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Randy Lisbona needed a specialized tool to replace bushings in his mountain bike fork. The bike shop didn't have it. The tool cost $1,000.
"So I made the tool," said Lisbona, a mechanical engineer. "It was pretty fun."
That's what happens at Dallas Makerspace, the 36,000-square-foot workshop on Monetary Lane where members build what they can't buy.
Down the hall, Megan Murray crafts glass beads for a dress bound for the Glass Art Society Conference in Corning, N.Y. In the digital media lab, another member designs Casablanca-style family portraits for custom Christmas t-shirts. Someone is firing ceramics. Someone else is learning to TIG weld.
This is Dallas Makerspace, a 15-year-old creative playground that most North Texans have never heard of.
"Inevitably, people are walking through on their tours, and they're just like, 'This place shouldn't exist,'" said Keith Kubal, chair of 3D fabrication and digital media.
Started in 2011 by 14 people sharing tools in a garage, the nonprofit now serves nearly 2,000 members with everything from automotive lifts to kilns, CNC plasma cutters to a fully equipped darkroom, all run entirely by volunteers.
"It amazes me that it works as well as it does," Lisbona said.
But work it does, powered by $70 monthly memberships that give round-the-clock access to industrial-grade equipment most people couldn't fit in their garages or afford.
Murray joined as a glass artist hoping for flexible studio hours. She started teaching on a crème brûlée torch strapped to a table.
"But I went to the board and said, hey, there's a real group that wants to do glass. And so we got actual torches and a nice setup," Murray said.
That grassroots approach defines the space. When photographers wanted to shoot film, they got a darkroom. When ceramicists needed more pottery wheels, the board bought two more.
"The makerspace really is a space that's made by its membership for its membership," Kubal said.
The model attracts an eclectic crowd. One member, founder of Dallas Center for Photography, teaches Lightroom classes. Fashion students use industrial sewing machines. Entrepreneurs have won National Science Foundation grants for makerspace projects.
Murray's glass work earned a blue ribbon at the State Fair of Texas. Now she's collaborating on that glass dress with fellow members.
"My favorite thing is to walk around and see what everyone is doing because people are so excited to share," Murray said.
The space runs on committee governance wood shop, metal shop, ceramics, digital media. Volunteers teach classes, lead tours and maintain equipment. Lisbona co-chairs the metal shop. Murray serves as VP of marketing. Both work full-time jobs.
"We always tell people, if you know something and you want to teach, we want you to teach," Murray said. "That's something that we love to do is just share our knowledge with each other."
The ceramics crew hosts an annual throwdown with challenges like two people throwing pottery on one wheel, each using only one hand. The printmaking group rents a steamroller to press massive prints by driving over them.
For Lisbona, who resisted joining for years, the community proved addictive.
"Most people join for access to tools that they would never have at home," he said. "But then once you get to know people, it really becomes more of a social thing."
"I came for the tools, but I stayed for the people," said Kubal.
That fellowship transformed Murray's social circle. "I think our whole friend group is now makerspace people," she said.
The biggest obstacle, according to Murray, isn't funding or equipment, it's invisibility.
"I think awareness is our largest driver right now," Murray said. "People aren't aware we are here."
The organization hopes to add 500 members and secure more corporate partnerships beyond current sponsors Mouser Electronics, Johnson Plastics, RoboDK and Meow Wolf.
Kubal's advice for curious newcomers: Do the thing that brought you, then explore.
"Plan on spending a few extra minutes wandering around," he said. "Before you know it, you'll be spending all your free time at the makerspace."
Dallas Makerspace is at 1825 Monetary Lane #104 in Carrollton. Tours run Saturdays 10 a.m.-noon and Thursdays 7-9 p.m. Membership is $70 monthly for 24/7 access, with discounts for veterans, first responders, seniors and students. Family add-ons cost $20. Visit dallasmakerspace.org for more information.
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