Business Description
Fab Lab El Paso, established in 2013, is a non-profit digital fabrication makerspace. Located in the international metropolitan area of El Paso del Norte, Fab Lab El Paso provides community access to tools and resources for STEAM education, skill learning, workforce training, creative collaboration, prototype development and product manufacture. It is an open-access space for Makers, Hackers, Tinkerers, DIY enthusiasts, and many more. Fab Lab El Paso is the first of its kind in the western Texas region of the United States and actively grows and promotes the Maker Movement in this under-served region of the United States.
Our core belief is that the tools and resources to actualize creative ideas should be available to everyone. We are proud to serve our community, especially those segments under-represented in the tech sector including women (over 60% participation in our programs) and ethnic minorities (over 80% participation). In order to increase our reach we are planning a major expansion to a newly constructed artist community called Artspace El Paso. In addition to more space we are expanding the resources offered to local creatives by adding textile, metalworking, ceramics, screenprinting and other traditional fabrication techniques.
What is the purpose of this loan?
We will use the load funding to purchase new equipment in the following areas: textile fabrication ($499); ceramics 3D printing ($3,790); metalworking ($2000); DIY biology ($2999).
These upgrades and acquisitions will help boost our monthly membership from 30 members to >75 over the next year. The expanded offerings will specifically target the needs of artist residents at our new Artspace location. Our services had been focused exclusively on digital fabrication in the past, and we will now incorporate more traditional fabrication methods as well.
This loan will help us amplify our already dramatic impact on the local creative community and economy by allowing us to help more young Makers and entrepreneurs get their projects off the ground and more artists actualize their creative ideas.