Vermont's newest maker space, The Mint in Rutland, has been active since January, but it's hosting a grand-opening celebration this Saturday, August 12. The event coincides with the third annual Rutland Mini Maker Faire, also in the Mint's quarters on Quality Lane. A maker space is a communal workshop in which people who, well, make things pay a fee to access space, tools and equipment for their projects. The experience also enables makers to share ideas, collaborate and generally enhance creativity and entrepreneurship. Currently, the Mint has 30 members, eight of whom are on the operations committee, says Karen McCalla. The Mill River Union High School librarian is a member of that volunteer group, which runs the day-to-day affairs of the space. McCalla says that when the Mint had its soft opening in January, only operations committee members and others tangentially involved were able to access the equipment. In March, it opened to the public. Now, managers of the space want to broaden its reach. The Mint was formerly called the Greater Rutland Makerspace. North Clarendon entrepreneur Pete Gile, co-owner of Two Bad Cats, which manufactures farm equipment, coffee racks and boot warmers, initiated the concept in Rutland. "Our small business had [metalworking] equipment that was not being used very often," Gile says, "and sometimes we let other people use it anyways. So, after hearing about what the Generator in Burlington was doing, we thought about opening it up to the public." Support from the Rutland Economic Development Corporation took that concept to the next level. Lyle Jepson, executive director of REDC and dean of entrepreneurial programs at Castleton University, says a tour of the Generator gave him some ideas about how to support startups. "We immediately saw the opportunity that shared tools provide to people," Jepson says, "but it was even more than that. It was the interaction we saw between entrepreneurs helping each other with ideas." Jepson and Gile launched the first Rutland Mini Maker Faire in 2015 "to determine if there was interest in a maker space," Jepson says, "and immediately, there was." So REDC donated 8,000 square feet in one of its buildings for just that purpose. Similarly, REDC is covering the Mint's lease for three years, as well as utilities for two years. "There's no way we could have made this happen if we needed to be paying rent from the first month," says…
Vermont's newest maker space, The Mint in Rutland, has been active since January, but it's hosting a grand-opening celebration this Saturday, August 12. The event coincides with the third annual Rutland Mini Maker Faire, also in the Mint's quarters on Quality Lane. A maker space is a communal workshop in which people who, well, make things pay a fee to access space, tools and equipment for their projects. The experience also enables makers to share ideas, collaborate and generally enhance creativity and entrepreneurship. Currently, the Mint has 30 members, eight of whom are on the operations committee, says Karen McCalla. The Mill River Union High School librarian is a member of that volunteer group, which runs the day-to-day affairs of the space. McCalla says that when the Mint had its soft opening in January, only operations committee members and others tangentially involved were able to access the equipment. In March, it opened to the public. Now, managers of the space want to broaden its reach. The Mint was formerly called the Greater Rutland Makerspace. North Clarendon entrepreneur Pete Gile, co-owner of Two Bad Cats, which manufactures farm equipment, coffee racks and boot warmers, initiated the concept in Rutland. "Our small business had [metalworking] equipment that was not being used very often," Gile says, "and sometimes we let other people use it anyways. So, after hearing about what the Generator in Burlington was doing, we thought about opening it up to the public." Support from the Rutland Economic Development Corporation took that concept to the next level. Lyle Jepson, executive director of REDC and dean of entrepreneurial programs at Castleton University, says a tour of the Generator gave him some ideas about how to support startups. "We immediately saw the opportunity that shared tools provide to people," Jepson says, "but it was even more than that. It was the interaction we saw between entrepreneurs helping each other with ideas." Jepson and Gile launched the first Rutland Mini Maker Faire in 2015 "to determine if there was interest in a maker space," Jepson says, "and immediately, there was." So REDC donated 8,000 square feet in one of its buildings for just that purpose. Similarly, REDC is covering the Mint's lease for three years, as well as utilities for two years. "There's no way we could have made this happen if we needed to be paying rent from the first month," says…