David Duncan remembers coming to a makerspace in Portland while he was working on a motion-activated electronic display board.
Duncan, a lifelong Salemite who works as a software analyst and videographer, wasn’t sure how to make the circuit needed for the display to work as he was hoping. But a robotics enthusiast with circuit experience had the tools he needed and showed him how to get it running.
“This guy just saved me two months of research,” he recalled thinking.
That’s the sort of community Duncan — and a board of fellow geeks — hope to create in Salem as they launch Spark Studio, the city’s first makerspace.
A makerspace serves as a community center of sorts, where people can gather to work on creative projects and draw inspiration, tips, ideas or just socialize with fellow makers.
“You do all these weird projects and you learn about all the tools you need in order to do them,” Duncan said.
Makerspaces exist in both Portland and Eugene, but like many Salemites, Duncan grew weary of having to drive somewhere else to find the kind of community he was looking for. That led to a push to create Spark Studio in Salem.
After years of work, the nonprofit leased a 1,300-square-foot space at 2701 22nd St. S.E., the former home of Ratchet Brewing. Now, board members are working to secure more items to fill out the space.
Duncan envisions Spark as a “third place,” a location that’s not home or work where people can spend time and build community.
Makerspaces often provide equipment that’s difficult, expensive or impractical for people to buy and maintain at home, like 3D printers, laser engravers or specialized sewing machines.
They can also provide encouragement, making people more likely to finish projects when they’re working with a group of like-minded people to show their progress to.
There’s no specific technical knowledge required, and Duncan listed off a wide range of projects he’s seen people work on in makerspaces over the years, which involve skills ranging from sewing and woodworking to electrical circuits and programming.
Some spaces host contests, like a recent “ugly robot” effort in a Portland space where creators competed to make robots that flailed about wildly without moving too far.
Duncan said he’s seen makerspaces that feel like “the dark alley for the guys” and wants Spark Studio to be a welcoming community that encourages people and prioritizes safety.
A cultural push toward STEM education — science, technology, engineering and math — has led to more resources for students and young people to learn many of the skills a makerspace might help teach, Duncan said. But access to the sorts of resources and tools that come in a state-of-the-art high school career program or on a college campus rarely last into adulthood.
“They graduate and it’s done — stop having fun,” he said.
The same is true for people in technical careers who retire.
But for people driven to create, figure out how things work and tinker, that drive doesn’t go away after graduation or retirement.
“I wish we would think about all people the way we think about kids,” he said.
Duncan said the board is working to better outfit the space, with a goal of having regular hours when paying members can come in and work on projects. Eleven paying members who contribute monthly cover the cost of rent, and classes and workshops can also provide a source of revenue in the future.
But there are also opportunities for non-members to get involved and learn more, including monthly meetups on the first Tuesday of the month. Information about those is on the Spark Studio website and Meetup page.
There’s also a Slack instant messaging group anyone can ask to join which allows like-minded people to share ideas for projects and show off results or get help. Currently, there are about 125 people on the Spark Salem Slack, Duncan said.
Duncan also sees the space as a way to empower people to better understand and engage with technology on their own terms. He said understanding how things work and being able to create makes it easier for people to navigate a world where large corporations and powerful entities use technology to shape the world.
“The more you know about that sort of thing, the more you can push back when you need to,” Duncan said.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
