Market day support (one-off or ongoing)

The most time-sensitive one at the top! This Wednesday, 10am-2pm, Penny is running a Machspace market stall outside the workshop – more details below. She would love some company, for this and maybe future Wednesdays. If you’re helping out you can also sell your own arts and crafts for 30% commission. If you’re interested, email us: hello@machspace.org

Woodworking (ongoing)

Managing the woodworking area is a responsibility and a pretty big job, so we are reaching out to see if anyone would like to co-manage alongside Matt. Here’s the job description.

If you like woodworking and sharing your skills, if you can be committed in the longer term, and if you work well as part of a small team, we would love to hear from you. Click here to email us about it.

Open days (ongoing)

Twice a month, for two hours each time, we open Machspace to the general public. It’s a chance for members to socialise, and for curious people to see what we’re about without having to sign up for membership. Sometimes there’s an arty or crafty theme to draw people in.

We need a volunteer to run our open days. We estimate about 2 hours per week, looking something like this:

• Hosting two 2-hour open days per month: taking care of Machspace, welcoming new people, enabling refreshments, answering questions, helping people apply for membership;
• Recruiting enthusiastic people to share their arts and crafts skills with open day attendees;
• If they’re needed, researching and buying supplies for themed open days.

If you like meeting people, you’re confident communicating in person and online, and you work well under your own initiative, would you like to give this a try? If so, drop us a line.

Painting (one-off)

Tanya will be painting the wall behind the sofa in Machspace on the weekend of 24th/25th August, and volunteer assistance is very much appreciated! If you’re interested, please RSVP: hello@machspace.org

Mary has been holding the yarn group regularly and it’s been going well – knitters and crocheters are coming together in harmony to drink tea and share techniques.

Now there have been a few sessions, we want to find out what times and days work best for everyone, and how often people want to come.

If you’re interested in the yarn group, please fill in this very quick survey! Thank you.

… maybe you like the idea of directing it, by becoming a director or a volunteer?

What does that involve?

By nature, being a volunteer or director means you’re more involved and can shape Machspace in the longer term. You’d be able to share suggestions and be trusted to make decisions for Machspace autonomously.

Open day host

Open days allow non-members to come and have a look at the space and see if they want to join, without having to visit as the guest of someone who’s already a member. Open days are two hours long, happen twice a month, and sometimes have a theme (like knitting or zines or board games).

If you like meeting new people and answering curious questions from members of the public who happened to be passing by, and you can be responsible for a small and easy-going space, while eating as many Tunnocks caramel wafer bars as you want, this is the job for you. You can be a long term open day leader and make bigger decisions with more responsibility, but if you want you can sign up to run just one open day – every hour of volunteering helps us a lot!

If you’re interested, please do send us an email or put a note into our inbox in the makerspace.

Director

This is a role with more responsibility, but potentially less work. Whereas being a volunteer means being involved in the member-facing, day-to-day running of the space, being a director means running the company behind the scenes.

As a director you would have to attend an in-person meeting once every 2-4 months. They’re usually under 2 hours, and there’s usually votes on the legal and practical direction of Machspace. As directors we deal with accounts, legal responsibilities to Companies House, funding applications, meeting grant requirements… We maintain the foundations of Machspace, so that everyone else can benefit.

You could just come to meetings and vote in big decisions, or you could get more involved by helping with accounts, doing grant applications, or proposing policies. More directors means less work for each director, and it increases the resilience of Machspace as an organisation. If you want Machspace to last a long time, become a director!

Again, if that sounds interesting, please send us an email or put a note into our inbox in the makerspace.

About 15-20 people came to yesterday’s knitting-themed open day including lots of new people, and several people asked if we’d hold another!

So, we are now in search of a new volunteer. Does this sound like you?

• Machspace member (or soon to be)
• Likes knitting
• Likes socialising in groups
• Happy to host and take responsibility for the space

This volunteer would regularly host a knitting group in the Machspace workshop, perhaps weekly or fortnightly. Attendees of various skill levels would attend, and be able to help themselves to donated yarn, snacks and refreshments. The volunteer would be responsible for:

• Choosing the group frequency and booking the space
• Informing the PR volunteer(s) of the dates and times well in advance
• Unlocking the space before it starts, and locking it again afterwards
• Welcoming new attendees and making sure everyone is comfortable
• Informing people about the help-yourself refreshments and snacks in the kitchen
• Informing people about the yarn supplies and equipment
• Helping interested people to find and fill in the Machspace membership application form
• Being a point of contact for potential attendees
• Finding other volunteers to support them in this work

If you’re interested, please get in touch! Email us: hello@machspace.org