Short Summary
Author: Katherine Estin
Short Summary
The Hive's mission is to provide access to knowledge and equipment so that Greenfield residents can achieve their creative potential. The organization asks; what does it mean to democratize the means of production? For The Hive’s initial cohort of five member-owners, it means expanding access to skills, equipment, and knowledge to make it possible for anyone to flourish as a maker.Located 39 miles north of Springfield, The Hive is a “makerspace”—a kind of community workshop—in Greenfield, Massachusetts. The membership-driven cooperative organization has been in its development phase since November 2020. Since receiving a planning grant from the MassDevelopment Collaborative Workspace Program in January 2020, the Hive has been busy assembling its physical workspace, developing clear policies, and envisioning its makerspace culture.
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Website address: hivemakerspace.org
Location: Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA
Profile
The Hive will consider itself “fully open” when it reaches a total of 15 member-owners using the collaborative space, but for now, being open means “serving [their] core members with the machines that are in use in the space.”In a region with an industrial past and a struggling present economy, the Hive hopes to tap into a “huge amount of creative potential.” The creative economy in Franklin County makes up almost 10 percent of its overall economy. The makerspace aims to make creative skills a viable economical pathway for community members.
Beyond the machines in the workspace—which currently include a vacuum press and table, a set of laptops, a 3-D printer, and a small benchtop CNC metal mill—the Hive makerspace will be modeled on a culture of active citizenship.
“A lot of what [we’re] trying to do is build a culture,” LaPierre said. “We’re going to be educating our member-owners about co-ops [and] the solidarity economy… we want to live those values so thoroughly in the culture of our organization and in our collaborations with other organizations.” A solidarity economy focuses on ecological stewardship, community needs, and local economic self-sufficiency.
Focused on local production for local needs, the Hive made about 1,000 face shields for distribution to health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortages due to failures in the global supply chain can devastate local communities, LaPierre said, underlining the importance of local production capacity.
Local institutions, including the Greenfield Mayor’s Office and Greenfield Community College, have been very supportive of the up-and-coming makerspace, with state representatives writing letters of support during the initial grant application process.
While there is a long list of potential members, and the Hive is getting ready to expand its core group to 15 member-owners, the cohort has remained small partially due to their emphasis on political agency. Those with access to makerspace skills have traditionally been white men, while the Hive is an explicitly feminist space. “If we didn’t pay a lot of attention to these things from the beginning, it would kind of become a white boys’ club,” LaPierre said.
Governance
As member-owners, LaPierre and the rest of the Hive team set policies for the makerspace. Currently, the group rules by consensus; as the Hive expands, LaPierre expects that member-owners will be responsible for allocating funds and forming committees. All members will have the option to become member-owners if they meet all necessary requirements, including a probationary period, agreement of current member-owners, and a $175 fee.The Hive sought inspiration from other cooperative spaces, but has not “been able to copy-paste [their policies and practices],” LaPierre said, noting that most makerspaces are run as nonprofits rather than co-ops. “We wanted the people who are using the space the most to also be the ones governing the space and making decisions about it.”
Finances
According to LaPierre, makers are usually “very self-sufficient individuals,” and the Hive aims to be free from dependence on grants. The Hive will have multiple streams of funding. In addition to the initial member-owner buy-in, there will be a tiered membership structure depending on individuals’ use of the space. With special equipment like 3-D printers, they might also pursue contract printing. Another potential revenue stream is retail sales of hobby kits and member-owner creations.Future Goals
Defining success, LaPierre said she wants all members of the Hive to “feel like they’re getting the value that they need to get out of it.” This might include the creation of new co-ops or small businesses, as well as new collaborative experiences. Already, introductions between member-owners led to a shared forge independent of the Hive. Other equipment like kilns or glassblowing studios could become satellite locations or their own outside co-ops.Makerspaces can be a source of hope in difficult times, LaPierre said. “It feels like we’re doing something that needs to be done and that feels really good even though our progress has been slow.”
“This is the way forward,” LaPierre said of makerspaces and the Hive. “This is how we’re going to survive ultimately.”