The Make Lounge
Encouraging busy beavers to "meet people and make stuff," The Make Lounge in London is a contemporary craft school meets social dive, complete with wine and nibbles, music, and of course, stylish design projects.
Started by Jennifer Pirtle, a health and lifestyle journalist, The Make Lounge was born in 2007 when she realized that she "longed for a tactile experience after spending hours working at my computer each day." So she rented a space and began a series of craft workshops, while meeting like-minded crafty folks in a party atmosphere. (My fingers are itching as I write this...when is one coming to the U.S.?!)
There's a full schedule of workshops on their calendar, with titles like 'Crochet Camp,' 'Zippers Clinic,' and 'Knockout Knickers.' It seems to be a little more organized than a typical drop-by-and-hang-out place—for workshops, you register online, classes are intimate (8 people per workshop), and materials are provided. Private events (especially those 'hen parties') are common, and they are even launching a retail shop in September 2009.
With buzzing activity mostly between the hours of 6:30-9:30pm, The Make Lounge seems to fill an after-work niche in an increasingly DIY-oriented community. Perhaps 'happy hour' will now become 'crafty hour'?
From PSFK
Photos by the make lounge
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One of these will come to your town when you, or a group of your friends, take the initiative to start one. ;-) There's no reason this couldn't be duplicated in any urban area these days. It doesn't need to start in a storefront. It could start in a garage, or, embracing the happy hour idea, in a bar or restaurant conference room.
There is a shop called Make in Dallas that opened in 2005. I guess we're ahead of the curve here in Texas. http://www.themakesite.com
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