7

SPARK

Letters

REGULAR

AMBITION

Do you reckon I can fit a forge in

my third-floor flat? I want one now,

especially if I can have a basketball

hoop and a load of cool flags.

Michael

Berlin

Ben says: I assume you refer to

our interview with blacksmith,

philosopher, and all round good egg

Alec Steele? Go for it. It's just a fancy

oven, so put it in the kitchen. Sell all

your possessions and start learning

how to make Damascus steel.

DIVERSITY

Jenny List’s feature on diversity in

makerspaces hit the nail on the head,

not least in the opening assumption

that most diversity ‘training’ offered

by employers is a dull waste of time.

It’s one thing to sit in a classroom and

be told that people are different; it’s

another to hear simple tips about how

to make those different people feel

more welcome.

It shouldn’t be up to excluded groups

(for want of a better phrase — nobody’s

excluded, but some people feel excluded)

to explain how they want you to change.

A little bit of thought can go a long way,

such as having social events in pubs.

Pubs are off-putting for a lot of people,

for a lot of different reasons. Some

people don’t drink for whatever reason,

or don’t like noise, or large groups of

Letters

ATTENTION

ALL MAKERS!

If you have something you’d

like to get off your chest (or

even throw a word of praise

in our direction) let us know at

hsmag.cc/hello

SPARK

people. The answer isn’t to ban pubs, but

to mix it up – try a community centre

instead, for example.

David

Sunderland

Ben says: Legal precedent is such

that organisations find it easier to

fire misogynists/racists/otherwise

intolerant folks if they’ve gone through

some ‘training’; makerspaces should do

it because we want to see more people

enjoying good things.

DEAR HACKSPACE READERS!

My name is Elisabeth and I need your

help: I’ve been a maker for many years

and I am now doing research on the

Maker Movement. I’ve prepared a survey

that I’m sending to all makerspaces

in Germany, Austria, and the UK. I’m

particularly interested in finding out

more about potential environmental

aspects and female makers (but I need

responses from all genders in order to

compare!). It would help me a lot if you

could take a few minutes to answer the

questions. I want to capture as many

voices as possible to get a detailed picture

of us! Either find the link on my blog

at makingdiversity.co.uk, or type it in

directly: hsmag.cc/XzUtGw.

Thank you!

Elisabeth

(PhD student, University of Glasgow)

Ben says: Consider it done Elisabeth. It

took me about 10 minutes, or roughly the

amount of time it takes to have a tea break.

Credit

US Air Force. (CC0)