Kristin Hosfelt - KOBI5
March 17, 2017
Talent, Ore. — There’s a lot of Talent in Talent, and a prominent website is taking notice. The e-commerce site, Etsy, has named Talent an official “Etsy Maker City”. It was one of only 13 cities in North America to be invited to the company’s inaugural summit. Now stakeholders are working to expand on that.
Ryan Wilcoxson is one of a handful of local makers looking to create a designated space within their city to inspire their neighbors.
“A maker space is kind of like a fitness gym,” Wilcoxson says, “instead of treadmills and personal trainers you have tools and mentors.”
The non-profit behind the effort, is called Talent Maker City. Board vice-chair, Allison French says their goal is to secure a space within the Gateway Development Project.
“If people are making things and selling them here it actually will draw a lot of business to downtown and get people walking around and establish that sense of community,” French adds.
Classes, memberships and grants would likely help fund the space. And whether you’re looking to find a hobby, pick-up a life skill, or start a business, the hope is to provide the tools and the resources all under one roof.
“Skills that are disappearing, working with your hands,” Wilcoxson says “-you can go and just get exposure, try it out yourself, make things, fix things.”
“To actually be part of the impetus to provide that inspiration for people to not only create, but to make money from the creations is so exciting,” French says.
This summer, the non-profit will be providing free summer classes for 7th through 9th graders to show them a few maker skills. If you’d like to see the maker space come to life, click HERE.