Author: Sean

DoES COVID Update – December 2020

1st December 2020
"DoES COVID Update – December 2020"

Covid-19 December Update

As we come out of Lockdown 2.0, we decided that this was a good time to thank everyone for their continued support of DoES Liverpool and confirm our policies and the steps that we have put in place to ensure that DoES is as Covid secure as possible.

Liverpool is coming out of this lockdown in a much better position than when we went in, which is reflected in our tier 2 status.  As you are aware, we have stayed open throughout the pandemic, albeit with some restrictions in place.  These restrictions are in line with the guidance published by the government and are summarised below.

Our recommendation is still to work from home wherever possible, and only visit the space if you need to use the equipment which isn’t available elsewhere or collect post or other items.

Our landlord, Jason, has installed hand sanitizer stations in the communal areas for people to use on arrival.   We have handwash in the toilets and handwash and disinfectant in the kitchen area.  You should wash your hands immediately on arrival at the space, and wipe down any desk areas or equipment that you use at the start and end of your visit.

Masks are not mandatory, but are encouraged.

Restricted Occupancy Areas

To help with social distancing access has been restricted to one person (or household) in some areas of the space.

The restricted areas are:

  • The laser-cutter room

  • The CNC room

  • The kitchen

  • The recess with the vinyl cutters and sublimation printer

  • The corner workshop desk and textiles area

  • The corner workshop desk and electronics workbench

These last two areas are marked out with tape on the floor, and are chosen so that you can either use the workshop desk or you can use the equipment (knitting machines, soldering irons, etc.), but there shouldn’t be someone at both at the same time.

As we are in the position that we cannot run any events, Sophia has been moved into the events space so that both cutters are bookable and available to use.  If you do book Sophia then please remember that she is in the events space.

Hot-desking

Given that our desks are too close together to allow people to maintain a 2 metre separation when sat at adjacent or opposing desks, people should stagger the desks they use relative to others.

To make that easier for people hot-desking, we have taped off some of the desks which shouldn’t be used.

People with permanent desks are welcome to use their normal desk, and in most cases this fits in with the marking out of hot-desks that we’ve done.

However, in some cases you’d end up sitting next to, or opposite, another person at a desk.  If that happens, please work with each other to work out a sensible option.  Either using one of the other available hot-desks, or asking the person if they can move instead.

Keeping our community safe

We all have a responsibility to keep our community safe, as such it is imperative that you DO NOT visit DoES if:

Please inform us (hello@doesliverpool.com) if you have been in the space and then develop symptoms within the following 48 hours, and subsequently inform us of your test result. This will allow us to inform any other people who were in the space at the same time.  Your identity will be kept confidential.

Most importantly of all, stay healthy over the coming months.

Further Proof That DoES Is Epic

13th June 2019
"Further Proof That DoES Is Epic"

DoES Liverpool prides itself on being a socially aware, socially responsible organisation, from the things that are produced here, to the way we deal with unwanted equipment and other recycling, and the initiatives we try to spearhead in the wider community. We host multiple environmental groups, as well as providing a home for charity workers among the technologists and makers. On top of all that, fairness and equity of opportunity has been at DoES’ heart since its creation – the reason our prices are kept as low as possible is to allow as many people as possible to have access to the equipment and expertise in the space, and our completely free Maker Events make absolutely sure that no-one need be left behind.

 

Recently, we took another step forwards by becoming officially accredited by the Living Wage Foundation as a Living Wage Employer. This means that DoES pays all staff at least the national living wage, as set by the Foundation. This is higher than the government’s minimum wage, and is calculated using the basic cost of living with the aim of ensuring workers can have a decent life.

 

Although there is currently only one member of staff, along with a cleaner, this accreditation ensures that any future staff members, whether employed directly by DoES or through an agency, would have to be paid the living wage, and will ensure that that rate is tracked for existing staff.

