Author: john

A close up photo of an intricate laser etching of what looks like a hand-drawn dragon. The very narrow depth of field causes the top and bottom of the image to be blurred leaving only the centre in focus.

Launching the July 2023 Boost Membership

30th May 2023
"Launching the July 2023 Boost Membership"

Once again it’s time to announce the chance to get a free 6 month membership to DoES Liverpool.

If you already know what you’re doing then head over here to apply otherwise read on for more information about Boost membership.

Apply for Boost Membership

The DoES Liverpool Boost Membership was introduced to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our opening DoES Liverpool – the amazing coworking and shared workshop space in the Fabric District of Liverpool. Boost membership gives two people the opportunity to use the space free of charge for six months either with an allocated desk or by having 24-hour access to the workshop.

As things get increasingly difficult for people due to inflation, fuel prices and all the economic woes we’re dealing with at the moment we thought it would be worth pointing out that boost membership is open to anyone, even existing paying members. If 6 months free membership would help you out at the moment then feel free to apply, of course if you’re not already a paying member you are still welcome to apply.

Applications are open until 11:59pm on 13th June 2023, any applications received after this point will not be considered. We will endeavour to announce the winners within 48 hours.

We’ve now created a dedicated page with lots more information about Boost Membership so if you want to find out more just head over to there and take a look!

An cropped example of how to modify a persons house to allow them to maintain independence.

Welcoming our April 2023 start Boost members!

2nd April 2023
"Welcoming our April 2023 start Boost members!"

It’s time to welcome our April 2023 Boost members. Apologies for the delay announcing but we picked the winners a few weeks ago and are now ready to shout about it!

This time we had a whopping 49 people apply from which we picked two winners randomly who are starting this month (April 2023).

Desk Membership Winner – Joe

Our first winner is Joe from Remain Independent Ltd who will be taking on the desk membership for the next 6 months, he had this to say:

I specialise in managing modifications for individuals who wish to maintain their independence in their home, particularly those with disabilities or elderly.

I handle everything from planning to funding to selecting contractors to ensure my clients have a seamless and stress-free experience. Although I am not currently working full-time on the company, I am actively working towards expanding our services and operations within the next 12 months.

You can find Joe on Instagram as @remainindependent or see him around the space over the next 6 months. The featured image on this post is some work that Joe has done in the past to allow people to maintain their independence in their own home.

Workshop Membership Winner – SJ

Our second winner is SJ of SJ Arts who will be taking on the workshop membership for the next 6 months and had this to say about what she wants to do in the space:

I’m so excited to start using this space. Art has really helped me through some very dark times, and I would love nothing more than to be able to follow my dreams of becoming a fulltime artist and also help others who are struggling mentally. Having a place where I can work on my paintings, and plan my next steps, is just incredible. Thank you so much!

You can find SJ on Instagram as @sj_arts_liverpool or see her around the space over the next 6 months. Below you’ll find some of the artwork she has done in the past.

A screenshot of Unity software (I think) showing a 3D render of The Tapestry buildings.

Boost Membership Update

21st February 2023
"Boost Membership Update"

With our new Boost membership application going live last week we wanted to share a post that has kindly been written by one of our Boost members, Gabriele, who joined us in October 2022. It sounds like she’s been having a great time learning about the equipment in the space. She has also been collaborating with some of our members and sharing her knowledge with us.

A close up photo of an intricate laser etching of what looks like a hand-drawn dragon. The very narrow depth of field causes the top and bottom of the image to be blurred leaving only the centre in focus.In October I was so lucky to win the boost membership for DoES Liverpool. It has granted me access to a number of wonderful machines and more importantly to many incredible people. Everyone in the DoES community has expertise in some field and they are more than eager to share it with anyone interested. Everything in DoES is set up by the community members so anyone can ask and learn about the inner workings of laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC mills or knitting machines, and get involved in calibrating and maintaining the equipment.

I have been using the laser cutters to make beautiful engravings on wood. I like making intricate designs that resemble an ink drawing and using different settings on the laser cutter to replicate the pen stroke effect.

A screenshot of a 3D design software showing a four legged creature with a long segmented torso, almost resembling a caterpillar, with two spindly arms.I have also met a number of people involved in game development. I am now designing characters for a hobby game project, as well as building a demo training platform in VR for a security company. I have recreated the Tapestry building where DoES is currently housed to use in our demonstration.

