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About

We are a maker/hacker/whatever space and community workshop just getting started in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The Chatt*lab logo is the asterisk. This is a representation of cross-linked resources and interests; and more importantly as a call to all makers to fill in the wildcard and make the space in your own image.

Some brief historical babble:
-Pre-Chatt*lab efforts were valiantly made by CHUGALUG members over the years which lay groundwork for our efforts. We could not be successful without the learnings and contributions from this group. For that we tip our white hats.

-In Jan/Feb 2012, a couple of posts on CHUGALUG inquired about the spectre of a makerspace. These were promptly shot down as ‘idealistic’ from previous experiences but those inquiries did not fall to the wayside.

-A series of makerspace planning meetings were announced in March 2012.

-Local makerspaces in Rome, Huntsville, Nashville and Memphis connected with us and vocalized their support for our efforts.

-After ~6 weeks of community meetings, a location was identified and secured, and a few key individuals were identified to work on making the space habitable, safe and properly equipped to a point to ensure some degree of success, loosely defined.

-These individuals, called founders, are not an exclusive club of elitists, but the poor suckers who spoke up too vociferously, had shiny metal objects in their basements, an excess of cash on hand, or, suffer the dreaded curse of just being too damn stubborn to stay away.

-This loose, grass roots crew has been carrying the torch of Chatt*lab from those early days; pushing for the charge given by the community: ‘It shall come to pass. Go forth and MAKE. Go forth and make this space for us!’

The rest is just hard work. Enough said.

15 Responses to “About”

  1. grady says:

    My friend and I are highly interested. Please contact me asap.
    Thanks

    • We are working hard to get there. Realistically we are talking end of year. Trying to keep expectations low and exceed them. Please RSS us and keep an eye on us.

  2. Kate Warren says:

    Would love to talk about art and mechanics over coffee sometime.

  3. Gene says:

    Hi
    I am student at UC Berkeley assisting Professor Gorbatai(Haas School of Business) in researching the history of makerspaces. We saw your makerspace listed on the hackerspace.org wiki and would like to conduct a brief interview at your convenience, preferably over the phone, to get to know your space in greater detail. How and when would it be best to contact you?
    Thanks,
    Gene

  4. David Bley says:

    I live in Ringgold. I have been a maker for most of my 60+ years. I have > 30 years experience designing electronic medical products in Chattanooga. I have free time but have physical limitations. I would like to offer myself as a resource to makers in Chatt*lab if you have use for my skills.

    • Jason Brown says:

      Hi David, it is great to hear from you. Am I mistaken or did we meet at the Maker Fair in Atlanta last year?
      We are slowly getting things together so stay tuned.

      • David Bley says:

        Jason,

        My wife and I drove down to the Atlanta Mini Maker Faire and drove all over GA Tech campus (even stopped several times to ask directons!) but were unable to locate it (our GPS was less than useful). Sorry that I am so late in replying. I follow your blog on feedly and had not been looking at the comments.

        I am curious – have you any affiliation with 4th Floor?

  5. Hi,
    DW and I are considering a relo from Johnson City to Chattanooga. Would y’all mind telling me approximately where in Chatt you are located? Basic neighborhood will do if you don’t want to divulge specifics.
    Ideally, I like to be able to walk to the things I am most interested in.
    Looking forward to working with you!
    Thanks.

    • Our current space is adjacent to St. Elmo at the base of Lookout Mountain. We are working on new space to handle what we think the needs are for the community. It is moving much slower than we planned. We will be in St. Elmo or closer to downtown most likely. I hope that is helpful.

  6. Cindy Thomas says:

    Hello! We are a small maker education company that will be putting on a summer tech camp in your area. We were wondering if we could share the information with you? Please feel free to contact me.
    Thank you!
    Cindy

  7. Ben Lang says:

    Hi,

    We’ve just launched a 3D Printing Community Map and I wanted to invite you to add your makerspace to the map:

    http://www.inside3dp.com/global-3dprinting-map/

    Let me know if you have any questions.

    Ben

  8. Ben Cairns says:

    Do you still have open house every first Tuesday night at 7:00 PM?
    I have someone who would like to check it out (me as well).

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