Makerpoint ends first year with expansion

SANDPOINT — How do you describe a space where imagination is the driving force, where creativity is the compass and ideas stack up like products coming off a production line?

The owners call it Makerpoint Studios — a business that opened almost exactly a year ago and has since increased its floor space by nearly 35 percent. It was an expansion that became necessary when the innovative design and production center began adding new technology and equipment to respond to the interest of its members.

Which brings us back full circle to the original question: What do you call a place that offers fully outfitted wood, metal and electronics shops, CNC machines, a textile area, laser engraving equipment, 3-D and sublimation printers and computer design to members, rather than traditional customers?

“We call it a gym with tools,” said Mike Peck. “Instead of working out, our members come in and use the tools.”

Peck and co-owner Matt Williams, then, would be like personal trainers. They give members an orientation, help them understand how the equipment works and stand ready to assist from there. Both men had worked in the IT department at Coldwater Creek and landed on Makerpoint as a joint career move when that landmark employer closed in 2014.

Peck, who has a degree in IT and a longtime interest in furniture building, saw the studios as a chance to bring those interests to bear in a new business.

“This has a lot of IT built into it,” he said with a nod to the high-tech gear all around him. “So it seemed like a perfect melding of the degree and the hobby.”

“From my standpoint, Makerpoint as been a chance to get more involved with the community,” Williams said. “And our ‘community’ includes everyone from business owners to individuals, from leather workers to boat makers, metal fabricators to folks who have always wanted to build something on their own.”

The two partners originally invested about $250,000 in equipment — an investment that has been added to over the past year — building a creative space that has attracted a diverse following. There are teachers who use the place as a point of inspiration, along with those who use the technology in other ways, such as the educator who designed his own stand-up desk and sent the finished plans to the CNC machines for completion.

Another member designed and built the parts for her “tiny house” in the studios, while local luthiers Tony and Dave Powell have begun producing the necks for their Tone Devil guitars and harp guitars on site. According to Peck, the brothers utilize the CNC machines for shaping necks and staging intricate inlay work. In both cases, accuracy and repeatability were attractive assets for the builders.

“They were able to modify their designs on the fly,” said Peck. “That would have been costly if you had someone else do it for you.

“I think they also like the studio environment,” he added. “They came in to be inspired and to inspire other people.”

The floor plan at Makerpoint was designed with that kind of creative cross-pollination in mind, using an open shop layout that encourages the sharing of ideas. From the computer design kiosk to the various work areas, members can literally look over one another’s shoulders — in a good way.

“We did that on purpose, so the collaboration just happens,” said Williams.

“No one here is an expert at everything,” Peck said. “But if you look at the whole spectrum of our members and their skill sets, that fills in a lot of gaps.”

The hybridized environment has created some interesting meetings of the minds, particularly in the wood and metal shops, where experienced members favor an old-school, hand work direction, and newcomers gravitate toward working with computer design on the front end and then letting a machine do the actual work.

“It’s two different paths,” Peck said. “The inexperienced woodworkers and metal workers use the computer and the old guys with experience go the other way.”

“There’s craftsmanship you can only get by hand,” said Williams, adding that the new guys become fascinated by that skill. “But the machines are real time savers, so the old guys get interested in that technology, too.”

Another track that runs through the studios is that of inventors building prototypes for their latest creations. One of the strangest gizmos to come out of the place was an electrical arc musical instrument, designed by an 18-year-old member, which emits sparks that actually play songs.

“When he plugged it in for the first time, Mike and I were standing back about 20 feet,” Williams said.

By far the most-used tool at Makerpoint is the laser engraving machine, which gets pressed into service for engraving on wood, leather and glass to create ornaments, boxes, maps and signs. Skills learned from the design software used on the laser tool translate to all of the machines in the studios, according to Peck.

“It seems to be the gateway to all the other machines, he said. “Once people see what it can do, they want to move over to bigger and more complex projects.”

Makerpoint Studios — which is not a franchise — falls under the umbrella of the larger “makerspace” movement, where similar, shared space businesses usually operate on a members-only platform. Unlike those shops, however, Makerpoint also does customer fabrication before opening up for member hours and offers classes to non-members on topics such as woodworking, welding and design software.

“They’re all ‘intro to’ classes,” said Peck. “It’s a great way to come in and see what’s possible before signing up.”

As musical instrument parts, inventions, furniture, tiny houses and more continue to emerge from the combined 5,300 square feet of studio space, public interest has generated larger classes and additional members.

“When people see the physical proof — things that were actually made here — it makes it easier for them to get started,” Williams said.

Makerpoint Studios is open Tuesday-Friday, 1-9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at 1424 N. Boyer Ave., with an entrance driveway located just south of the railroad crossing at Boyer and Baldy Mountain Road. Tours are offered any time and one of the owners is always on site for assistance.

Information: phone, 208-255-4236; or online, www.makerpointstudios.com