theincline.com: A corporate-set Friday deadline to save TechShop’s Pittsburgh location is no more.
At a members’ meeting Tuesday night, Gadsden Merrill, TechShop Pittsburgh general manager, told the group of about 30 that conversations would continue past the deadline previously set to find a nonprofit or other entity willing to fund operations.
This article caught my eye because I actually spent six weeks last summer doing a program at a TechShop location in Crystal City, Virginia. It's a shame the location in Pittsburgh was not generating sufficient revenue to keep its doors open. I think the situation was similar in Virginia; I remember that they had to shorten their hours because the shop was too expensive to keep open for as long as they wanted. Hopefully the TechShop in Pittsburgh can find a new source of profit before they have to close for good.
ReplyDeleteI think the TechShop is special not only because its resources are available to people of all skill levels, but also because of its strong sense of community. I know I got lots of help from other people working in the Virginia location, and there was always a free flowing stream of ideas from everyone I encountered there. It's nice to know that there are other maker spaces (such as HackPittsburgh and Prototype) that are popping up around the country.
-Sammy Williams