About Us

So, what’s the deal?

What is Open Works?

This is a democratically operated makerspace being created to serve its community. The goal is to create an inclusive, community-oriented space where everyone can explore creative or technical pursuits with the support of others, as well as providing access to space and equipment that might be otherwise too difficult or costly for an individual to own.

Who is in charge?

No one, directly. A handful of people are working on getting things off the ground, but the idea is that it will (hopefully always) be run as a non-profit, employee-owned cooperative, and its members will always have a say in decisions about the future – whether that’s finances, facilities, equipment, or how to handle someone who doesn’t clean their paintbrushes.

Many people have creative ideas, or a desire to repair something rather than throw it out, or wish to learn a new skill. Unfortunately, not everyone has the space, equipment, or knowledge of where to start. Open Works wants to make all of those accessible to the community.

Maybe you need a soldering iron to fix a fan or a toaster. Maybe you need a fully stocked wood shop so you can build the guitar of your dreams or a new coffee table. Maybe you want to build a robot, or model a new invention in CAD so you can print it on the 3D printer or cut it out of metal on the CNC. Open Works aims to be the community and the space where you can do all of that and more. You don’t even need an idea to get started. It’s amazing what surrounding oneself with creative, busy people can do to inspire.

Where is it?

Somewhere in Ōtautahi. Specific location is TBD. If you know of somewhere great that’s reasonably priced, let us know!