 

We are absolutely delighted to be the first co-working space in Liverpool, and only the second Maker Space nationwide, to be have this accreditation, and to continue our history of trailblazing. We consider this a challenge to other spaces, not just in Merseyside, but around the country – come and join us in showing your users that fairness starts at home, and that people are the most important resource we have.

DoES’ Ethos

25th May 2017
"DoES’ Ethos"

DoES’ ever growing media presence continues to expand, this time through the fabulous Ethos Magazine, who spent some time in DoES talking to Adrian McEwen as part of their ‘The Makers And The City’ video series.

Adrian spoke about the founding and running of DoES, along with the important role it fills in the community, and the hopes he has for the future – not just in the space, but for the people that use it.

Take a look at the video, and hopefully you’ll feel inspired to come in and be a part of the vibrant Maker scene here in DoES.

Made in DoES

13th April 2017
"Made in DoES"

Once again, Made In Liverpool TV has been to find out more about some of the fantastic people that make up the DoES community.

This time, Laura Pullig was the star, as she spoke to Gaelle about wearable technology, the practical uses for that technology, and helped Gaelle to create her own piece. (Unfortunately, you might have to watch an ad before the video starts. Obviously it’s worth it though!)

In the video, Laura talks about the Wearables group that she runs here in DoES. If you’re interested in more information about the group, email us at hello@doesliverpool.com or find out when the next meeting is using our calendar. Or come along to a Maker Night or Maker Day and see what else we have going on here in DoES.

We’re always delighted to get chance to spend some time with Made In Liverpool, and hopefully we’ll get many more chances to do so in the future – after all, we’re not going to give up being epic any time soon!

More Questions On Our Future

13th April 2017
"More Questions On Our Future"

As I’m fairly sure everyone is sick of hearing, we want to move. As I’m equally sure anyone who’s spoken to me about it will be sick of hearing, there are LITERALLY* no empty buildings in the city centre.

With that in mind, it has been decided that we might have to start playing a little bit fast and loose with the definition of ‘centre’, and look a little further afield.

We’re still aiming for somewhere that is within a ten minute walk of transport hubs, it’s just that it may be ten minutes in a slightly different direction. Doing so opens up areas such as London Road and Leeds Street, and allows us to look at places that we had perhaps dismissed too quickly previously. They’re not even that far away, but I totally understand that they feel further away, and that’s important. However, it’s also important to remember that Hanover Street was basically a wreck before DoES came along and made the area viable again.**

Our main aim, however, is still to offer the best and most convenient service we can to you, so we need to know what you think. If you think that a move slightly further afield, or to a different area of the city centre, would materially affect your ability to come in to DoES, then please do let us know. At the end of the day, we’re nothing without the community.

There are some other options which are being floated, including the possibility of a short term move to somewhere in the city centre that is a similar size as our current home. We’d like to discuss this, and some slightly less normal options, in what we’re overexcitedly calling a Wildcard! Meeting which I’ll be arranging in the next month or so, and which will canvass opinion on some of the more interesting and less obvious ideas which are being quietly mooted.

It’s always worth remembering where we’ve come from and where we’re trying to go, so please, if you haven’t already, take a look at John’s last blog post, and let us know if you have any thoughts or opinions on our current situation.

*Not literally

** Probably not actually true

We’ve Never Looked So Good

16th March 2017
"We’ve Never Looked So Good"

Last month, we were delighted to welcome Jane MacNeil (@Jane_MacNeil, www.janemacneil.co.uk) into DoES.

Jane took some marvellous pictures of DoES and the people that make us special, and you can see them on her website. She did a much better job than we have ever done of making the space look presentable!

Thanks to Jane, and hopefully we’ll have a chance to work with her again in the future. Maybe we’ll have to draft her in for some more shots when we finally move…

Welcome Jelly!

2nd March 2017
"Welcome Jelly!"

On Thursday February 9th, DoES Liverpool will welcome Jelly Liverpool to the Gostins Building for the very first time.

