Being spaces feed the growing demand for flexible, communal, social spaces for freelancers, digital nomads, bedouin business types and anyone else who feels like showing up. It’s a concept described well by Trendwatching in this article.
At the same time, there is an undeniable DIY culture emerging in everything from clothing to electronics to media.
So what happens when you smash the two together and create flexible spaces for people who want to get their hands dirty, create something or hack the world around them?
Well, knitting together (imprecise pun intentional) these themes, Sweat Shop Paris offer workstations complete with sewing machine and free teas and coffees for €6 an hour or €25 a day. There’s an obvious attraction for infrequent sewing dabblers who wouldn’t fork out for their own machines – but the real attraction is the social element.
California-based TechShop takes a similar approach to manufacturing and electronics:
TechShop is a 15,000 square-foot membership-based workshop that provides members with access to tools and equipment, instruction, and a community of creative and supportive people so they can build the things they have always wanted to make.
Slightly less casual, TechShop works on a monthly membership model with access costing around $125 a month. Both businesses offer courses and workshop alongside their space.
The common denominator is finding a community of people who want to make and do, and then providing a well-equipped, social setting in which they can. It’s a well-trodden path when it comes to spaces for knowledge workers but as these two examples show, there’s no reason you can’t do the same with other niches too.
How about a communal kitchen space for cooks and bakers? Or cafe-like spaces for visual artists?
Site: www.sweatshopparis.com
Site: www.techshop.ws
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I love this stuff – exactly the reason we’re trying to get #jellyire off the ground.