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Hi everyone!<br>
<br>
My name is Gui Cavalcanti, and I'm the president and co-founder of
Artisan's Asylum up here in Boston. We're the space that hosts <a
href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/projecthexapod/stompy-the-giant-rideable-walking-robot-0"
moz-do-not-send="true">Stompy the giant hexapod</a> and <a
href="http://www.engadget.com/tag/artisans+asylum/">a really
awesome collection of other projects</a>.<br>
<br>
I wanted to let you all know that we're collaborating with MAKE to
put on an event called <a
href="http://makeamakerspace.eventbrite.com/">How to Make a
Makerspace</a> in early February. Our goal with this event is to
give participants roadmaps and resources on how to put together
successful, sustainable spaces, and connect participants to experts
with makerspace experience in the legal, insurance, education, and
real estate fields for an intense series of question-and-answer
sessions. We'll be bringing in space founders from all over the
country to offer comparisons between the styles of spaces that work
for different environments. We'll also be bringing in vendors that
are gearing up to specifically offer products and services to
makers, who are specifically looking to connect to organizers and
ask what they can do to support the movement.<br>
<br>
If you've ever had any questions about how to find the right
building for your space, how to approach insurance companies, what
to do to get your building up to code, how to get a bank loan, who
to talk to in local city government (who's on your side!), how to
make sure your community is using tools safely - this event is for
you. We'll introduce you to government officials, lawyers, real
estate developers, and more who can all help get you on the right
track in your community. All participants will get access to example
membership agreements, insurance summaries, tool training syllabi,
budgets (for both startup and long-term operation), non-profit Form
1023 applications, architectural documents and more, in order to
help each participant develop their own without having to do it all
from scratch.<br>
<br>
In addition to all that, MAKE will be videotaping and taking notes
on all panels, presentations, and discussions, and hosting it all on
a new section of Makerspace.com. With any luck, future founders will
be able to access the site and learn everything they need to know to
be dangerous!<br>
<br>
We're looking for spaces that are just getting started (or groups
that want to start a space, but haven't pulled the trigger yet), and
spaces that currently exist but could use some help stabilizing
their operations. We're also specifically looking to broaden the
pool of participants to include K-12 schools, universities,
libraries, and real estate developers, among others.<br>
<br>
I would encourage you all to participate if you and your space are
in a position to take advantage of the opportunity, and would ask
that you do me the favor of forwarding this to any groups that you
think are looking for this kind of help (or motivation to get
started). I would really appreciate help getting the word out!<br>
<br>
Thanks all!<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Gui Cavalcanti, President
Artisan's Asylum, Inc.
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.artisansasylum.com">http://www.artisansasylum.com</a>
Cell: (857) 389-7669</pre>
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