SPARK MAKERSPACE PREPARES TO OPEN ITS DOORS TO COMMUNITY

New London, CT (Feb. 5, 2016) – Spark Makerspace is turning the page on a new chapter in the life of what was for many years the El ‘n’ Gee Club at 86 Golden Street in New London. This long-time music club now houses equipment and tools for making things—a full woodshop, commercial kitchen, 3D printers, CNC machine and laser cutter, robotics lab, screen printing equipment, and more.

Spark is a new organization bringing the sharing economy into southeastern CT with multiple collaborative workspaces for people who like to make things and make things happen. This membership-based nonprofit is opening in March with two adjacent locations in the heart of downtown. Just doors away at 13 Golden St., the members of Spark have two large storefront spaces for retail and co-working for shared office, conference, event, and classroom space.

Spark is unique in that it is meshing together the makerspace concept with co-working and retail in a cooperative business structure. Members will pay monthly dues with a reduced rate of $30 / month for Working Members who put time in each month by teaching a class, working a reception or retail shift, or helping with a community project. General Members pay $55 / month to use the spaces with no obligation to work. This income will be supported by classes, grants, donations, and eventually a percentage of profits from businesses started within the Spark community.

The founders of Spark have an agenda to revitalize New London by helping area residents develop skills, pursue interests, and collaborate with the expectation that this will lead to new businesses and projects to improve the region. “Spark is exactly what New London needs right now,” said George Ryan, one of the organization’s founders, “we’re expecting it to do great things for the local economy by helping people create their own opportunities.”

The organization is running a Kickstarter campaign throughout the month of February to raise funds and awareness as part of initiating a membership-drive now that the spaces are close to opening. Much of the equipment has been donated by community members eager to have access to a more robust shop with bigger pieces of equipment and a community of people showing up to learn and more directly contribute to New London’s revitalization.

The organization and its members expect to provide a supportive environment for small businesses to start, particularly within the community of members. Spark intends to push the frontier of the sharing economy by growing into a cooperative that starts other cooperatives, utilizing shared resources including a development fund to seed projects.

The State of Connecticut has taken notice. Last year Spark was awarded a $20,000 grant from CTNEXT, a program of the Department of Economic and Community Development dedicated to helping growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

New London Mayor Michael Passero praised the organization for its potential to drive economic and business activity in downtown New London. “I think Spark is an exciting addition for New London. The variety of unique products that will be produced by its members will help support New London as a destination for small business and industry.”

For more information, please visit www.spark.coop

y>