We are delighted to have the opportunity to introduce ourselves to those of Jelly’s co-workers that may not know about us, and to say hello again to those that already do. Who knows what kind of beautiful relationships could be spun out of the meeting of minds that will take place?

As Jelly is a free co-working event, the day of Jelly’s visit will also be free for DoES’ regular office hotdeskers, so there’s no excuse whatsoever for you not to come along, have a coffee and meet some awesome people. We’ll see you there!

Christmas Opening Hours

20th December 2016
"Christmas Opening Hours"

As I’m sure you’re all aware, Christmas is coming up. If you weren’t aware, consider this fair warning that your mother/significant other/dog is probably expecting some kind of gift.

Even Makers like to relax, so we’ll be having some downtime over the festive period, and figured it made sense to let you know, and hopefully keep the wailing and gnashing of teeth down to a minimum.

We’ll be closing at 5:30pm on Friday 23rd as usual, but will then be closed until 9:30am on Tuesday January 3rd.

However, if you have out of hours access set up, you will be able to get in whenever the building is open, which will be from 9am to 4pm from Wednesday 28th to Friday 30th. 

It might be possible for you to get in during those times even if you don’t have out of hours access – just email hello@doesliverpool.com with the times you’d like to come in, and we’ll try to help you. No guarantees though – we may all be sleeping off a surfeit of mince pies and brandy.

So there you have it, clear as day. We’re closed, but only if you don’t want to come in, in which case, we’re probably open, but it depends if we can be bothered to be. I genuinely don’t know how I can make this much easier for anyone.

Congratulations Assemble – Turner Prize Winners 2015!

22nd December 2015
  • Sean
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"Congratulations Assemble – Turner Prize Winners 2015!"

Over the years, we’ve had lots of incredibly talented people through the doors here at DoES – designers, artists, developers, philanthropists and much more beside. However, like almost every co-working or maker space in the UK, we’ve never had a Turner Prize winner.

Well, now we have.

On December 7th in Glasgow, London based collective Assemble won the coveted prize for their work in Toxteth, the Granby Four Streets Project, becoming the first architecture project to ever lift the award.

Quite aside from breaking new ground in the art world, they have done the same – both literally and figuratively – in the architecture world, by pioneering a more holistic, community driven vision of local regeneration, working with local residents to ensure that the spirit of the area was not lost during the work, which has often been a criticism levelled at more traditional regeneration projects.

During their work in the city, Assemble members have worked in DoES Liverpool, making use of the workshop facilities to create various items that have gone into the project, and becoming part of the community – as does everyone who comes here.

We’re delighted to have been able to provide even the tiniest help towards such a great team making history, and, more importantly, making a difference in Liverpool.

DoES π Party!

4th September 2014
"DoES π Party!"

It occured to us recently that our third anniversary had come and gone – in July, actually. Obviously, a momentous occasion like this should be celebrated, but it seemed silly to hold a party so long after the event.

Luckily for us (and, of course, the whole DoES community), we’re not the type of people to let silliness hold us back, and certainly not when it comes to getting everyone together for a shindig. With that in mind, we just needed to find a reason, and one presented itself with an almost perfect serendipity – after all, what better celebration could we hold than one to commemorate our πth anniversary?

Strictly speaking, it might not be exactly our π day (that would be 51.1 days after our birthday, which is hotly disputed. Concensus is that it’s sometime in July, and 51 days after July is September 20th) but it’s as near to it as makes no difference, and besides, without a little number fudging, there’d be no party at all.

So, on Friday September 19th from 6pm, we’ll be hosting a get together right here in DoES. There’ll be everything you’ve come to expect from a DoES party – namely beer, food and a lot of great people – and a few surprises. And no doubt pie, in all its forms.

So bring your kids, bring your old people, bring your dogs*, but most importantly, bring yourselves, and help us see in a fourth year.

Well, the rest of our fourth year.

 

 

*Not really. Dogs hog the laser cutter.

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