Man, what an amazing day I had yesterday!

[Matthew Dworman]

I've got a building that I am converting into shop space in Worcester, MA(check it out in the classifieds here) (http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=142713#post142713) , so I went to Boston yesterday to see another simmilar building in action. Imagine this: 70,000 square feet on 4 floors with 50 different wood shops occupying it! I got to hang out and chat with so many different people, see their shops and the work that they were doing... It was just amazing to be completely surrounded by the trade that I love so much. I saw some truly stunning work, and the coolest thing is that everyone was doing their own thing. Some people were doing inlay, others marquetry or carving. One guy was making a Diningroom set of 12 chairs, other people were working in cabinets. They all did their own stuff, but also relied on each other in that if Joe needed to make a template, rather than wasting all day making it, he'd pay the signmaker down the hall $30 to make it on his CNC router in a 1/2 hour. Or if Jim was too busy to take on a job, he'd sub it out the his neighbor upstairs. Frank would charge $x/hr to let you use his superwide belt thickness sander, and when you wanted some inlay done you could have Jane donwstairs do it for you. Basically this was an amazing pool of talent and resources that when combined, allowed everybody produce the things that they wanted to that matched their vision without being limited by lack of certain machinery, or not knowing how to do certain techniques. It was a woodworker's paradise. I hardly slept last night being so excited about seeing this. It was just amazing!

Matt

[Jack Hogoboom]

Matt,

That sounds very, very cool. :cool:

I wish you'd had a camera so we could better appreciate it.

Thanks for sharing.

Jack

[Jerry Olexa]

That does sound AMAZING..Wish we could see it?:)

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Wow! Now that would be a great way to do business! I'd bet that the customer of these woodworkers end up with some amazing peices!7

[Greg Mann]

Maybe Matt got a preview of WWer's heaven?:D

[Matthew Dworman]

There was some truly mindbending work being accomplished there. Check out this chair that John from Powderhouse woodworkers was building:

[Lou Morrissette]

Matt,

Were is this pllace going to be in Worcester?

Lou

[Rob Blaustein]

Matt,
The place in Boston sounds great. It also sounds like a production place, so I assume it's not open to hobbyists who want to watch people in action, is that right? I'd love to watch some pros in action doing woodworking. Come to think of it, I'm such a novice that I'd love to watch anyone do some woodworking. So any of you hobbyists in the Boston area who might need a helping hand some weekend day, drop me a note--I'd be happy to help out and pick up some tips.
Rob

[Gary Sutherland]

Matt...

I have only one thing to say.

I wish you were doing this in my area.

Gary

[Matthew Dworman]

Hi Lou - The building in Worcester is situated between Clark University and Holy Cross College in the Main South area - 1/2 of our street has been demolished and is being re-developed by the City of Worcester and Clark U. - There will be a new boys & girls club being built and a new track field for Clark as well as a bunch of new housing all right on this street. It's going to be a real nice area again.

Rob - the place in Boston was probably about 75% pros 25% amatuers with many of the "pro" workshops sub-letting some bench space with permission to use their equiptment to some amatuer woodworkers. Also keep in mind that pro doesn't mean production - ther was 1 production cabinet shop in the whole building - everybody else was sorking on 1 of a kind stuff... you know, 200 hours on a piece type of work..

[Jim Becker]

Also keep in mind that pro doesn't mean production - ther was 1 production cabinet shop in the whole building - everybody else was sorking on 1 of a kind stuff... you know, 200 hours on a piece type of work..
Ah...so these are "studios"... :D :p

BTW, there is another SMC member out there considering a similar arrangement in the mid-southwest. I hope he is following this thread as it kinda validates the idea relative to the necessary investment. Hopefully, he'll at least contact you privately to discuss the particulars.

[Alan Turner]

Matt -- Good to talk with you yesterday, and to learn more details of your plans. Best of luck. With 177,000 feet, it would be nice if you could get a glass blowing studio in there, just for the heat. That is not necessarily an idle comment as a friend of mine in Lancaster sublets wood shop space from a glass studio, and it is nice and warm, just from their ovens. Summer is a diff. story, of course.

Partners of mine and I close on an industrial building in the Germantown section of Phila. at the end of the month, and I am trying to fill at least the 2d floor with woodworkers. Both professional, and if possible studio makers as well. Amateurs are welcome. I posted an ad for it in the classified section here at SMC, and elsewhere.

I envision a shop where people are friendly and helpful, as furniture guys tend to be anyway. I think it will be a floor (12,500 ft.) without walls. I am putting a teaching studio in there, as well as my shop for major commission work. Just not enough room in the basement anymore, and the bride refuses to move. Imagine that.

I think one of the possibilities for woodworking tenants, esp. newer ones, is the person who lives in an apartment or condo, and shop space, with the attendant noise and dust, is just not possible. I have had a number of students in my hand tools course like that. They were enthusiastic, interested, but without the real possibility of a home shop. An away shop of reasonable size could be rented for about $41 per hundred feet of space per month, which is not too bad. It would be their own space. Larger shops would do better price wise, but I am hoping that some otherwise frustrated woodworkers will find a home there. If they want to share tools, so be it. At this time I do not want to be in the tool renting and maint. business, not to mention the potential liability issues, but if a couple of guys got together, they could easily have a decent size shared shop, and shared tools, and it would be pretty fair for all concerned. Might even learn a thing or two.

It will be interesting to see if this is all just a pipe dream, or whether it really will work out OK. Keep us posted.

Alan

[Matthew Dworman]

Hi Allan,
Likewise nice talking with you. I'm pretty excited about the project, and after seeing the building in Boston, I'm hopefull that I can create the same thing. There seems to be an abundance of Craftsmen in the Worcester area, without enough support for them though -
Matt

[Duane Mohney]

This is exactly the situation that brought me to the fourms. I am more looking for something like the Community Woodworking Club that is located in Billerica, MA but this is promising.

-Duane