DoES is a perfect place to find exciting opportunities and learn new skills, I would recommend it to absolutely everyone.

Thanks Gabby for the great post! We’re glad you’re having such a fulfilling time at DoES Liverpool and look forward to your continued involvement.

For everyone reading this post who thinks this sounds like somewhere you would like to spend more time, we have a weekly Maker Night on Thursday evenings from 6pm and a monthly Maker Day on the second Saturday from 10am-5pm. These are free sessions you can drop in to and have a look around the space or get started on a project. You can also come in any time and have your first day free if you bring cake or snacks to share! Finally, as mentioned above we have just opened applications for the April 2023 Boost Membership, so sign up if you’re interested in six months free access to DoES Liverpool!

Launching the April 2023 Boost Membership

16th February 2023
"Launching the April 2023 Boost Membership"

Once again it’s time to announce the chance to get a free 6 month membership to DoES Liverpool.

If you already know what you’re doing then head over here to apply otherwise read on for more information about Boost membership.

Apply for Boost Membership

The DoES Liverpool Boost Membership was introduced to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our opening DoES Liverpool – the amazing coworking and shared workshop space in the Fabric District of Liverpool. Boost membership gives two people the opportunity to use the space free of charge for six months either with an allocated desk or by having 24-hour access to the workshop.

As things get increasingly difficult for people due to inflation, fuel prices and all the economic woes we’re dealing with at the moment we thought it would be worth pointing out that boost membership is open to anyone, even existing paying members. If 6 months free membership would help you out at the moment then feel free to apply, of course if you’re not already a paying member you are still welcome to apply.

Applications are open until 11:59pm on 12th March 2023, any applications received after this point will not be considered. We will endeavour to announce the winners within 48 hours.

We’ve now created a dedicated page with lots more information about Boost Membership so if you want to find out more just head over to there and take a look!

One Year of Boosting

20th November 2022
"One Year of Boosting"

It’s now been a year since we launched our Boost membership scheme. Over this year we’ve invited 8 people to join our community who, for the most part, had either not heard of us before we launched this scheme or hadn’t had the opportunity to spend much time in DoES Liverpool. This is a great result as it has introduced us to some really interesting people with a diverse range of interests. It hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing as unfortunately a few of the winners have not been able to take up their membership, but this at least has helped ease us into the arrangement.

Before further ado though we also need to launch our next round of the scheme. Click here to apply for the January 2023 Boost Membership. We’ll close applications at 11:59pm on the 11th December and announce the winners on the 13th December.

Apply for Boost Membership

The DoES Liverpool Boost Membership was introduced to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our opening DoES Liverpool, the amazing coworking and shared workshop space in the Fabric District of Liverpool. Now that DoES Liverpool is 11 years old we’re ready to continue Boost membership into its second year. The Boost membership gives two people the opportunity to use the space free of charge for six months either through getting an allocated desk or by having 24-hour access to the workshop. The aim is to help people be creative using the resources we have in the space, whether that’s inventing the latest high tech Internet of Things widget, or designing amazing fine art embroidery, or simply knocking up websites on their laptop using our great high speed Wi-Fi. There are unlimited possibilities to create, the only thing we need is you and your ideas.

We’re going to make a slight change going forward to how we handle the situation when people find they’re not able to take on the membership. We know that people’s circumstances can change rapidly so we entirely understand that while someone may have applied for membership or even accepted it, with great plans for the future, life can get in the way. By the end of the first month we find that most people have an idea of whether they’re really going to be able to make use of the membership. As such we’re going to make sure that towards the end of the first month we will check-in with our new members and make sure that they do still feel they can make use of the space. This isn’t to say that you have to be in all day every day, but if the new member feels like they’re not likely to actually use the membership then we will offer the remaining time to the next person on the list.

It’s been a great year so far that even included an open-mic comedy night so we look forward to seeing what 2023 has to offer us!

Launching the October 2022 Boost Membership

15th August 2022
"Launching the October 2022 Boost Membership"

Again just over a month since we welcomed Sorrell and Julie it’s time to open applications for the next boost membership starting in October.

If you already know what you’re doing then head over here to apply otherwise read on for more information about Boost membership.

Apply for Boost Membership

The DoES Liverpool Boost Membership was introduced to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our opening DoES Liverpool, the amazing coworking and shared workshop space in the Fabric District of Liverpool. Boost membership gives two people the opportunity to use the space free of charge for six months either with an allocated desk or by having 24-hour access to the workshop.

