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Sooner or later it had to happen, right?  Follow us on Twitter, here!

We’re off to an amazing start, thanks to you! In a few short days we’ve raised over $6000, more than halfway to our goal!

Keep in mind, we don’t have a lot of time, so if you’re intending to pitch in please don’t hesitate – you can do it here:  Brickyard 2020 Patronicity. (The campaign ends in 16 days.)

We’ve had a few questions, here are some answers:

• Where are we moving? We can’t really make that public yet because we’re still in negotiations, but suffice to say we’re working hard to stay in Lynn and hopefully a more central location (downtown, in fact) with better facilities.
• When are we moving? Again, it’s all being discussed.
• Why are you leaving your current spot? The owner of our building is repurposing the entire building and is putting all the tenants on a “Tenancy at Will” arrangement. We need a space with a standard 3 year lease, minimum.
• What do you need for physical donations? We are specifically looking for a few pieces of equipment – a pro-grade TIG welder, for example, rapid prototyping tools like 3D printers, laser cutters and CNC routers to add to our collection along with traditional metal and woodworking tools – especially sheet metal gear. Hit us up if you have something you think we can use, and we’ll figure it out!
• What are your post-COVID plans for classes and workshops? That’s the big question. We, like everybody else, are trying to figure out how to deal with small workshops and classes safely. It’s an ongoing discussion and particularly a concern for our STEAM and Repair Café programs. We’re looking to schools, the Governor’s office and other makerspaces for guidance as well. We are completely committed to re-activating our work with the folks within the new “Education District” in Lynn and making our contribution.

Again, a HUGE thanks to our supporters and contributors, and that link again is here: The Brickyard 2020 on Patronicity

 

 

The challenges this year have been, in many ways, unimaginable. There’s no need to list them, we all know. We’re all not in the same boat, but we’re in the same storm.

We can try to understand and cope with the truly devastating effects of this crisis, but, we can also look at the opportunity and the chance for change. We can look at how to build a better future. We can look at how we, as Makers, can make a new world.

In a poem by Leslie Dwight, she expresses this in the most inspiring terms:

What if 2020 isn’t cancelled?
What if 2020 is the year we’ve been waiting for?
A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw — that it finally forces us to grow.
A year that screams so loud, finally awakening us from our ignorant slumber.
A year we finally accept the need for change.
Declare change. Work for change. Become the change. A year we finally band together, instead of pushing each other further apart.

2020 isn’t cancelled, but rather
the most important year of them all.

-Leslie Dwight

2020 for The Brickyard Collaborative has been an amazing and inspiring, along with a troubling and challenging year. It’s the year we reached out to the community and got countless volunteers to help make PPE – over 4000 pieces – and got it into the hands of those who need it most. It’s the year we met the people who keep this city alive, and helped them.

It’s the year we learned the power of “Make in Place” – the concept that local manufacturing in small facilities can supply local demand, building the local economy. It’s the year we learned how to take our tools, our talent and our motivation to make a real, concrete difference in people’s lives.

It’s the year we asked ourselves what a makerspace really is, and what it really means to the community.

2020 is also the year we are moving into a new home – doubling our space, with far more capability. It’s the year we are expanding, consolidating and refocusing our rapid prototyping capabilities. It’s the year we will grow into what we’ve always known is possible – a full, complete makerspace facility for the entire North Shore fostering creativity, innovation and collaboration among an amazingly diverse population of makers.

Grow with us. Help us grow.

Donate to The Brickyard 2020 Patronicity campaign and we’ll use those funds to match our grant application to the MassDEV Collaborative Workspace program, to double your donation. Donations can be monetary, or as equipment or donated services. Contact us by responding to this email if you have questions. This application is due August 10, our campaign closes on the 7th. There’s not much time.

Show us your support. Show us you believe in what we’re doing. Show us we can make a difference.

Read more here: The Brickyard 2020.

What’s that?  You didn’t know we had a YouTube channel?  Well, now, wander on over and see what you’ve been missing!

Right now we’re working on a series of instruction videos to help out with our workshops – an intro to 3D printing, the CNC router, maybe even the dogtag machine, check back and see!  In the meantime, we have everything from a little trick for starting a tap with your drill press to some aerial photography with a kite – there’a a little something for everyone.

For now, though, settle back and have a watch of our latest YouTube screen phenomenon, none other than Scarlett showing us how to make Banana Shakes (at home, with a grownup’s help!).