year and a half. We worked really hard on our application, and we’re so proud, and still a little bit blown away!

The SVFDF grant made it possible for us to sign a lease and pick up the keys to our new premises yesterday, something that we couldn’t have predicted even two months ago. (1 Old Town Hall, Penrallt Street, opposite the clock and the new Bike Workshop and the Community Hub.) We are now gearing up to start making our space comfortable, useful and fun – see more on that below! We’re planning the grand opening for 6th October 2023, 3-6pm.

And finally, our crowdfunder recently closed after 8 weeks, and we are very grateful to have received £1,661 in pledges from our local community, our friends and families, and members of the wider makerspace network across the UK. This means so much to us, and will help smooth our first month by allowing us to prepare the space and buy furniture and equipment.

And now…

We need YOU!

We’ve got so much to do, and we need all hands on deck.

Have you offered us equipment? Get in touch on WhatsApp or by email: hello AT machspace DOT org.

We also need to get our mitts on some basics, so here’s our furniture wishlist. If you have anything kicking about that fits our needs, drop us a line (FAO Chris) – we’d love to source second-hand and locally where possible.

  • 5-10 large, sturdy tables
  • 10-20 basic dining or office chairs (possibly stackable for storage)
  • A small sofa or 2-3 armchairs
  • 1-2 display bookcases or shelves (possibly to go in the windows)
  • Fridge
  • 2-3 sets of large storage shelves (e.g. garage racking)
  • Microwave
  • Kettle
  • Basic crockery – cups, mugs, cutlery
  • A large cork noticeboard
  • A large whiteboard
  • Hand towels
  • Tea towels
  • Little radiators on wheels
  • Lockable filing cabinet

Once this is in place we’ll be ready to open!

And finally, we need a regular Mach-based cleaner who can come and clean for us around two hours a week. If that could be you, please do give us a shout and tell us your rates – again, by WhatsApp or by email: hello AT machspace DOT org (FAO Chris).

Thank yous

No community project is an island, and we are full of gratitude! In no particular order:

  • To Stiwdio Dyfi / Just In Time, for helping us gather survey responses for our grant application. (Subscribe to their newsletter for regular Welsh arts and entertainment news, it’s really good.)
  • To everyone who responded to our evidence survey. There were over 60 of you and all of your thoughtful textbox entries were really valuable.
  • To everyone who’s come to our open days at the Bowling Club over the last couple of years. The number one thing that’s kept us motivated while we waited for the opportune moment to jump into a full-time venue has been the ongoing and supportive proto-members who show us why we’re doing it just by turning up.
  • To everyone who has donated beautiful and unique handmade items for our pay-what-you-feel table, and to everyone who has donated or bought anything. You know you’re doing something important when people are willing to lay down their skilful work and hard-earned cash to make it happen.
  • To our PAVO advisor Louise – supportive, knowledgeable, and a very speedy email-replier to boot. No wonder we got that grant!
  • To our 38 crowdfunders. What a bunch of legends. Some of you are local makerspace enthusiasts, and some of you live miles and miles away, and you’re all making a makerspace with us.
  • To the UK Hackspace Foundation, for their resources, and especially to the active national hackspace community members who support us when we have noob questions.
  • To the Naturesave Trust, who very kindly gave us a huge boost by trusting us with enough money to buy a 3D printer, a sewing machine and a badge-maker. Being able to demonstrate to everyone what we were trying to do was a big and exciting step in our journey.

As the PR guy1 I’ve got a lot to do over the next few days, so I’ll sign off and get started on a list of website pages that we’ll have to update now we’ve got premises. (Wow!)

Take care,

Cassian

  1. Gender-neutral! ↩︎