Mesquite Hugger: A Visit to Lubbock's Maker Space: ULabs

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

A Visit to Lubbock's Maker Space: ULabs

So there we were - a pack of unruly scooter hooligans looking for some trouble to stir up. Or more realistically, there we were - two middle-aged dorks on old scooters heading over to see another middle-aged dork who also rides a scooter, but this is no scooter post.

ULabs Lubbock Website

This is a post about the maker movement in Lubbock and a peek inside their lair. I mean space. I mean ULabs.

Wait - you don't know what a maker is? Well, a maker is essentially one who would rather make it than buy it. What's the "it"? Pretty much anything - from a tiny piece of jewelry to a tiny house and pretty much anything in between. If you come to this blog looking for DIY/re-use/upcycle, there's a good chance that you are or want to be a maker. (I consider myself a low-rent maker.)

One of the big holdups for most makers is lack of access to tools and space and expertise to build the stuff their dreams are made of - things like welders, 3D printers, laser cutters, etcetera.

And that's where a maker space comes in. Imagine a place where you can pay a small monthly fee and have access to all that stuff and to people who know how to use it AND love the idea of learning and experimenting and making cool stuff happen.

Oh yeah, they offer classes for all this stuff too!

The rather cool patio area.

Besides a patio, there is also a metal shop, a wood shop, a welding shop, a textile shop, an electronics/robotics lab, and there are more in the works. There's even an art gallery/meeting place.