Have their been any talks about a possible smaller satellite/sister location in the DFW area? (basically a little workshop and small classroom) I currently live in Forney, which makes driving to Carrollton quite a drive (gotta love Dallas traffic). Just wondering if there is enough interest on the east side of Dallas to make this worth a conversation or if I should just suck it up and turn up the music 
There are no plans for a satellite location at this time. Itās hard enough running the one space, remember weāre 100% volunteer.
We do help where we can with trying to get other organizations up and running the the Dallas area, but so far none have really had much success.
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I was just thinking the same thing. The main expense (money and time) might be planning and rental of the space. I was thinking that if you just had a satellite location for 3D printing and could arrange for free location hosting with another business, that would be a start.
Living in East Richardson, I feel your pain. However, I do not think that DMS should get involved in trying to setup satellite or āmissionā type workshops. I believe that the DMS leadership could provide a lot of lessons learned to a new group, but that should be the extent of their involvement.
There needs to be enough interest in a workshop or space in the local area that the initial people would be willing to commit ~$1k per person to build up a start up working fund for such a venture to be successful. Essentially, the local group has to have enough capital be able to cover all the expenses of their commitments (i.e., first lease -the whole term, utilities, insurance, tools, etc) before acting. I believe this is how DMS was originally started.
There is also most likely an optimum number of people in such a venture that allows for a cohesive leadership team to form yet not result in nothing but drama. I believe several attempts to start a space in Plano have been made in the past.
Starting a new space is definitely a challenge. Iām not sure if youād necessarily need $1k/person, but having a core group of volunteers to do the leg work of organizing and setting things up is vital.
For something like a small makerspace with 1 or 2 printers and some electronics gear, it might be possible to start out sub-letting at another business or a public building like a library.
Andrew,
I think the ~$1k is needed to build capital and to build commitment to the venture. If you donāt have much into something, you are more likely to let it die. Also, under capitalization is the leading cause of venture failure.
How much capital you need depends on your expenses. There could be ways to minimize expenses as you suggest (sub-letting), but I do believe that those involved have to commit at a level that discourages backing away when things get tough (or weird).Does anyone know why some of my last reply is blue?
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Check out Red Oak Makerspace and TheLab.ms (in Plano). Maybe the drive time to one of those is better from Forney. There have been a few tries at starting up a space in the Deep Ellum / downtown Dallas area too. I donāt know what the current status is on those but I can dig up some contact info if youād like.
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Awsome, didnāt know about TheLab.ms, the Red Oak Makerspace is the same distance, just taking i20 instead of 635.
Iāll read up on the TheLab.ms and see whatās going on there, Thanks for the info!
When I was first enrolling to MS there was a guy here talking to Stan about starting one in Rowlett or Rockwall, not sure which one tho. So there activity in Red Oak?
Rockwall or Rowlett would be amazingā¦ 10 minutes away 
I live in East Plano, and I confronted the commute problem immediately on learning of DMS. I created a Meetup group, North Texas STEM, before I joined DMS, and one of my reasons for joining was to learn best practices for my own group. My eventual goal is start a group near my home. As I look around DMS, I realize that is a daunting task, and I donāt think I could make a place like DMS. Too many super-smart people have put too much work and materials into DMS for me to be able to match it. So, right now, North Texas STEM and I are treading water as I do as much as I can with DMS.
Iāve joined TheLabās Meetup group, but Iāve never gone to one of their meetings. They are a little farther along than I am, in that theyāve actually conducted meetings that people have attended, but they are very much in start-up phase. Their goal appears to be to create a first-class AV studio, first. I balk at their membership fee, as Iām already a member at DMS.
Public libraries are starting to get interested in adding MakerSpaces to their offerings (note: Iām a librarian). I believe that North Richland Hills is the farthest along in that regard in the Metroplex. The Fort Worth Makerspace folks have been working with them, and the library has a huge space (and a decent amount of funding) set aside. I think there is at least one other library that has a couple of 3D printers available at certain times, but the names escape me at the moment. I can find out if you would like to know, though.
For many libraries, the biggest issues are space and expertise. Most of the other librarians I have encountered who are interested in exploring those options say that they would like to start with 3D printers to gauge interest from the public.
If you are wanting to start a MakerSpace in your area but donāt have the money to jump in headfirst, you might want to start by seeing if any of your area libraries would be interested in working with you. Many can offer meeting space, if nothing else, and Iām sure most would be thrilled to have you bring in some 3D printers, eggbots, or other portable equipment for you to do demos and/or teach classes to the public (which might be a good way for you to find potential members).
Being able to advertise your group for free in the library can be a big benefit for new groups of any kind. In the libraries I have worked in we were very receptive to small groups coming in, and enjoyed helping them to gain members.
If you need contact names and information for librarians in your general area, let me know where you are and I would be happy to work you up a list of contact information.
- Jesse
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