{"id":79305,"date":"2026-09-22T09:06:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T16:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=79305"},"modified":"2026-09-22T09:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T16:06:25","slug":"repairlabs-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/repairlabs-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Create, repair, upcycle: Everything\u00a0you can\u00a0do at the\u00a0MakerLab"},"content":{"rendered":"

The average\u00a0American throws out more than\u00a0<\/span>80 pounds of clothes every year<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0The\u00a0MakerLab\u00a0at Cline Library\u00a0wants\u00a0to bring that\u00a0number way\u00a0down.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For a decade, the\u00a0<\/span>MakerLab<\/span><\/a> housed a collection of 3D printers\u00a0and other high-tech tools, but its most popular tool is a sewing machine.\u00a0Thanks\u00a0to a grant\u00a0from the Arizona State Library,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0getting new machines and\u00a0offering Repair Labs so the NAU and Flagstaff communities can repair items instead of throwing them away.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0a hands-on part of NAU\u2019s mission to strengthen community and increase sustainability\u00a0according to the\u00a0<\/span>Climate Action Plan<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>\u201cMaking and repairing your own items is much more sustainable than continuing to buy more and more things,\u201d sustainability\u00a0programs coordinator\u00a0<\/span>Danielle Linthicum<\/span><\/b>\u00a0said. \u201cInstead of throwing away your clothes, you can bring them here.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The grant will provide funding for new sewing machines, new 3D\u00a0printers\u00a0and 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\u00a0MakerLab\u00a0connects the tech, the experts and the users in a 21<\/span>st<\/span>-century\u00a0take on a library.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re taking the concept of a library and applying it in different ways,\u201d\u00a0assistant librarian\u00a0<\/span>Aaron Kimbrell<\/span><\/b>\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

RepairLabs<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Volunteers<\/a>The Office of Sustainability and MakerLab ran three RepairLabs last year and repaired hundreds of items of clothing. This year, they\u2019re planning four events\u2014two per semester\u2014and are looking for volunteers who can not only fix clothes but also jewelry, small appliances and electronics, bikes, books and outdoor equipment. They\u2019ll help the people who bring items use the machines or do the repairs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt really\u00a0is\u00a0just a nice way to feel like we\u2019re a community of people helping out and sharing skills and resources,\u201d Linthicum said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Got repair skills?\u00a0<\/span>Sign up to volunteer<\/span><\/a>\u00a0at one or more of the Repair Labs in the next academic year.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finding a creative outlet<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Take-a-zine<\/a>The Maker Lab is aptly named; it\u2019s 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\u2019s storage and set up, much to the delight of college students who missed out on typewriters in their youth.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, a big part of librarianship is being a core\u00a0part\u00a0of the community,\u201d Kimbrell said. \u201cThis is a place\u00a0where people can enjoy being on campus.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Environmental tools<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"A<\/a>
A reptilian creation from the MakerLab in Cline Library.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They also will spend some of the grant money on a suite of environmental tools like portable air monitors\u00a0or thermal sensors\u00a0that can be checked out so people can test their homes, offices or residence hall rooms\u00a0and\u00a0make adjustments.\u00a0They\u2019ll\u00a0also\u00a0work with sustainability professors to find tools that are in line with what they and their students use for projects.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t have access to these kinds of tools, and we\u2019re 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,\u201d Linthicum said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking for creative inspiration? Check out the\u00a0MakerLab\u00a0today!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Heidi Toth | NAU Communications
\n(928) 523-8737 | heidi.toth@nau.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The average\u00a0American throws out more than\u00a080 pounds of clothes every year.\u00a0The\u00a0MakerLab\u00a0at Cline Library\u00a0wants\u00a0to bring that\u00a0number way\u00a0down.\u00a0\u00a0 For a decade, the\u00a0MakerLab housed a collection of 3D printers\u00a0and other high-tech tools, but its most popular tool is a sewing machine.\u00a0Thanks\u00a0to a grant\u00a0from the Arizona State Library,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0getting new machines and\u00a0offering Repair Labs so the NAU and Flagstaff communities…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2797,"featured_media":79306,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2797"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79305"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79313,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79305\/revisions\/79313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}