Do it yourself

Quote: Fleastiff

That's the spirit! Though actually I think these public maker spaces are morphing to a mini-TechShop and will eventually morph into a full-blown techshop.

Its a question of geography and outreach. A TechShop has only a certain geographical reach beyond which it makes no sense for a craftsman to trek. He can beg, borrow or steal a massive instrument of some sort rather than drive an excessive distance to use one on the cheap. Its also a question of inventory, TechShops had certain small items that they sold and they rented out time on large expensive manufacturing equipment.

These community run or volunteer run Maker Spaces offer collaborative office space, techie interaction via formal conference room rental as well as techie interaction via water cooler chats. They offer sleep over bunks, specialized computer equipment and high speed data links. Sure it becomes a battle as to what tools they should buy but once that decision is made there should be enough volume to cover the capital outlay since such decisions are usually voted on by the membership.

Quote: Ayecarumba

If the shop is closing for good, are they liquidating their assets?

Quote: Dan Woods; CEO, TechShop, Inc.

TechShop, Inc. has reached an agreement with a third party to acquire all company assets. The new entity, TechShop 2.0, LLC, plans to re-open as many stores as possible, as soon as possible. The acquiring partnership is led by Dan Rasure and Bill Lloyd (Owner of BHL Services Inc. of Minneapolis).

On November 17th, just hours before we had planned to file Chapter-7, Mr. Rasure approached with an interest in acquiring the entire company. Being struck by his sincerity, business acumen, and resolve to re-open shops quickly, TechShop, Inc's Board and a small team of former employees embarked on a non-stop eleven-day effort. The end result, an arrangement with Mr. Rasure and Lloyd to re-open the next iteration of TechShop.

Throughout this effort our goal was to restore service to communities and members, rehire as many employees as possible, and provide a more sustainable path forward for TechShop's members.

None of TechShop's Directors and Officers have or will receive so much as a dollar from this deal -- either through equity, cash payments, or compensation.

TechShop 2.0's shop re-opening schedule and member re-engagement plan are currently being finalized. This information will be released in the coming days. TechShop 2.0 will work with members at each location for the purpose of assisting anyone who may need to remove personal materials from one of our locations.

For those who submitted email to trustee.techshop@gmail.com we will be accessing the account and responding to all of you as promptly as possible. For now, I invite you to visit TechShop.com and stay tuned to @techshop for further developments and reopening details.

Announcing the closure of TechShop was the most difficult thing I've had to do in my career. When the opportunity for a different path forward presented itself, we did whatever humanly possible to work with Dan Rasure and make TechShop 2.0 a reality. I want to thank Dan and Bill for their perseverance and commitment to re-kindle the dream that is TechShop.

Quote: Fleastiff

Well, I'm glad its going to have a 2.0 version but I fear the results may not differ much.
A lot of businesses are sold or closed for 'health reasons' but what that often means is the owner is sick of the business. Perhaps a new owner will do better with it.