The average American throws out more than 80 pounds of clothes every year. The MakerLab at Cline Library wants to bring that number way down.
For a decade, the MakerLab housed a collection of 3D printers and other high-tech tools, but its most popular tool is a sewing machine. Thanks to a grant from the Arizona State Library, it’s getting new machines and offering Repair Labs so the NAU and Flagstaff communities can repair items instead of throwing them away.
It’s a hands-on part of NAU’s mission to strengthen community and increase sustainability according to the Climate Action Plan.
“Making and repairing your own items is much more sustainable than continuing to buy more and more things,” sustainability programs coordinator Danielle Linthicum said. “Instead of throwing away your clothes, you can bring them here.”
The grant will provide funding for new sewing machines, new 3D printers and other tools that many people may find useful but are too expensive or too big to own or who may not know how to use them. The MakerLab connects the tech, the experts and the users in a 21st-century take on a library.
“We’re taking the concept of a library and applying it in different ways,” assistant librarian Aaron Kimbrell said.
RepairLabs
The Office of Sustainability and MakerLab ran three RepairLabs last year and repaired hundreds of items of clothing. This year, they’re planning four events—two per semester—and are looking for volunteers who can not only fix clothes but also jewelry, small appliances and electronics, bikes, books and outdoor equipment. They’ll help the people who bring items use the machines or do the repairs.
“It really is just a nice way to feel like we’re a community of people helping out and sharing skills and resources,” Linthicum said.
Got repair skills? Sign up to volunteer at one or more of the Repair Labs in the next academic year.
Finding a creative outlet
The Maker Lab is aptly named; it’s full of tools and supplies to create art, media, decorations, theater props and more. In addition to 3D printers, laser cutters and virtual reality tools, it has art supplies, Exacto blades and cutting mats, rotary cutters, hand saws, a Cricut machine, tools for bookbinding and zine-making and so much more, including a typewriter, which Kimbrell found in the library’s storage and set up, much to the delight of college students who missed out on typewriters in their youth.
“To me, a big part of librarianship is being a core part of the community,” Kimbrell said. “This is a place where people can enjoy being on campus.”
Environmental tools
They also will spend some of the grant money on a suite of environmental tools like portable air monitors or thermal sensors that can be checked out so people can test their homes, offices or residence hall rooms and make adjustments. They’ll also work with sustainability professors to find tools that are in line with what they and their students use for projects.
“A lot of people don’t have access to these kinds of tools, and we’re hoping that by having a community bank of them, people can have more information about the sustainability of their space and use that information to pursue more enhanced sustainability,” Linthicum said.
Looking for creative inspiration? Check out the MakerLab today!
Heidi Toth | NAU Communications
(928) 523-8737 | heidi.toth@nau.edu