Monthly Membership Committee Meeting
MS-L November 21 6:30pm to 7:30pm
Leesburg Workday November 9 9am - 2pm
Check the white board in the main room for additional tasks
Purcellville Workday December 7 9am - 12pmThere's something for everyone - get those volunteer hours in!
New Member Orientation
MS-L 11/19/2024 6:00 - 8:00 pm
register online
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Message from the President Nedim Ogelman
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Greetings!I hope you’re having an enjoyable, creative, collaborative fall! I
continue to get to know our members and learn from mentors. I appreciate
all the volunteers present and past who step up to keep Makersmiths
running smoothly, from the stewards, to the board, to the teachers, to the
committee members, and other volunteers. Just a reminder to all members. We are a volunteer member organization.
There are many volunteer opportunities. For example, on the first Saturday
of each month, Makersmiths-Purcellville needs volunteers to help clean the
Green Room and the red brick building’s classroom, sweep the workshop
areas, clean dusty windows, and empty the trash in the dumpster. Dave
Painter will post in the Slack Purcellville Channel any other jobs that may
need to be done. For example, this month volunteers are finishing off the
end bay and adding electricity. On the second Saturday of each month, Makersmiths-Leesburg needs
volunteers to help clean bathrooms, vacuum, dust and empty the trash in
each workspace. John Carter, Oliver Arend and others need help readying
the Electronics Lab at MSL. There are other volunteer opportunities, too. The newsletter committee
would like a few news reporters that will take pictures and tell short stories
about classes and events happening in both Makersmiths’ locations. Please
join the Slack Newsletter-Committee channel and let us know you are
willing to help. Sally Soles was just appointed by the Board of Directors to be the new
Marketing chairperson. Please join the Marketing Slack Channel or email
her at state888@gmail.com and let her know you would be interested in
helping with information fairs, festivals and other marketing tasks.
Thank you for considering how you will be a Makersmiths volunteer. Also,
let me know if you have any questions, comments or needs. Nedim Ogelman
Nedim.ogelman@makersmiths.org
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Update from the Board of Directors Meeting Bo Wernick
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Hello from the Makersmiths Board of Directors. Last
week was a busy meeting with a lot of new initiatives. First, we would
like to welcome John Carter as the new Leesburg Site steward. This is a
big job and we have been lucky enough to have had Jesse Maloney at the
helm previously. We would like to thank Jesse for all her hard work as
she steps down and offer our support for John as he steps in to support
all the stewards and site activities at MSL. We would also like to
welcome Sally Soles as the new chair of the marketing committee. This is
another big role that we are excited to have filled as we plan for
future growth in the areas of new membership, community engagement,
fundraising, and partnerships. The board will be working with Sally to
develop a marketing plan, and we welcome any community ideas or input
about your vision of the future of the makerspace. We
also have a new official program at MS, Leatherworking! We are grateful
to have the talented and dedicated Diane Bollinger leading the program
as the leatherworking steward. Her program will include new tools,
equipment, and some consumables to allow for more classes, individual
projects, and hopefully some interesting tie-ins with the other amazing
areas of our space. (Leather bound books and rich mahogany perhaps?) Our
IT steward Scott Silvers will be leading an effort to upgrade and
repair the existing security camera system. We have heard that some of
the cameras are in need of replacement, and a few areas could benefit
from an additional cameras. We discussed the pros and cons of more
security and came to the conclusion that the relatively small cost and
oversight is well worth the improved security and reduction in risk.
Thank you Scott for your efforts to maintain and improve the space. Finally,
we approved several motions to complete the buildout downstairs.
Although some of the expenses were not approved in an effort to control
costs, we plan to complete the infrastructure, add furniture, improve
the electronics work area, and add a modest AV system to allow for more
effective team meetings and remote presentations. We look forward to
finishing up this expansive effort before the end of the year. Thank you
to Mark Millsap and everyone involved in the planning and legwork
required for such a dramatic improvement to the space. |
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Makersmiths Members Artwork on Display Diane Painter
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Last month we reported that Sally Soles was asked by Amie Ware, the Parks
and Recreation Division Manager for the town of Purcellville for artwork
created by Makersmiths members to be displayed at the town hall art
gallery from October 1 through December 31. On Monday, October 7 from
5:30 to 7 p.m. the artists were honored at a reception that was open to the public. The Makersmiths members with art on display through December
are: Christine Dinger, Ken Fuentecilla, Dawn Martin, Makayla (Kayl) Martin, Ralph Pugh, Em Wang, Christa Stern and Diane Painter.
