Join The Movement

MakerspaceCT: Community Workshop & Skills Development Center in Hartford, Connecticut

MakerspaceCT is a valuable community resource for everyone and a focal point for collaboration by businesses and individuals. Our 25,000 sf commercial space is located in the Historic G. Fox Building at 960 Main Street in Downtown Hartford. We opened our doors on Saturday, April 13, 2019. .

Mission & Vision

Our mission is to positively impact lives by enabling access, innovation, and education.
Our vision is to use making as a vehicle to lift up individuals and communities.

MakerspaceCT: empowering you

Simply stated, MakerspaceCT empowers you with Equipment, Community, and Education so that you can develop skills, make connections and launch ideas.

equipment: tools of transformation

Imagine a space designed to support an almost limitless variety of material types and fabrication processes. CNC Machining, Metal Fabrication, 3D Printing, Laser Engraving, Vacuum Forming and much more. Equipment that is, in many cases, too expensive or too large for your home or small business to accommodate.

community: hq for curious minds

Downtown Hartford HAS IT. We are fast becoming a hotbed of activity and innovation, and we are in the middle of it all. Our mission is to be a valuable community resource by providing a large, well-equipped space where people and projects will thrive.

Many corporations that realize what Hartford has to offer, have committed themselves to our community, here’s just a few:

• The Stanley Black and Decker + Techstars Incubator space
• Hartford InsurTech Hub powered by Startupbootcamp
• Central Row
• Trinity College Liberal Arts Action Lab
• Upward Hartford

education: theory into practice

Come with a thirst for knowledge and MakerspaceCT provides expertise and training, turning your ideas into innovation. Maker-pros, instructors and shop techs are always available to guide you on your maker journey.

• Higher education has made the commitment to Hartford:
• UConn Hartford
• Capital Community College
• Goodwin College
• Trinity College

what will you make?

Join us in the mission of empowering makers in Hartford and beyond!

MakerspaceCT Factsheet

MakerspaceCT is the largest makerspace in Connecticut and the 2nd largest in New England. We empower prospective inventors, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, hobbyists and students across the region with access to tools, technology, resources and learning opportunities.

In the historic G. Fox building, the 25,000 + sq. ft. well-equipped working space is quickly becoming a focal point for collaboration for businesses and individuals. MakerspaceCT is a valuable community resource and driving force in Connecticut’s flourishing innovation ecosystem.

This is what we do…

• support an almost limitless variety of material types and fabrication processes, by having on-site equipment that is, in many cases, too expensive or too large for a home, garage or small business to accommodate.
• help train the current and future workforce in new technologies.
• be a conduit for turning great ideas into new innovation and new businesses – there is tremendous untapped entrepreneurial potential in the city, region and the state
• be the destination in the state where makers of all stripes – prospective inventors, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, hobbyists and students across the region will be empowered with access to tools, technology, resources and learning opportunities.
• provide opportunities for people of all backgrounds, know-how and experience to develop skills and make connections
• MakerspaceCT is a 501(c)3 non-profit; planning, construction and equipment and has been privately funded. Executive Director/Founder is Devra Sisitsky: “Connecticut has the potential to be a national leader and invest in the next generation of makers. Our manufacturing history can be the foundation for a vibrant, tech-savvy, economy- driving future. MakerspaceCT is in the vanguard of that effort, with innovation, entrepreneurship and workforce development at the core.”

Education

MakerspaceCT offers a range of workshops and collaborates with local colleges and schools.

• Courses enable students, entrepreneurs, women, innovators and anyone interested in learning and using tools for developing prototypes and innovations the opportunity to use on-site equipment and materials, working with on-site professionals.
• Instructors provide introductory classes on subjects including Arduino Microcontroller, Raspberry Pi, 3D Printing and 3D Scanning. Some have already been offered, even in advance of the formal opening of the facility.
• CTNext/Innovation Places provided a grant in 2018-2019 that supported scholarships for Connecticut residents to take free maker workshops led by skilled professionals. Already, more than 120 individuals have been thru courses or are scheduled to complete courses this year.
• UConn Hartford, Capital Community College, University of Hartford, Goodwin College, Trinity College are among the local colleges and universities that have connected with MakerspaceCT, or are exploring the possibilities.

Community Resource / Realizing Unlimited Potential

The MakerspaceCT workspace provides information and access to tools and technology for local inventors, innovators, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, hobbyists, and students. It is a springboard for innovation and a new way to boost careers and interest in traditional and advanced manufacturing, technology, hardware development and preparation to function in Industry 4.0.

The demand for a facility like this has been spurred by strong, recent growth in small business manufacturing, technological innovation, DIY activities and the growing innovation ecosystem supporting local incubators, such as those taking root in Hartford, and Connecticut, currently.

MakerspaceCT will be a valuable community resource by providing a large, well-equipped space where people and projects will thrive, offering classes for all types of equipment and tools needed to make or manufacture prototypes, cosplay, hobbies or artistic projects.

What Will You Make at MakerspaceCT?

MakerspaceCT includes more than a dozen shops on-site, providing access to various equipment.

• Machine shop with Haas TM1P milling center, conventional machining Bridgeports with DROs, metal lathes
• Welding shop with Arc, Mig, Tig, Plasma cutting, and blacksmithing
• Woodshop with CNC wood router, Saw Stop industrial table saw, panel saw, large planer and jointer, shaper, bandsaws and much more
• Electronics and robotics shop with a comprehensive selection of components and parts in stock, high-quality meters and test equipment, PCB board milling machine
• Digital Fabrication shop, including several commercial 3D printers with different technologies, laser cutters, wide format printers and cutting machines, well-equipped computer lab with leading software packages and fiber optic internet connection
• Metal fabrication shop with sheet metal forming tools, iron worker machine, hydraulic tube bender, notcher, industrial cut-off, and band saws, polishing and grinding equipment
• Plastic injection machine, heater bender, vacuum former, and vacuum bagging machine
• Fiber Arts industrial sewing equipment.

Background – Impact of a Makerspace

• Makerspaces across the country are facilities dedicated to helping makers, designers, creators, and entrepreneurs bring their vision of a new product to fruition, translating an idea into a tangible, manufactured item. It has been described as a “big and important development in the American economy.” The movement is also sparking renewed interest for students and adults in STEAM learning (science, technology, engineering, arts, math).
• As one industry expert described it: “what’s so remarkable about the maker movement is that the tools to create enterprises—and especially physical products—have become accessible to just about anyone. And that’s changing how companies are getting formed. Until very recently, industrial design often had to be done in the context of a large company, because the tools to do it were exclusively the territory of big companies. But that’s not the way it works anymore. People can go right into creating an enterprise or product.”
• The ripple effect in the economy has also been noted because once one of these maker products gets launched, there’s a ripple effect as the new company needs all kinds of help—logistics and packaging and marketing and financial and legal services, and so on.
• Nationally, the Maker Movement fuels reinvigorated American manufacturing, making more readily available the tools for designing and building. The American resurgence in do-it-yourself (DIY) activities in recent years includes electronics, robotics, 3D printers and scanners, laser cutters, CNC machine, tools, metalworking, woodworking and more traditional arts and crafts. All of which can find a home at MakerspaceCT.