Become a Member

Membership to the Berea Makerspace is a month-to-month subscription set to auto-draft through our membership platform ClubExpress. We recommend committing to at least three months so that you can get the full experience of being a member. Onboarding and getting familiar with the space happens in the first month - then the fun REALLY begins with events and projects.

We have tools in several different categories to help you create projects across a variety of mediums. 

We have a wood shop, metal shop, digital fabrication, and textile space. Our tool list changes and grows regularly. You can see the complete list of tools here.

When you become a member, you'll have a key card that grants you 24/7 access to the workshop.

In general, you can use the space alone. There are one or two tools that we ask to only be used when someone else is in the building. Bring a friend or a partner to spot you (for ease of use and for safety!). 

In order to use certain tools, members must be trained. Once you've completed the training, the tool will be "unlocked" for you via your key card.

We DO have video cameras inside of the space and around the perimeter. These are for liability and safety purposes - the building is not actively surveilled, and we aren’t interested in changing that.

We also take personal safety seriously. You can find our Anti-Harassment Policy here.

Each member can bring a visitor with them to the workshop, provided they also sign a liability waiver.

They’re free to assist you with your projects, whether that’s hauling materials in, handling offcuts, or generally being your safety bud.

They can even just hang out and use our wifi! Unless they’re here for a workshop or class though, they have to leave when you do, and they cannot use your key fob.

Members can bring their kids, as long as the under-18 liability form is filled out.

Children under 18 are not able to be members themselves, but they can come in and use tools along with their parent or guardian, as long as both have been cleared through an orientation, and the child is under direct supervision the entire time.

Ultimately, you are responsible for your child, and any mess they create while Making! 

Yes! We have liability insurance through Al Torstrick Insurance Agency. Members are responsible for their own medical insurance.

We encourage members and non members to host their event or workshop at the Makerspace. Members can host their own private events at any time (following guidelines set in our Rights and Responsibilities agreement). We can work with members and non members to host and advertise classes on our event calendar.

If you are not a member but would like to teach a class in the space, please contact us at info@bereamakerspace.org

Great question. All membership details are managed through our membership portal. You can access that here.

In the portal you can cancel your membership, upgrade, donate, register for events, or reserve tools.

We hate getting all ready for a project, lugging lumber and supplies across town, and then finding out the tool we need is in use.

That's why we have a digital reservation system. You can reserve a date and time to use the larger tools in the space, such as our Lasers, CNC Router, Plasma Table, etc.

For other tools, or situations that don’t fit as neatly into our digital reservation system, members can coordinate over the Berea Makerspace slack channel - this is the fastest way to talk to other members about the projects you’re working on, how to complete a project, or where to go for more resources locally.

Most of our tool orientations are held on a “Floating” basis. Any events with that title are scheduled on a one-on-one basis with our volunteer team, so that you can get cleared to use tools at a time that works for everyone involved!

Non-orientation events get scheduled throughout the year. We advertise these directly to our social media platforms, our email list, and IRL when possible. Checking our calendar is the easiest way to see everything we’re up to.

On occasion, an event might have a discount for members to participate, but as we move toward figuring out incentives that benefit everyone visiting the space, work with more instructors, and push to make all of our tool orientations low or no-cost, a member discount is no longer standard for our workshops.

See our calendar here.

P.S. Don't forget - you can host a workshop too! 

Policies help us create a safe and inclusive space for people of all backgrounds and skill levels.

Our space is based on a few founding principles:

• Member Ownership - our paying members make the decisions that run our space.
• Inclusivity - all members should feel welcome, regardless of their background.
• Resiliency - our space is self-supporting for our core operations.
• Community Centric - our space is part of the larger Berea community.

You can find the policies that help us create this space here.