Revelstoke Idea Factory is gearing up for a relaunch in a new space, with new collaboration opportunities for members. Recently granted a sublease by the City of Revelstoke for space in the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre, the makerspace is aiming for an October reopening.
“Just in the last few weeks here, we finally got the green light,” Rick Casson, Revelstoke Idea Factory board chair said. “We’re working hard to get the space cleaned up and outfitted.”
Casson and other board members are eager to see what collaborations come out of sharing a space with the art gallery and local artists. From the pottery studio and woodworking shop to the new print studio, Casson sees a lot of crossover potential down the line.
“We have a lot of cool tools for making really unique and intricate pieces of artistic works as well,” they said. “Lots of people love using our laser cutter or laser engraver to create different things.”
The move comes after the Idea Factory’s lease at the Revelstoke Business and Visitor Information Centre wasn’t renewed, putting operations on hold and pushing the organization to find a new home. During that time, former members voiced their frustration with the lack of communication and drawn-out closure of the space.
With a realigning of organization leadership and some groundwork to rebuild the focus of the makerspace, Casson and the board want to make sure the reintroduction to the community highlights longstanding supporters and members.
“We wanted to do right by them and make sure that what we were able to to rebuild would be something that they would actually appreciate,” Casson said.
The new space will provide the same makerspace essentials previous members have come to expect, such as updated 3D printers, sewing machines and programming resources along with new tools to help Revestoke create and repair. A community curiosity to fix recreation gear instead of purchasing new has been a staple in the makerspace over the years and Casson is excited to help host that creativity once again.
“I feel like Revelstoke just attracts a lot of a lot of hands-on people who are curious and like making things, or are curious how things work,” Casson said.
With the space nearing opening, Casson said leadership is eager to offer courses, events and more opportunities for the community to learn about the tools offered at the makerspace, with the hopes to increase gatherings and continue fostering unique connections and developments in town.
Another focus for the near future is to build and rebuild connections with other organizations and local businesses in town. The idea factory has a history of helping develop face shields for the hospital during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 3D models of the recreation trails around Revelstoke and the awards handed out during the Revelstoke Chamber of Commerce’s annual business excellence awards.
While the board was exploring a partnership with the Okanagan Regional Library Revelstoke location at one point, limited access to the space and potential storage struggles became a concern. Still, Casson said the Revelstoke Idea Factory is exploring options with the library to increase digital literacy access within Revelstoke.
“We’re still looking forward to collaborating with the library and building a cart to have some of our 3D printers exist in the library as well.”
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