STAUNTON – It may look like a fairly empty space, and it is. But when Dan Funk and Jim Rutt are at 222 Washington St. in downtown Staunton behind Landes Park it’s not so empty — it’s filled with ideas.
Funk has been looking for a building for a new makerspace in Staunton for six months. He finally found himself in a large building with three sections and plenty of parking.
But it’s been more than a year that Funk has been thinking of bringing a makerspace to downtown. A makerspace is exactly what it sounds like — a communal space for community members to come together to make things, learn about manufacturing and tools, share ideas and create new projects.
The first makerspace was established in Europe in the 1990s, said Funk, a software engineer. Three popped up in the United States in New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco between 2006 and 2007.
While working as an…
