Our goal is for all our spaces to be welcoming to people who have been traditionally excluded from industrial arts and crafts.

This program exists to encourage women, nonbinary, and trans people to utilize the tool library’s shop space and build confidence and connections.

Public Open Shop hours are available to everyone, and we hope that this program will contribute to  more people with marginalized identities feeling  comfortable and excited to sign up.

This program has been collaboratively developed and run by a group of women and nonbinary people! We welcome feedback and interest in collaboration.

This program is for anyone who does not identify as a cisgender man.

You don’t need to be an expert, a professional artist or maker, or even know what you want to accomplish ahead of time!

For more about our community, check out our values and code of conduct.

We recommend signing up! We will allow drop ins until we reach capacity in each space.

Scheduled skill shares are first come first serve. Please arrive early to get a ticket to participate in the skill share. RSVP-ing for the event does not hold your seat for the skill share.

We recommend that users of this Open Shop be active members of the Library. You may attend your first shop night as a “guest” to see the space and learn more. After that, you must have an active membership to attend. Membership is sliding scale and no one is turned away for lack of funds.

Learn more about membership and sign up here or sign up in person!

Shop Safety is required to use the woodshop. Please see our woodshop policies for more info about welcomed materials and processes.

The craft room does not require any prerequisite class. This space can be used for many non-woodworking projects. Please see our craft room policies for more info.

You can sign up for a Shop Safety class at Open Shop (and fill out a scholarship request for a free Safety class if cost is a barrier).

We have a fully equipped woodshop that can handle most types of building (with wood) projects. 

Our craft room is equipped with basic sewing, crafting, and artmaking supplies

Probably! Aside from skill shares, this is a choose-your-own adventure environment, but we'll have volunteer Shop Monitors in both spaces. Other makers are likely happy to help you figure out a next step or refresh you on a tool. Don't be afraid to ask! If you need concentrated one-on-one guidance, consider one of our classes!

You can expect to walk through our door and be greeted by a friendly volunteer or staff member ready to answer any questions. 

You will likely meet folks with varying levels of experience in the shops and with making or crafting

A note on noise: The wood shop is quite loud when the dust collector is on or people are working with power tools. We have personal protective equipment (PPE) readily available, including over the ear protection or ear plugs. The crafts room and lending library tend to be quieter and better for socializing. 

We totally get that! We also have scrap wood, collaging supplies, and other consumables available to experiment with; you don’t have to come in with a product in mind. Each Make Space event will have at least 1 skill share you can join! These will range from highlighting how to use specific tools to small projects and more.

We want this to be a community space where you can learn from others and get feedback on project ideas. This is a place for experimentation and play.

Anyone under the age of 18 must be supervised by a parent/guardian.

Anyone 18 or over must have a current membership (unless this is their first visit to Open Shop).

Kids 10 years and up who are able to abide by the safety rules of the shops are welcome. Please email us in advance and let us know how many young people are joining you as well as their ages so we can be prepared.

Please note that you must remain attentive to and responsible for your children in the shop

If you plan to work in the woodshop, the young person must also have taken Shop Safety.

Feel free to bring snacks of your liking. We have a toaster oven, microwave, and instant hot water on site. Please keep in mind the shop can be dusty!

Masking is always welcome! You can find our most up to date COVID policies under the Health & Safety section of our FAQs here.

We hope to add more identity-based opportunities as funding and other programming demands allow. This is intended to supplement our public open shop and get folks more comfortable and excited to join other programs!

We continue to offer Open Shop to all members on Sundays from 10 am - 4 pm.

We have an ADA accessible ramp on the eastern side of our building. Either ring the doorbell at the top of the ramp or give us a call if you need any assistance.