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What You Learn at Makersmiths Does Not Mean It Must Stay at
Makersmiths Robin Schenck |
We had an event at school the other day and all the students were given
shirts that they were supposed to wear. A teacher sent out an email that one
of her students’ shirts had a hole in it. Apparently, only the exact number of
shirts were ordered, so we had no extras. Low and behold, I happened to
have my sewing machine in the back of my car, from the Makersmiths’ Sewing Social the week prior. I brought my sewing machine in and thanks
to the amazing teachers at the sewing social (Amy Copley and Diane Painter), I knew how to repair the seam and was able to make a student’s day as she was able to press the foot. Together we repaired the shirt right then and there in the front office. I now have 3 hemming jobs, too!
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Twelve Days of Holiday Gift-Making |
Members of the Scheduling Committee worked with workshop
instructors and chose 12 days from Nov 2 through December 8 when
Makersmiths will offer classes to members and the public devoted to
holiday gift-making. The purpose is to offer make-and-take classes to our
members and hopefully general public folks with the possibility of attracting
new members. On November 1, six people came to the Make a Leather Tree Ornament
class given by Diane Bollinger at MS-L. What a wonderful way to kick-off
this holiday gift-making initiative!
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Then on November 3, Sew a Scrunchie in the morning and Sew Your Own
Holiday PJ’s in the afternoon involved a total of seven people making good
use of the Makersmiths-Leesburg sewing machines under the careful
guidance of Robin Schenck and Amy Copley!
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Makersmiths Education Initiatives
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KidWind News Diane Painter
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On Oct 12, Diane Painter worked with KidWind coach trainers from
Shenandoah University, the University of Maryland, and James Madison
University, to offer KidWind coach training workshops. One workshop
involved coaching KidWind wind turbine teams and the other workshop
involved coaching solar teams. Twenty teachers and parents from Northern
Virginia schools and eight Shenandoah University education majors
attended the workshops. Four of these folks are Makersmiths members:
Mike Asaro, Chris Cook, Christopher Archie, and Oliver Arend. Chris Cook
plans to coach a KidWind team at his school, Flint Hill. Mike Asaro and
Oliver Arend will be coaches for Makersmiths KidWind middle school teams. Christopher Archie will coach a KidWind team where he teaches at Lightridge HS in Loudoun County.
Andrew Taylor will coach Middle School solar youth on Saturday afternoons
in MSL’s basement classroom from 2PM-4PM beginning December 7 until March 8.
Justin McMillen and Maria Busuioceanu will coach High School solar youth
on Sunday afternoons in MSL’s basement classroom from 1PM-4PM beginning December 8 until March 9.
Diane Painter and Mike Asaro will coach wind turbine youth in grades 4-12
on Saturday mornings at the Painter’s home from 9am-11am beginning December 7 until March 8 and will use the MS-P facility as needed.
Oliver Arend will coach Middle School wind turbine youth in grades 6-8 on Friday evenings from 6-8PM. His team will primarily meet in his home in Great Falls but use the MS-L facility as needed. All the teams will compete in the Northern Virginia Regional KidWind
Challenge at Shenandoah University from 8:30 AM-3:30PM on Friday, March 14.
Youth indicating a desire to return to their last year’s KidWind teams are
now pre-registered. This allowed us to determine how many slots are
available on each team for this year. Please note, KidWind’s 2024-2025
rulebook calls for limiting solar teams to no more than 4 team members per team so we need to limit solar teams to no more than four youth per team.
