FAQ

Visit us at 2701 22nd St SE in Salem during one of our weekly open houses to checkout the space. If after the open house you would like to sign up, a board member can assist you with setting up your $50/mo recurring dues (plus any sign on expenses, if applicable) and verifying that the Code of Conduct and Waiver forms have been submitted.

Note: Monthly dues are setup through Givelively. You will be prompted to create a username and password with Givelively you can use to manage your membership payments.

Open houses are every Saturday from 3:30pm-4pm at 2701 22nd St SE in Salem. Please arrive no later than 3:35 for a guided tour.

We post all of our open-to-the-public events (no membership required) on our Meetup page at https://www.meetup.com/salem-makerspace/. You will need to create a Meetup username and login to RSVP for events and see detailed event info.

We use Slack to communicate regularly which has well over 100 local makers and growing. For an invitation to join us on Slack, please request a link on the CONTACT page at https://sparkstudiosalem.com/contact/.

$50 per month, and for those with the means to donate more to jump-start our break-even point, please do. We will need several people beyond the board to at least initially do this to give us a chance to start with a non-trivial space that we can grow into.

NOTE: A sign up fee is not being collected while we are starting off, but will likely go into effect towards the end of 2022. The sign up fee is projected to be $45 each time starting a patronage (either the first time or returning after a lapse). This will cover initial key setup and general orientation, and also discourage unpredictable on/off monthly dues that hurt long-term financial stability/viability of the space. Early members will avoid the startup fee.

The goal is to have a RFID access system tied to an accounting system of paid dues, so we can have broad hours. Before that, we will pick several time slots per week that best suit the needs of the most people, and give a chance to break-in the space together. We are working with those that are willing to volunteer their time to make the space open for members. We do not have a schedule at this time and are communicating open hours for members via Slack.

• Current equipment:
  • Laser cutter – Glowforge Pro
  • Milling machine – RF30
  • Woodworking equipment
  • Sandblasting machine (to be evaluated)
  • Metal tubing bender
  • 220v Air compressor
  • 3D printers
  • Projector
  • Too much to list here and new equipment coming in regularly
• Planned equipment (These are examples):
  • MIG welder
  • Vinyl cutter
  • Plasma cutter
  • Electronics test equipment (e.g. oscilloscope)
  • T-shirt press
  • Spot welder
  • CNC router
  • Industrial sewing machine

What type of equipment to invest in will be thoughtfully considered and decided by the board or designated committee, and will be a reflection of what best serves the interests of our community.

Some of the equipment, materials, and classes have additional costs. These fees are determined by committee chairs and instructors. We try to keep costs low for our patrons and cover as much as we can from monthly dues. For example the laser cutter will have associated training, materials, and metered-usage costs.

Only during open to the public events while immediately accompanied by a guardian. As we better understand what types of equipment will be present in the space and the dangers posed this will likely evolve.

To encourage related communities, subscribing patrons can request a time slot for other groups in which they participate, to use our space on a one-off or monthly basis, if one or more spark patrons vouch they will be attending / monitoring space usage.

TBD on dedicated storage being available on a limited space-rental basis, but short of that, all non-space tools and materials should leave with their owners without case-by-case permission in special circumstances. Junk overflow is a perpetual concern in shared work spaces.