Bellingham Makerspace — Local services in Bellingham

Well... where to even begin. The Bellingham Makerspace is hands down THE MOST UNDERRATED place in ALL OF BELLINGHAM. People, you need to listen up because the Makerspace will change your entire outlook on what you should be buying online and what you should be creating yourself - in your own home - for LITERALLY a tenth of the price. I've been going to the Makerspace for years now and it has absolutely made me feel like I can build all of the stylish / modern aesthetic furniture / house accesories / home decor things that I stumble across on Pinterest, Amazon, blah blah. I'm not joking. DIY household projects are all the rage right now and this place makes ANYTHING possible! Honest to god....not even over-exaggerating in the slightest.

With the help of the amazing Mary Elliot (the owner and complete & total badass) + all of her attentive, friendly staff - you can actually create whatever the hell you want. I saw a coffee table on Amazon for $987.00 and I was wishing so badly that I had a thousand dollars to blow on a flippin' coffee table, lol. Instead of giving up on that, I decided to mock up some blueprints for building it myself. $70 bucks worth of wood, $25 in wood staining materials, $50 on a sander, $10 on sandpaper, $15 on nails & screws, 1 hour at Lowes + 2.5 hours of time at the amazing Makerspace with Mary and that table is now beautiful and in my living room! OKAY. Yeah thats right... $170 and about 3.5-ish hours of my own time was all it took to create the $987.00 that I saw on Amazon. I dont mean to flex on that Amazon seller... but I like mine more, ha! Also, part of that $170 earned me a sander I can use moving forward and extra materials for future projects. I'm sorry... WHAT?!

This is made possible by the one and only -- the undefeated champion -- the legendary Bellingham Makerspace!!! In WWE announcers voice

Okay so my point in all of this is that the makerspace literally has about a million dollars worth of equipment that can accomplish literally anything you've ever dreamt of wanting to make yourself. You have questions? Cool, these are debatably the most knowledgeable employees in Bellingham. THEY KNOW EVERYTHING. Listen to me, I know it sounds crazy... but Mary might be some type of Yoda figure... or relative of some type. I'm not sure what the heck is going on but she has never not had an answer to a question i've asked. If she doesn't know it, she goes to her desk, sits down and figures out EXACTLY what needs to happen. It's unreal honestly.

One more quick story. One night I was working late night with my partner on a project -- yes Mary drove LATE NIGHT and opened up her facility to HELP US. Why? Because she's a legend. Additionally, I had to leave earlier than expected one day while working at the Makerspace and I was sooo bummed to not be able to laser cut dopeee acrylic Seattle skyline I had designed. I had wanted to have this created for like years and I was just bummed out because we are an impatient species. Anyways, I had mentioned this to Mary and so what do you think happens?

MARY COMES INTO MY PLACE OF WORK AND HAND DELIVERS MULTIPLE SIZES OF THE SKYLINE DESIGN AND I ABOUT LOST IT. I mean, are you kidding me? That is unheard of and people deserve to know that this happened. It speaks volumes to the character and dedication of Mary Elliot. Everyone else, get on her level.

I used to only buy stuff for my home online and didn't build a lot of things myself. Well I am now the complete opposite. Before ever buying anything, I am seriously weighing whether or not I can build it myself. It has literally saved me TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. Guess what? Turns out a small investment of a couple hundred bucks in tools and a membership to Bellingham Makerspace forever altered the course of my world. In my opinion, THAT is worth checking out. If I read this review, you can bet on me checking that out.

YOU ARE DOING YOURSELF A DISSERVICE IF YOU DONT AT LEAST CHECK THIS...

Before I went to Makerspace, I was entirely disinterested and believed it was a program for "people who build things " and the techo-savvy. I thought I wouldn't like it, understand it or fit in. I couldn't have been more wrong. "Building things" is a small slice of all the Makerspace offers. Yes, there are incredible 3D printers, laser cutters, wood and metal-working machines and tools. There are also sewing machines (and one for embroidery) screen-printing, an entire section devoted to robotics, amateur radio and much more. Makerspace is also kid-friendly (children under 16 must have parental/guardian supervision) and there's craft activities for kids on Saturdays. Also awesome - the way the organization supports creatives with events and opportunities to display and even sell their wares. One might imagine that a space filled with so many machines, tools and supplies could be a chaotic mess. But it's bright, clean and everything is accessible and well-organized The rooms and different areas are inviting and mellow. One of the best aspects of Makerspace is the people. The volunteers are friendly and welcoming. Their love for their craft is infectious and they're happy and eager to connect with people no matter their level of knowledge or ability. I'm definitely won over and excited to return and try a few of their classes. Maybe I'll consider myself a maker...

Neat little spot. First time coming here and I'm fairly impressed- there's tons of equipment, tools, and space available to work on things here. Lots of tables and machinery and electronic work along with tons of examples of what could be done. Apparently one has to sign up and pay for a membership, and the tool/equipment rentals are done by the hour. Was told there's more info on the website, so might want to give it a read before deciding anything. I don't exactly have space for a laser cutter at home, so this spot seems like a great alternative. Might pop again by to do some etching or 3d printing...