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76 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 2018 2018 | DOING BUSINESS IN CONNECTICUT | 76 Room to Grow Maker spaces are spurring manufacturing training opportunities and grassroots growth By Taryn Plumb Think of them as modern-day garages: You finally get off of work and you just want to tackle your own projects (the stuff that REALLY inspires you), so you fire up the laser cutter or sewing machine or 3D printer and get to tinkering. Such is the nature of today's "maker spaces," a new take on collaboration, community and resource sharing that is cropping up all over Connecticut – and across the country. "It's a shared creative space where people can get together and learn from each other and do independent projects," said J.R. Logan, executive director of MakeHaven in New Haven. "People who come in and don't know what they're coming into are normally wowed. It's an impressive environment, a new idea to a lot of people. It gets people jazzed up." As many of Connecticut's cities reinvent themselves for the 21st century, maker spaces are a growing fixture adding to their vibrancy. Recently, these shared collaborative studios – a mix of DIY studio, educational platform and social club – have manifested in the CT Hackerspace in Watertown, the Fairfield County Makers' Guild in Norwalk, NESIT Makerspace in Meriden, and Upward Hartford and Makerspace CT in the heart of the state capital. Charging monthly membership fees, they are host to members-only networking and building events and workshops, as well as independent open studio hours and open houses for the public to come in and explore. One of the newest entries is the nonprofit Makerspace CT; with an anticipated completion of late 2018, it will be comprised of 20,000 square feet located on the first floor of the former G. Fox Building in downtown Hartford. Made possible through private funding, the intent is that it will be the state's largest maker space. "It's not necessarily home, it's not necessarily work, but it's a place for people to collaborate and explore opportunities for creation and innovation together," said Devra Sisitsky, who serves as executive director and co-founder with her husband, Bryan Patton. The couple SMALL BUSINESS MakeHaven is a shared collaborative studio – a mix of DIY studio, educational platform, and social club – that hosts members-only networking and building events and workshops, as well as independent open studio hours. A MakeHaven member shows off his latest project.