Category: Member Spotlight

  • Meet Menghan Wang, Artist-In-Residence 2023

    Meet Menghan Wang, Artist-In-Residence 2023

    Meet Menghan

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    Menghan Wang is Generator’s Summer 2023 Artist-In-Residence. 

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    Menghan is a Beijing-born, previously Berlin-based, and currently Vermont-based interdisciplinary artist, musician, and DJ.

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    Beijing to Berlin

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    Menghan was an active experimental musician in Beijing’s subcultural scenes and independent art communities. She performed at many China’s major electronic music venues, including The Shelter, Oil, Zhao Dai, and Yugong Yishan, as well as festivals including Audi Urban Electronics, Prajnasonic’s T.A.U.M, and BEME (Beijing Electronic Music Encounter). She was also a key member of Sinotronics label, supporting and promoting local musicians.

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    In 2018, Menghan moved to Berlin, Germany to study Sound Studies and Sonic Arts at Universität der Künste Berlin. She started to realize her works in more interdisciplinary ways, gaining experience in poetry, photography, videography, and installation. She exhibited and performed works including the 8-channel sound installation Gate (2019) at Berlin ACUD Macht Neu, multimedia live act Now is the Place, Here is the Time (2021) as part of Climate Care Festival at Floating University Berlin, and sound installation Silver Ripples (2022) across 6 secluded places in Berlin and 1 location at Sound Studies and Sonic Arts Master Exhibition at Collegium Hungaricum Berlin. She then moved to Vermont in late 2022.

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    Woodworking, Electronics, And Soon Sewing

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    Menghan came to Generator excited to work in a synergetic creative community. “I look forward to participating in a collaborative environment where I can exchange knowledge and ideas with other makers,” she says.

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    Menghan has a fundamental understanding of woodwork, metalwork, and electronics, however she is eager to expand her skill set at Generator. Menghan is especially excited about the tool training in our sewing studio, as she hopes to incorporate textile elements into her work. 

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    A Place-Based Proiect

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    During her residency, Menghan will continue a series she calls “Sounding Presentness: Resonating with the Otherworld.” 

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    Menghan describes Sounding Presentness as a “multidisciplinary place-based project” that draws on reflections from the recent pandemic, psychogeographical wandering, instrument design, and sound art installation. The project will address sustainability, community, and healing, and will invite our local communities to listen and share their experiences.

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    “As I embark on this new journey, I am eager to absorb fresh perspectives and gain knowledge from the diverse array of resources available here,” Menghan says. “Ultimately, I anticipate that this experience will infuse my work with new dimensions of meaning and depth.” 

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    Don’t miss Menghan’s installation of Sounding Presentness at Art Hop, September 8-9, 2023 at Generator.

  • Meet Meagan Downey, Founder of Shiki Wrap

    Meet Meagan Downey, Founder of Shiki Wrap

    Meet Meagan

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    For Meagan Downey, joining a makerspace was not about being a maker. It was about being a problem-solver.

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    While volunteering for a holiday fundraiser at her daughter’s school, Meagan noticed a serious lack of options for sustainable gift wrapping. She saw a gap – and wanted to fill it with an easily accessible, affordable alternative to the throw-away stuff. Her vision for Shiki Wrap, her now nationally acclaimed business, started to take shape. 

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    JumpStart

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    In 2021, Meagan applied to Generator’s JumpStart program, a 10-week entrepreneurial program for product-based startups, and was accepted. “I did not know how to sew a stitch or what the GSM of fabric was,” she says. What she did have though, was determination. “I had a real sense of urgency around solving a problem for myself and my customers and needed help figuring it out.”

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    Through JumpStart, Meagan gained access to our sewing studio and five other technical workshops to prototype her product. Meagan worked not only with her JumpStart coach and fellow cohort members during this time, but also with advisors from the greater Generator community. In collaboration with her new network, Meagan iterated and advanced her prototype significantly in our facility. She arrived at Shiki Wrap: reusable gift wrap made of soft, stretchy fabric derived from recycled plastic.

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    Shiki Wrap

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    Shiki Wrap was largely inspired by traditional Japanese furoshiki, in which gift-givers wrapped their present with fabric, intending to give the wrapping as a part of their offering. In keeping with this tradition, Shiki Wrap is beautifully designed. The product comes in many colorful patterns dreamed up by experienced graphic designers, illustrators, and creative directors. The product requires no ribbons or bows – customers can easily tie the fabric around their gift with a clean, simple knot, saving time and money, not to mention additional waste. And it’s machine-washable!

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    With the Shiki Wrap prototype ready, Meagan graduated from JumpStart and was accepted to LaunchVT, a business acceleration service-provider and long-time partner of Generator. Meagan excelled in the program and proceeded to win the LaunchVT Demo Night Grand Prize. Since then, Shiki Wrap has garnered both local and national recognition. This past holiday season, the product was featured in the Style section of New York Times. 

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    Keeping it in the Community

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    Meagan now works at our neighbor coworking space Hula, but stays connected with our Generator community in many ways. “I love supporting other founders and creators I meet through Generator,” she says. “It was the best place to launch my business. I remain forever grateful to the awesome staff and Generator community for supporting me on my journey.”