techburgher.com: TechShop, a membership-based, do-it-yourself workshop and fabrication studio, announced construction has begun on a new location in Pittsburgh’s Bakery Square to open in February, 2013.
“Pittsburgh has been at the heart of American ingenuity, making and manufacturing since it was founded. We are excited to open this location in an area with a deep ecosystem of great technology-related companies and institutions,” said Mark Hatch, CEO of TechShop. “Our newest location will offer programs that support the growing community of makers and innovators by providing tools, equipment, software and instruction in a large, open workshop space.”
6 comments:
Good. Where are Pittsburgh-planted set designers going to laser cut pieces for their model after they graduate? I'm being a bit cynical and citing a very specific example but it does show one void - or market on their end - that TechShop will fill in Pittsburgh. As students are very fortunate to have access to incredible resources and tools. After graduation where will we go to help us with our tinkering, welding, modeling, and fabrication. If prototyping becomes a larger part of technical design for the stage, and I think it should be, TechShop will be a great place for the freelance designer, TD, or crafts person to go to help manifest their ideas.
A few weeks ago there was an article posted about TechShop that really grabbed my interest and I'm glad to see there will be one in Pittsburgh soon. To some extent based off of what I had previously read there are some downfalls, such as needing to pay for classes/training on tools that an individual might already be familiar with, however I think overall this is a strong business model for the Pittsburgh community. What I find particularly interesting in this article is the statement that TechShop is known to partner with universities in some capacity. I wonder if CMU will will take advantage of this partnership? We are already a well equipped establishment, but I wonder if a supplemental community and different environment might be explored and encouraged...
I've commented on another article before about TechShop, and I'm quite excited that one is soon to open in Pittsburgh. I'm definitely interested in checking out what it's like when it does finally open. Obviously I doubt I would have much use for it, seeing as I have access to numerous resources here are CMU, but it's definitely worth seeing what they have available.
As with others, I'm excited about a TechShop opening up in Pittsburgh. Not merely because I'm a fabrication nerd [or "FabNerd"] but also because I firmly believe in continuing the learning process WELL BEYOND we leave the safe havens of our educational domiciles. There's always the danger of stagnation after we leave college [even if we, one day, return a second of - shudder - third time] perhaps not because of our lack of interest in learning or gaining new skills but because of the inaccessibility to be exposed to those new skills.
In college, if I want to take a metalworking class because I'm passingly interested in the milling process, I'm only limited by my schedule and the time I'm willing to put into a class [this assumes I'm already a fulltime student already]. But once I'm out in the real world - shutter - exploring new skills is not only time-consuming but DOLLAR-consuming as well. And that assumes I can even find someone or someplace willing and able to teach me the skills I'm interested in exploring. Often, it's simply this lack of access that kills the already fragile desire to expand my skillset.
Places like the TechShop allow for not only a place for already-skilled people to use tools & equipment they may not otherwise have access to on a regular basis but - almost more important than that - they allow those curious about gaining new skillsets to explore those activities and learn from those already possessing those abilities.
I am so glad to hear that they are going to be opening a Tech Shop in Pittsburgh. I remember reading an article about this company and wishing that I had one of these at my access and have the chance to see one in person. Now I am going to be able to see one in a few month and see how good it is. I wonder where in Bakery Square they are going to put this? It seems like it is a large place from the last article that I read but maybe this one will be a smaller one, meant for people that live in cites. I hope that this company continues to grow over the next few years but not to fast, so that they don’t over penetrate their markets.
Tech shop is a great idea for a company and I'm very glad that Bakery Square is going to be getting one. I think that it's important in this day and age that people don't totally forget that making things your self is possible. Almost all of our consumer goods are made outside the USA and most of what is made in the USA is ideas/software. So it's a great reminder that building things with your hands can happen here in Pittsburgh. If I didn't have accesses to all the great tools here at CMU I would defiantly be interested in using TechShop. In the professional world of theatre I see TechShop playing an important role for TD's who work at small (indie) theatres that don't have very many tools in their shops.
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