Lowell Makes

• Jewelry-making techniques such as soldering, texturing, beading, stone setting, chain, and rings
• Creating with Precious Metal Clay (a unique moldable clay containing silver and fired in a kiln)
• Making leaded and copper foil stained glass art
• Kiln-based traditional stained glass painting, fused, and slumped glass objects
• Exploring ways to combine these complementary arts, such as crafting a glass pendant using jewelry techniques

• Karen Christians - Member of Lowell Makes, Founder of Metalwerx and the jewelry shop at Artisan's Asylum, studio member of Western Avenue, professional artist consulting on shop design, tool acquisition, and curriculum development.
• Lynn Desmarais - Chair of Membership Committee at Lowell Makes, metalsmithing enthusiast, and project manager.
• Sam Burdett - Former President of Lowell Makes, experienced stained glass artist, and driving force behind purchasing our 26,000 sq. ft. historic mill building in 2020.
• Roberta Bizier - Member of Lowell Makes, and experienced artist consulting on fused glass methods and materials.

Last year, with the help from dozens of individual donors, Lowell Makes bought our own building! This incredible achievement gave us a secure, permanent home for our (small but growing) non-profit makerspace. We overcame some huge hurdles, most notably a global pandemic, to emerge stronger than ever in 2021. We are so grateful to our community for demonstrating their commitment to Lowell Makes.

Now we need your help to protect our investment. This harsh winter has exposed a few leaking spots in our membrane roof above our main warehouse. This is the part of the makerspace that contains some of our most popular shops - Cosplay, Ceramics, Paint, Plastics, Wood, Metal, Bike, and Rapid Prototyping shops. It's also the section where we just completed our new build-out. 

We want to be responsible about caring for our home and fix these leaks as soon as possible before they escalate. The total quote for repairs is $25,000. We have applied for a few grants, but need to raise matching funds on our own. We are hoping to raise $10,000 toward these repairs, and we hope you can pitch in!

Learn more about Lowell Makes at: www.lowellmakes.com

Lowell Makes is a collection of workshops and laboratories where the community of Lowell, Massachusetts can learn by doing. We provide the space, tools, and expertise to help our Makers craft, invent, and create new ventures. We are fueled by the passion and volunteerism of our makers, but we need your support to sustain our mission.

In May 2020, with your support, we purchased a building in Lowell at 150 Western Ave. Unit 3, adjacent to a thriving community of artists and makers. We are excited to see what the next phase of growth will bring. We continue to need your support to finish the build out -see details below!



In the six years since our founding, our membership has grown and our space has morphed to fit the evolving needs of its makers. We have worked hard to keep the cost of membership accessible to anyone with the drive to create.

In addition to providing a space for our members to make, we also serve as a hub of creativity for the community:
·      We teach skills such as basic woodworking, fiber arts, pottery, welding, photography, CNC, and 3D solid modeling. In 2018, we hosted 40 workshop sessions for our members and the public.
·      Our Cosplay shop hosts regular "Cosplay Fridays" and our Dungeons & Dragons shop hosts multiple tables of games each Sunday. These events are free for members and a small fee for the public.
·      We organize and host the annual Mill City Skill Share, a free day of classes for the entire community.
·      We open our space for other non-profits; for example, a glass-etching fundraiser to benefit the Lowell Humane Society.
·      We are home to multiple small businesses  and have proudly watched members incubate and launch their own creative ventures .

Our new space will enable our existing shops to grow, with room for new shops,  ideas, and ventures to launch. Current shops include.
·      Machine shop
·      Wood shop
·      Cosplay
·      Crafting & Fabrics
·      Rapid Prototyping & Lasercutting
·      Bike repair
·      Pottery & Ceramics
·      3D Printing
·      Electronics
·      Fermentation
·      Photography
·      Scanning Electron Microscope

What will your donation mean to us?
·       A  $50 donation would be equivalent to funds raised by one month of maker membership
·       A $500 donation would be equivalent to funds raised by one year of maker membership
·       A $1,000 donation gives us 200 square feet of makerspace (equivalent to one new shop)
·       A $5,500 donation gives us 1,100 square feet, or the area of our current wood shop
·       A $30,000 donation gives us 6,000 square feet, or the area of our current downstairs workspace (including the cosplay shop)

Donors above $500 will be recognized on our website and will be honored by a gear on our wall of donors.

Curious about our space? Come to our weekly Open House every Wednesday night at 6pm to meet makers and take a tour!