If you are interested in having your child learn about KidWind, please come
with your child to the KidWind parent’s meeting on November 9 at 1PM in
Makersmiths Leesburg’s basement classroom. If you intend to come to that
parent information meeting, please register your attendance at
https://makersmiths.org/event-5910972 At that time, registration for new team members will open. Questions? Contact: Diane.Painter@makersmiths.org
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Harvest Festival
Diane Painter
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On October 19, Makersmiths members Amy Copley, Heather Lataille, and Diane Painter set up and manned an information booth at Catoctin Elementary’s annual Harvest Festival. For three hours our booth was swamped with families learning about Makersmiths, what we do, and looking at example items that were created by our members. Thirty people signed a visitor’s log indicating an interest in learning more about our organization. Among many different responses to the log’s question, Any specific class or other interests? were responses that expressed interest in taking classes related to woodworking, welding, sewing, making tea candles, and stain glass. |
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Having a booth at festivals, fairs, and other community events lets folks
know about Makersmiths and the benefits of being a member. Sally Soles is
our new Marketing chairperson. Please let her know if you would like to
volunteer for future events such as this. She can be reached at: state888@gmail.com
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Getting to Know the Cricut with Miniature House Building Diane Painter
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In one of the Getting to Know the Cricut classes at Makersmiths, Diane
Painter held two miniature haunted house build workshops in late
September. Two adults and two children came to learn how to use a Cricut
machine, downloaded miniature house templates, and began the process of
creating miniature haunted houses. One child, ten-year old Ella, submitted
her house named Vampire Villa to the 2024 Halloween House contest
sponsored by Paperglitterglue.com. Ella won the Ten and Under category
and will be receiving an Amazon gift card! Diane Painter also submitted her
miniature house to the same contest. It is named Spider Hollow.
The contest’s sponsor, Lucy Foxcroft, states: Really, the entire purpose of
this is to have fun and to share the fun. Simply make a house that expresses
a Fall or Halloween season theme or atmosphere and enjoy the process, the
fine company.
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The next Getting to Know the Cricut class will be December 6 at MSP’s
lower building classroom from 6-8:30 PM. We will be making Gingerbread
houses, just in time for winter holiday decorating. Register here at:
Cricut Gingerbread Cardstock House
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Red Tool Classes are an important step in your Maker journey!
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MS-L
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MS-L Big Red CnCc Operation
11/13/2024 6:30pm - 9:30pm
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MS-L BN2-20 Red Tool Print Vinyl Stickers
11/18/2024 6:00pm - 9:00pm
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MS-L Laser Cutter Red Tool Rotary Tool
11/23/2024 6:00pm - 9:00pm
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MS-P
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MS-P Woodworking Red Tool (Advanced)
11/17/2024 1:00pm - 3:00pm
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MS-P Woodworking Red Tool (Basics)
11/18/2024 6:30pm - 9:00pm
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MS-P Metalworking Red Tool (Basics)
11/20/2024 6:00pm - 8:30pm
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Makersmiths runs on volunteers! Consider teaching a class or holding a workshop! check out the #class_planning_and_requests channel on Slack and join a meeting to get some help with your idea!
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Tool Authorization Groups
Dean Williamson
Makersmiths
has lots of cool and useful tools, machines, and equipment. Many of
them require training or authorization before you can use the
equipment. The training can be as simple as an orientation, to a more
formal “red tool” class, to demonstrating proficiency to the tool steward. Such mandatory training helps ensure that all users understand
how to use the equipment properly and safely, thus helping to keep the
equipment running smoothly and minimize maintenance downtime as well as
ensuring the safety of our members.
Below
is a link to the list of tools which require training and authorization from a Steward. Please contact the
steward for more information about each tool. This list is not
exhaustive of the tools available at Makersmiths and is updated
regularly as we get new equipment or as needed: |
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By clicking above, you can view the most current list posted on the Makersmiths wiki. Consider
checking it out, you might discover a new tool that you didn’t realize
Makersmiths had. |
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Makersmith Board Officers
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Board/Officer Name
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Position
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Term
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Brad Hess
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Board Member
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2022-2025
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Bo Wernick
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Board Member/Secretary
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2024-2027
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Scott Silvers
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Board Member
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2023-2026
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Evin Grano
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Board Member
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2024-2027
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Jonathan White
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Board Member/Chairperson
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2023-2026
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Jennifer Chu
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Board Member
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2024-2027
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Nedim Ogelman
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President
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2024-2025
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Mary Waldron
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Treasurer
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2024-2025
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Did You Know...
You can find the newsletters from the last several years archived on our website? |
The
Newsletter could always use some new blood - share your projects, pitch
some article ideas, tell us about something cool you've seen in your
Maker travels!
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Makersmiths Leesburg: 106 Royal St SW, Leesburg, VA 20175 Makersmiths Purcellville: 785 S. 20th St, Purcellville, VA 20132 |
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