The Making Rooms Pop-up: Exchange Street

The Making Rooms is a community-focused makerspace, empowering individuals to turn their ideas into reality and explore sustainability technologies.

The Making Rooms, 2019. Photo by Robin Zahler.

Popping up on Exchange Street whilst their building opposite undergoes exciting renovations, expect to find drop-in workshops connected to all their ‘Labs’.

Workshops include:

Community Weaving – Pick up a strip of scrap fabric and weave your contribution into a collaborative artwork that grows all festival long.

Come and add your thread to a shared weaving wall that evolves throughout the festival. Using a communal frame stocked with scrap fabrics and textile offcuts, you’re invited to weave in your own piece and become part of a collective, ever-changing creation. Suitable for all ages and abilities, no experience needed. Just pick up a strip and start. Every thread counts!

Vinyl Wallet – Stitch your own wallet from offcuts of old plastic banners, no sewing experience needed.

Turn recycled vinyl banner offcuts into a sturdy, handmade wallet using a sewing machine. You’ll be guided through the process step by step, so no experience is necessary, just a willingness to have a go. A brilliant introduction to both upcycling and machine sewing, you’ll leave with a one-of-a-kind accessory made entirely from materials that would otherwise have gone to waste.

Recycled plastic bead bracelets – Thread your own bracelet made from colourful beads created entirely from recycled plastic bottle tops.

Create a unique bracelet using beads made entirely from recycled plastic bottle tops. The beads have been produced using our Precious Plastic machines, a process that shreds bottle tops into small pieces before melting and injection moulding them into the colourful shapes you’ll be threading today. Take home a beautiful accessory and a story about where it came from.

Giant recycled plastic tile mural – Get hands-on with our injection moulding machine and add your own tile to a giant recycled plastic mural.

Feed shredded plastic bottle tops into our injection moulding machine and watch your very own tile take shape. Once made, you’ll place it yourself on a growing large-scale mural that builds across the entire festival weekend. A brilliant way to see industrial recycling technology in action and leave a permanent mark on something bigger than yourself.

Soldering Robot LED badges – Learn the basics of soldering as you build your own light-up repair robot badge to take home.

Learn the basics of soldering as you build your very own light-up repair robot badge. You’ll be guided through each step of the process, connecting the components and soldering them into place to bring your robot to life with a glowing LED to take home.

Mike’s Bee Badges – Learn the magical skill of surface mount soldering with Mike and take home one of his beautiful electronic bees!

Join Mike and discover the magical skill of surface mount soldering, a precise technique used in professional electronics. You’ll be guided through the process step by step as you carefully solder the tiny components onto your board, bringing your very own electronic bee to life. A brilliant next step for anyone who has tried soldering before, or a challenge to rise to for the adventurous first-timer.