As things get increasingly difficult for people due to inflation, fuel prices and all the economic woes we’re dealing with at the moment we thought it would be worth pointing out that boost membership is open to anyone, even existing paying members. If 6 months free membership would help you out at the moment then feel free to apply, of course if you’re not already a paying member you are still welcome to apply.

We’re also really interested in getting some feedback on the Boost Membership scheme, especially to find out what might put people off applying and any suggestions for what we might change. If you have any thoughts to share please fill in this form.

Applications are welcome until 11:59pm on 11th September, any applications received after this point will not be considered. We will endeavour to announce the winners within 48 hours.

We’ve now created a dedicated page with lots more information about Boost Membership so if you want to find out more just head over to there and take a look!

Launching the July 2022 Boost Membership

12th May 2022
"Launching the July 2022 Boost Membership"

The world of the DoES Liverpool Boost Membership is very busy, it’s really not long since Georgia and Kirsty joined us and yet here we are announcing the next boost membership.

If you already know what you’re doing then head over here to apply otherwise read on for more information about Boost membership.

The DoES Liverpool Boost Membership was introduced to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our opening DoES Liverpool, the amazing coworking and shared workshop space in the Fabric District of Liverpool. Boost membership gives two people the opportunity to use the space free of charge for six months either through getting an allocated desk or by having 24-hour access to the workshop.

Applications are welcome until 23:59 on the 12th June, any applications received after this point will not be considered. We will endeavour to announce the winners within 48 hours.

We’ve now created a dedicated page with lots more information about Boost Membership so if you want to find out more just head over to there and take a look!

Launching our next Boost Membership Applications

10th February 2022
"Launching our next Boost Membership Applications"

Our first pair of Boost members are only a month into their membership but it’s already time to announce that applications for the next cohort are now open!

The DoES Liverpool Boost Membership is our way of trying to grow our amazing community, and give more access to people who might otherwise struggle to afford a full time membership. As a reminder what is on offer is:

  • Either a six month Workshop membership, meaning you can come into the space and use our equipment as much as you want for six months.
  • Or a full time allocated desk in our coworking space and access to the workshop, again for six months.

We launched the DoES Liverpool Boost Membership at the end of last year to celebrate ten years of operating the best coworking maker space in Liverpool. In this time DoES Liverpool has gone from a single small room with a basic 3D printer to taking over an entire floor of The Tapestry building in the Fabric District. We now have a dedicated coworking space, far more workshop equipment including many 3D printers, laser cutters, a CNC mill and various sublimation printing technologies. We have a whole room of textile equipment along with multiple meeting rooms and one of the fastest internet connections in the city centre!

What do you get with a DoES Boost membership? All the benefits of a standard membership. A “desk” membership gives an allocated desk for a person to store their belongings and access to meeting rooms, whereas a “workshop” membership only gives access to the space and use of the workshop area with a “clean desk” policy. What they both provide is:

  • A storage box in the workshop area to store belongings
  • Access to all of the equipment in the space, with free inductions where necessary (with the usual booking and availability constraints)
  • Access to our incredibly fast internet connection
  • 24 hour access

All of this will be available for free to two lucky people for six months from April. We’re opening applications today and will close them at 11:59pm on February 28th. Click here for the form. We will then do a random draw and announce the successful applicants on the 2nd March to give them as much time as possible to prepare for their membership starting on the 1st April!

To clarify, the following is not included with membership at DoES Liverpool:

  • Materials (e.g. 3D printer filament, plywood or perspex for the laser cutters)
  • Mentoring – people in the community will of course be very interested to hear about your projects and may offer their help but we do not employ support staff or technicians.
  • Access for all your friends and extended family – we would be happy to meet your friends and understand that sometimes a project might need a helping hand but this offer is for a single individual and needs to be treated as such.

It was great to see so many new names in the applicants for our first Boost membership but we want to spread the message even further this time. If you know someone who has an idea for a project but doesn’t have the equipment to make a real go at it then let them know! If you know a community of people who would be interested in DoES Liverpool and maybe haven’t heard of us, then spread the word!

First Boost Members Announced!

21st December 2021
"First Boost Members Announced!"

We are very happy to announce that we have picked our first set of people to get Boost Membership!

In the end we had 27 entries. Two winners were picked randomly last week and have now confirmed that they can take on the places starting in January.

