Derek Gaw, CEO of MakerLab, in a workstation at MakersLab in Vancouver, on July 10, 2019.Rafal Gerszak
Makerspaces – the commercial venues where creative people gather to design and make their products – are under pressure to transform their business models or face closing shop.
A growing number of makerspaces have ceased operations or are under threat because of rising rents, building redevelopments and not enough cash flow to cover costs.
Unsustainable business models are partly to blame. To be successful, makerspaces need to expand their audiences to include not just artists, but also entrepreneurs and startups, says Shannon Hoover, managing director of Fuse33 Makerspace in Calgary.
“The maker community needs to look beyond people who self-identify as ‘makers,’ creating a model that reaches and adapts to a wider community,” Mr. Hoover says.
