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Mankato Makerspace has existed since 2017
thanks to many fantastic volunteers
such as the folks listed here!
Meet your Makers
Maker | Shop | Hours | Contact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dustin Swiers | Metals, Glass, Ceramics
Executive Director &
Facilities Manager
Shop Lead M,G,C | Tues, 2-8,
Thurs 2-8,
By appt | dustin.swiers@gmail.com | |
Tyler Vaughan | Wood working
Treasurer
Shop Lead:
Woodshop | Tue 5-8
By appt | tjv14@hotmail.com | |
Cindy Bourne | Jewelry Smithing
President,
Grant writer Coordinator
Shop Lead:
Jewelry | Tues 2-8,
Friday 12-6,
Sat 9-3
By appt | cbourne214@gmail.com | |
Shayna Swiers | Wire N Wine
Paint N Sip
Education Director
Marketing & Website
Coordinator | By appt
Thurs 5-8pm
By appt | sstietje@gmail.com | |
Pegeen Rozeske | Leather, Shoemaking | Tues 4-8
By appt | wildhorse_ride@yahoo.com | |
Justin Bergo | Glowforge, Woodworking
Shop Lead:
Glowforge & 3D print | Fri 12-8
By appt | caineatsabe@gmail.com | |
Kendrick Daum | Aerosol Art
Glowforge
Shop Lead:
Finishing Room | Sun 12-8
By appt | kdaumpaint@gmail.com | |
Christina Donley | Silk Screen Printing
Co Shop Lead:
Screen Printing | Tues 2-8
By appt | christinaddonley@gmail.com | |
Jody Bohrer | Macrame, Sewing | By appt. | teacherjodyb@gmail.com | |
Jeff Stocco | Wood Lathe | By appt | jeffstocco@gmail.com | |
Jeremy Kuznia | 3D Printing | By appt | xplanetbob@gmail.com | |
Caleb Stoner | Lapidary, Blacksmithing | Sat 3-8
By appt | calebstoner@yahoo.com |
We operate
under the guidance of
the Board of Directors of the
Minnesota Makers & Artists Guild.
Learn more at: www.theguildmn.org
We wouldn't be able to do what we do without our fabulous donors!
Individual Donors
-
Barbara VanPelt
-
Dennis & Vivian Seimer
-
Roger Taylor
Material Donors
-
Wenger Corporation
-
Denise Billington
-
Dan Larson
Corporate Donors
-
Goodrich Construction
-
Dotson Iron Castings
-
Elegoo
In-Kind Donors
-
Meat Brand Wooden Oddities & Curiosities
-
Good Times Manufacturing
-
JD Designs
-
Rosier Designs
Equipment Donors
-
Leif Magnuson
-
Dave Becker
-
Doug Kaiser
-
Mark Wesley
Grant Funding
-
Minnesota State Arts Board
-
Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council
-
Clean Water, Land & Legacy Amendment
-
Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation
-
MNSU Center for Innovation & Business
-
MidWest Arts Council
-
Mankato Area Kiwanis
In Memoriam
Volunteers and supporters
we lost too soon.
Don Darling
Don joined our founding board because he wanted to bring his decades of machining knowledge to aspiring makers.
His favorite tool in the shop was hands down, the wood lathe. You could count on his beard forever having wood chips floating in it.
Don was a cherished mentor who continues to be greatly missed.
Kim Spears
Kim was invited to join our founding board as an industry professional who was already an active community volunteer as a Lego Robotics coach and city councilperson.
He shared his knowledge of forging from his employment at Dotson Iron Castings and applied his other volunteering skills as the space went from concept to reality.
Kim elevated the potential social benefits of a maker driven environment and advanced the creation and development of today's makerspace.
Origin Story
How Mankato got its Makerspace
The maker movement has been growing across the nation and in our community. Artisans, innovators and creative people of all stripes drive the largest portion of this area's economy. A groundswell of community members recognized this fact and established The Mankato Makerspace, and brought the notion of "the maker" to life in the Mankato area.
The project has grown in phases:
Concept 2015-2016
Initial research, planning and gathering of interested people.
Thanks to the work of Rick Esser, Katie Boone, Sara Nett, Jesse Bateman, Lindsey Block & Kendrick Daum through the catalyst of EnvisionLab.
Founding 2017
We established our legal entity, focused on business planning, extended research, & market testing, as well as identified and began to cultivate the Mankato maker community in 2017. In this stage, we set up accounting, acquired our space, and got building!
Initial funding was provided by Graham Nelson. We also received grant awards from the Dream, Learn and Go Big Community Growth Initiative.
We opened our doors February 22, 2018 thanks to the work of Rick Esser, Kendrick Daum, Joe Herke, Cindy Bourne, Julie Dempster, Kim Spears, Don Darling, Deb Groebner and Emily Griebel as the original board of Minnesota Makers & Artists Guild.
Operation 2018 and on
In 2018, we moved into actual operation.
Which brings us to our directorial phase!
Each year has brought with it the identification of an ever growing community of folks stepping forward; motivated by, participating in and dedicated to the maker movement happening in Mankato.
Founding Donors
Ron Goodrich
Ron believes in:
As a maker on a large scale, he understands the importance access to tools and workspace has on developing skills and enhancing creative problem solving.
Mankato Makerspace continues to benefit from Ron's support. Thank you Ron for helping us start our journey and being our most steadfast supporter!
Graham Nelson
Graham believed in reintroducing people to their past through hands-on, skills based learning. He envisioned having access to the variety of shops and collaborative peers as having the potential to engage people’s latent creativity, further empowering them to become resourceful and self-sustainable.
Minnesota Makers and Artists Guild used the funds from Graham's donation to file our 501(c)(3) paperwork. Thank you Graham for helping us start our journey!