We’ve asked them for a brief bio, so I’ll let them introduce themselves:

Kate James

A photo of Kate James “Throughout the lockdown I’ve found a creative outlet in working alongside community groups to mark how we’ve all coped with the pandemic in our own ways. Working with Collective Encounters, Friends of Springfield Park, The Drive L14 and The Lantern Company, I used a real mixed bag of materials, mainly fabric and woodwork, but also poetry, chalk and typography to create art that captures moments in time we can all relate to. I’m hoping to make full use of the DoES workshop to create something entirely new in 2022.” – Kate James

 

Lauren McGuffie

“A big warm hello to all of you, my name is Lauren and I’m the face and hands behind Little Chestnut. I currently make personalised gifts and homeware using a variety of paper cutting, vinyl, sublimation and toner reactive foiling.

I studied art at college and went on to complete a degree in Visual Art at university. I spent ten years working as a Visual Merchandising Specialist for a large global home furnishing retailer. This saw me spend time planning and implementing my designs not just in the UK, but in Europe and Australia.
I was made redundant at the beginning of last year and decided to take the opportunity to follow my passion and take the plunge to start working for myself.”

We’re really looking forward to welcoming them into the space more. While both have visited before, neither have spent much time at DoES yet and they’re both eager to get working on projects. If you see them while you’re in be sure to say “Hello!”

Unfortunately we only had two places to offer so we know there will be some people left disappointed now. We do hope to run this scheme on a regular basis though and there should be more information about the next cohort at the end of January.

For the geeks amongst us… as mentioned we had 27 entries. Six of those were for a full time desk and the other 21 for workshop membership. The Google Form puts the entries into a spreadsheet and we picked a winner by using “randomise range” on the rows. After that it was a simple case of going down from the top and picking the first of each type of membership, which brought us to Lauren and Kate. No rubber balls or extravagantly designed and named machines were involved, this time…

Corona virus hand wash sign

DoES Liverpool COVID-19 Plan

17th March 2020
"DoES Liverpool COVID-19 Plan"

Following the updated government advice regarding COVID-19, and the need for social distancing, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel all DoES Liverpool Events, including Maker Nights and Maker Days, starting immediately and until further notice. We will not be supporting external events as we will not have staff available to supervise them.

The space will still be available for use, although it will no longer be staffed and we cannot guarantee that access will be possible without a fob. Anyone who has a fob can access the space as usual.

We realise that many of our members use the equipment at the space to do their job and so we need to support them at an already tricky time.  That means that if you come in on an ad-hoc basis and don’t have the out-of-hours access but do have a fob, you’ll still be able to come in as you do now.  As there will be nobody around to take payment, please email hello@doesliverpool.com with details of what you need to pay. 

You should only come in if you need to work on something or to collect something from the space.  Please do not attend purely for social reasons.

The membership of our community encompasses a broad spectrum of people, some of whom fall into the “high risk” bracket posed by this virus. Please do not continue operating business as usual; we all have a duty of care to manage the threat this virus poses, if not to you specifically, to other more vulnerable members of society.

Please do not attend the space if you are unwell, especially if you have got a new persistent cough or a fever.  

It is everybody’s responsibility to ensure that the space is kept as clean as possible; as such we are requesting that you wipe down all surfaces before and after use, as well as other areas such as the fridge door handle.  Surface cleaning spray is available by the workshop sink in the kitchen. The space will still be cleaned as usual, this is an additional precaution.

It goes without saying that one of the best ways to protect yourself is to regularly wash your hands and avoid touching your face, especially when you have been interacting with other people and spaces.

If you have any questions about access, or any other issues relating to this, email hello@doesliverpool.com.  We will be responding to communications, just not staffing the space itself.

DoES Liverpool Online

DoES Liverpool was set up to stop people feeling lonely from having to work on their own at home. As such we want to continue to help you feel less isolated during this situation. We have a few ways in which you can stay connected to the DoES Liverpool community and we’d love to hear your suggestions too!x

Obviously that’s just a start.  We know that the DoES Liverpool community will be working out all manner of ways to connect and cope and have interesting things to share.  As always, there’s the #weeknotes hashtag for letting others know what you’re up to, and let us know if there’s anything you’d like us to share.

Finally, look after yourselves and keep an eye out for any vulnerable members of the DoES Liverpool Community as well as in your local community.

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