— This week at Medforge

• Medforge's First Class is First Class!
• Call for Makers! Medford Makers' Weekend August 30.
• Call for Art Vendors! Mystic River Celebration
• Yet Another Call for Art Vendors! Harvest Your Energy Festival. DEADLINE Aug. 7!!!
• Save the date: October 31 Medforge Makers Halloween Ball at ACM!
• Medforge Events
• Note from the ED.
• Highlighted Maker Video: Toddler Mobility Trainer for Accessibility
• Photo of the Week

— Featured

Medforge's First Class is First Class!

By Stacie Cartwright

This past Saturday, MedForge officially became a teaching makerspace. We ran “Intro to Tools, Hang That Shelf”, our very first course, in two beta sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, drawing 15 participants total. The course was designed for anyone new to hand and power tools, and it walked participants through the fundamentals: identifying and using core tools safely, understanding wall materials, and finishing with a practical, satisfying win – constructing and hanging a shelf, start to finish.

None of this would have happened without Harry Germano, a contractor by trade and MedForge volunteer who taught the course. Over the past few months, Harry and I worked together on designing the curriculum: figuring out who we were teaching, pacing the material to fit a two-hour class, and testing how much ground we could realistically cover without losing anyone. The beta classes were the real test, and the feedback was excellent across the board. The three most frequent pieces of feedback we heard were that: 1. Harry’s instruction was excellent, clear, and approachable 2. Having a hands-on experience was incredibly valuable, and 3. The environment was warm and welcoming for even the most novice tool user. Every single attendee would recommend the course to a friend and expressed real excitement for future offerings. We also learned a lot and can only get better over time!

Huge thanks to Harry for leading the charge. Obviously also to Trae, our fearless leader, who gave us the time, space, and guidance that we needed. To Jess Robash for all the feedback and testing over the last few months and the last-minute course evaluation form! To Holly Hochstadt for her many incredibly helpful suggestions (trial run with volunteers, anyone?) And to Claudius Li, who was an incredibly helpful support instructor on the day of the course! If this is what our first course looks like, I’m excited to see what comes next.

If you've got a skill you'd want to teach, we’d love to hear from you! Please email Classes@MedforgeMaker.space.

Call for Makers! Medford Makers' Weekend August 30.

August 29–30 is Medford Makers' Weekend. This is a two-day event with a Try It Out: ACM Programs Day on Saturday, and a Craft Supply Swap and Maker Fair at the Library on Sunday. All crafters, artists, and tinkerers are invited to exhibit their work and network with other makers at the third annual Maker Fair!

Medforge will be there. Let us know if you would like to be part of the Medforge team by emailing Events@MedforgeMaker.space.

The Fair will be on Sunday, August 30, from 12–4PM. Interested in showing off your creations separately from Medforge? Email medmakerspace AT minlib DOT net to sign up! (Free event. No sales allowed.)

Call for Art Vendors! Mystic River Celebration

CACHE in Medford presents another Mystic River Celebration arts festival at the Condon Band Shell and park on Saturday, September 26 from 12–4PM. Spend the afternoon enjoying live performances, browse local artisan crafts, and take part in fun activities for all ages! Shop the work of local artists, enjoy great food, learn about community arts and cultural organizations, and have fun with family-friendly activities.

CACHE is currently looking for Artist Vendors for this event. If you are interested please email cacheprograms@gmail.com.

Medforge will be running a booth at the event with interactive maker activities. Let us know if you would like to be part of the Medforge team by emailing Events@MedforgeMaker.space.

Yet Another Call for Art Vendors! Harvest Your Energy Festival

Deadline: this Friday, August 7

Medford's Go Green Initiative is looking for artists that focus on environmental themes or who use recycled or upcycled materials in their work to participate in the Harvest Your Energy Festival on October 17th from 12–3PM. Artists should fill out the Interested Artists Application form by THIS FRIDAY AUGUST 7 for consideration.

Medforge will be running a booth at the event with interactive maker activities. Let us know if you would like to be part of the Medforge team by emailing Events@MedforgeMaker.space.

— Save the date

October 31: Medforge Makers Halloween Ball at ACM!

Medforge will be hosting its first Medforge Makers Halloween Ball at Arts Collaborative Medford on Halloween night! This will be a 21+ event with food, drink, music, and lavishly overcomplicated costumes, cosplay and more.

If you are interested in helping plan this event, please email Events@MedforgeMaker.space.

— Medforge Events

See the full calendar →

Note from the ED

Hello Everyone! As you can see from the list of our events, it is an extremely exciting time for Medforge. We have moved from a group of friends chatting about how nice it would be to have a makerspace to a fully-fledged nonprofit organization that is holding classes and participating in events around the city!

While we are still in our “Pop-Up” phase, we are actively looking for a space to call home. We should hear more about our $1.2 Million grant proposal to MassDevelopment to rehab the warehouse space at 398–400 Riverside Ave sometime in October. We are still aggressively pursuing grant and sponsorship opportunities. The cost of real estate in the Greater Boston Area is the biggest challenge we face in starting our community makerspace, and even if we win that grant, there are many expenses that it would not cover.

In the meantime, we are working out of a studio at Arts Collaborative Medford and will be holding more classes there. As my role as executive director is a volunteer position, I cannot be in the studio full time. If you would like to schedule an appointment to talk with me about makerspaces, teaching classes, or volunteer opportunities, please email Exec@MedforgeMaker.space. My apologies to the person who came looking for me when I was not there.

I personally appreciate your patience as we work to improve communications and collaborations with our 147 members. Currently Medforge is a 100% volunteer organization, which means that we all do what we can as we can. We are all working to increase access to the tools, skills, and community to forge a better, creative, and resilient future together. I think that the success of our first Intro to Household Tools course is the perfect example of what amazing things we are capable of when we come together to work on common goals. I am extremely proud of what this group has accomplished so far and looking forward to seeing what we can do next! If you would like to have a more active role in Medforge, please let me know by emailing Exec@MedforgeMaker.space. The team would be happy to have you on board.

— Highlighted Maker Video

Toddler Mobility Trainer for Accessibility

Every newsletter I am going to start sharing links to maker projects. These might be examples of what I would like Medforge to be like, useful tips or techniques, things that I find to be inspirational, or just something really cool.

This week I am highlighting a project that I have been following for some time, MakeGood. MakeGood is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in New Orleans, whose mission is to make life-changing assistive technology accessible to everyone by harnessing the power of 3D printers and the maker community. Some of the projects on their site are ones that I would like to build at Medforge to support our community. Recently a YouTuber I follow showed how he made one of their 3D-Printed Mobility Trainers to give away to children who needed them. The first part of the video shows the potential for the impact a makerspace can have. After 2:20, it becomes a very good step-by-step demonstration of how to put a mobility trainer together, which might be a little boring for non 3D printing nerds.

— Upcoming Classes