The recent exponential growth may be attributed to DMS’ recent move to a location that people prefer. If DMS were to move any more East, I would not be a member anymore as the drive would be too much. Besides the distance to my house, being close to 35, and the Tollway is one reason I am a member.
And if it moved any further West, I would have difficulty writing off the drive (which at present is about 30-40 minutes but can be longer with traffic) or would at least appear less frequently (every week as opposed to every other day). So in that sense, the current location seems to be at the center of an West/East venn diagram (at least for two active members). Anyone care to be the North or South voice of the venn diagram?
-the purring dork
The last DMS location (Ladybird LN, I think) isn’t far from its current location; about five miles, I think. However, it was considerably smaller, and the neighborhood creepier.
The choice of the current location wasn’t an accident. The powers that be took into account the locations of all the then-current members, and looked for a location near the center of them. Of course, now that the membership has tripled, it’s possible that the geographic center has shifted. Even so, 35E, midway between GWB and 635, stands a good chance of being in the middle of everyone.
Wow. At 30 minutes from my house, I consider DMS to be really close. It would take an hour drive before that would become a factor in whether or not I came to the space.
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I have at least a 40 minute drive (if I use the george bush tollway or not) from Fort Worth. I just got use to driving that far, but working in Irving has helped. The Makerspot in the NRH library is technically the closest for me but it’s not open to the public yet. I think it’s worth it because I’m already involved in projects and know the people. I think no matter how big we got, it’s still the same <50 people that are there all the time. I think our size issue comes for work area and storage, offsite storage is a good idea for now. I would like to see the building next to us open up so we could double and reach well into the 1200 member range.
From what I recall at the last Board meeting, the landlord said that nothing around us is scheduled to open for the next three years (other than a really huge space that we can’t afford).
Anyone care to be the North or South voice of the venn diagram?
Sure. I live near downtown Dallas and the space is on my way back home from work. It’s about a 20 minute drive from my apartment and 20 minutes from work as well.
Frankly if it moved off of 35, I don’t know how often I’d be able to swing by. Currently I drop by occasionally after work or sometimes on my days off.
I reside most of the time, literally blocks away from DMS’ original location. The drive to Monetary lane is crazy long due to construction reductions. However, I usually manage about ~20 minutes because I ride a bike.
Not my image, but an approximate visual representation.
I would have loved it if DMS had taken over the Valley View Mall That would have at least taken care of the expansion problems for the foreseeable future. Although, it would have been prohibitively expensive with the current membership numbers. (Grants to the rescue?) One way to make that space initially sustainable would have been to subdivide the space and lease it out. As DMS expanded it would decline the lease renewal of the tenant in question. Currently some of those spaces available at Valley View are bazzar/crazy-flea-market type set ups. VERY fly-by-night feel.
http://movieinstitute.org/mi/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/ValleyViewArea_800.jpg
Perhaps some day…
…X…
Actually, I was the one who made the primary pitch for the Valley View option last year and met with the Beck Ventures VP’s. I took several photos (posted to Makerspace site) and discussed feasibility of having metal shop, wood shop, etc. At the time they had three adjacent open units totaling somewhere around 9000 sqft… can’t quite recall the exact size… but I was gunning to get all three and combine into Makerspace 3.0.
Alas, it didn’t work out due to size, limitations on permits, and constantly requiring security to grant 24/7 access after hours. It could have been done, but it wasn’t optimal for our needs at the time. Almost, but not quite.
Honestly, it was hugely disappointing that it didn’t work out. The thought of occupying the inside of a former shopping mall filled with artists and galleries and dancers and indie movie nights and such would have been INCREDIBLE. Imagine flying our drones through a huge indoor atrium and fusing our creativity with the local galleries. We’d have likely signed up several of the tenants to encourage further knowledge sharing and networking.
I haven’t seen anything like this in Dallas since Olla Podrida, the much-loved indoor bazaar near Forest and I75 which was filled with everything from antique zoetropes to winding wooden staircases to endless rows of hot salsas to handmade kites pinned to the ceiling through which natural light filtered through stained glass. Epic and wonderful.
In the future, perhaps another mall option will emerge. Vista Ridge might be one of them. I hear they are in the process of winding down operations. I can think of nothing better than repurposing a dying mall as a new kind of creative arts/tech shop/etsy/entertainment/community center in which creative people set the scene and push new boundaries instead of having it dictated to them by big box stores and national advertising campaigns as we slide into consumerist mediocrity.
Ah… one can dream… 
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Wow… Just wow… I am dreaming with you.
…X…
I used to live out there, at the turn of the century. The Mall was dying even then.
Collin Creek Mall would be better for me, though probably not for a lot of other members.
Unfortunately 635 is a questionable option until they complete construction. I used to risk 635 coming from Richardson if it was during DST. During the winter months all drivers (except me) become stupid due to the earlier darkness. Even during DST the trip back was generally a practice in frustration.
I’ve finally decided that GWB is worth the expense both ways if only to keep me out of therapy. And a 70 MPH on GWB and Central doesn’t hurt.
Now if they’d only stop working on I35.
We are not big enough to push a mall into bending to our will yet. But, at 2k or 3k members we might be. That being said Space is really filling up at DMS and our committees are out growing the space we have. Do we have any clue as to when any of our neighbor’s leases are ending? It may be time to try and flex a bit, maybe offer up some money to our neighbors to move and allow us to take over their space? Not sure what the board is doing on this front, maybe I’ll ask it at the next meeting. Not trying to punch the bear, just see where it is looking.
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I think it might be three years before anyone else moves out…
Do you have any clue as to what Really Big Means? Like 100,000 square foot?
Also, not to poke the bear, but how has the fire marshal thing turned out. I’ve been at the space daily and this has fallen out of the communications between members. I’m guessing that it is being handled by the board adequately as there are not screams of we are getting shut down. Just wondering what we learned and how we can skip the scare in the future.
Fun listening to the chat,
Nick
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“Really big,” in this case, refers to a specific space that the Board said we could not afford. I don’t recall how big this particular space is.
I like the way you are thinking… Offering to take over lease would be an awesome move(no pun).
…X…
Our company has moved a couple times and sublet the building we left from…There might be a neighbor here that wants out and would entertain an offer.
Growing pains are going to get worse. I can see that Science Committee is going to need flowing water (tap and drain) more and more acutely as it grows. That might even be more important than increasing the size of our area. We also eventually will need a vent hood and a chemical cabinet, maybe an independent power supply. I’d like for us to have some sort of vibration isolation room, so we could make high-quality holograms or conduct other sensitive optical projects. It might be nice to have a room in which we could conduct RFI measurements.