WONDERING ABOUT THAT AIRSTREAM?
Generator is working with bio-artist Natalie Jeremijenko to support her efforts to create a mobile “environmental health clinic.” The idea is to repair and fit up the trailer with kits to explore pyrolysis, the phenological clock, the kitchen is closed and other concepts that combine art and technology. We’ll see more from her – and some opportunities to collaborate – in the coming months.
Learn more about Natalie here: https://
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Courtney Reckord believes kids are our best hope to solve real-world problems.
Reckord, an artist and teacher, has been at Milton High School for the past eight years and says she is humbled by the ingenuity of her students.
Courtney Reckord is interested in bringing practical engineering challenges to her students. Through Generator, Courtney is going to be doing some of her own test trial prototyping prosthetics for the furry creatures in need. Her students will get to experience step by step what goes into designing and creating wearables that require skills in art and design, engineering, and mechanics. What a fun project to introduce students to rapid prototyping equipment like the laser cutter and 3D printers to spark new connections. Stay posted to find out more about what unfolds during Courtney’s time in Generator’s Educator-in-Residence program.
Holy smokes! Yet another year has flown by. Generator aims to be a community of collaboration among artists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to foster a fertile environment for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. We exist at the intersection of art and technology and offer our community a full suite of tools, workspaces, and education opportunities. Generator makes high-tech equipment available to our members: hobbyists, tinkerers, craftsmen, and professionals. Even more importantly, Generator members are a collaborative creative group of people with a wide range of skills and interests. Let’s look at how people have come together in 2016 to achieve forward thinking work.
Let’s reflect on the pillars of Generator as an organization: Creativity, Education, and Entrepreneurship.
If you aren’t a Generator member, then you wouldn’t be aware that members have a social and constructive meeting every month. One of the topics of discussion at these meetings is how to spend the pocket of money called “member money”. Members make proposals about what could benefit from the member money whether it be a project that could use a boost, a good cause that needs fund raising, or a member organized field trip. This year’s Member Funded projects were Lucy Delabruere and Gary Shores RasPi “Project of the Month” kit for self-directed learning on micro-controller programming, Pinbox 3000 fundraising, Generator member retail cart, and Jake Blend’s desktop Arcade. That’s just a sample of the bigger projects members worked on! Check out the member products that got pumped out this year.
We have had the pleasure of bringing on our new Education Coordinator, Karen Cornish, this year. Karen’s professional life began in inventory and operations managemen
t, moved through marketing and website design, and landed– where else? – in musical theater. Her interest in education stems from a determined desire to keep production and technical arts alive in our schools and communities.
Alison Novak says it well in The Maker Spirit.
It’s exciting that our kids are growing up at a time when technology is creating so many new learning opportunities.
Karen brought Generator’s spirit to the Champlain Mini Maker Faire in September. It is that kind of playful excitement that Generator works to foster for people of all ages, all the time. Karen has worked hard in 2016 to ensure the foundation for sparkly new classes and bright new talent to teach at our new 40 Sears Lane location.
Generator members are equally passionate about helping advance education in the school systems too! Check out this video on how Generator members Pete Talbot and Ben Matchstick support STEM education. They have created a low cost-high fun platform for children to explore new ways of learning. Education isn’t only about the children; the other half of the equation is the educators themselves. Lucy Delabruere hosts an annual workshop for educators called Create, Make, Learn and hosts it out of Generator. Generator is proud to present its brand new Educator-in-Residence program. Every two months, Generator welcomes leading educators into our community to tackle an educational learning challenge in collaboration with Generator members. The goal of the Educator in Residence program is to provide gifted educators in any discipline with access to tools and talent that will create breakthroughs in instructional design.
Several members have made huge pivotal steps in the pursuit of their entrepreneurial adventures this year. A big transition for everyone at Generator was for Matt Flego and Erik Cooper, co-owners of M//E designs, to export their design and fabrication shop to Alternator on Pine Street. Their growing success and contract with Room and Board confirmed their need to expand the company. In June of 2016 they moved out of Generator into the ALTernator: 388 Pine Street, Suite 3-M-1 in Burlington VT. Matt and Erik have created a private studio to house M//E Designs, Cardboard Teck Instantute, Tim Peters and John Yasaitis. Take a glance of all the steps they took to grow and launch out of Generator! 
Pete Talbot and Ben Matchstick of Cardboard Teck Instantute have also forged great strides this year! Read up on their journey.
We’ve manufactured over 7,000 units in our Philly factory, working with a marketing firm 20nine, we’ve raised over $100,000 for the P3k, now working regularly with projection films out of Middlebury, and we’re in more than 50 stores & counting across the US (Marbles the Brain Store & others), things are shaping up for the Alternator & this new PinBox 3000 has glowing reviews!
-Pete Talbot
Connie Lisle has independently expanded and flew the coop this year. Generator provided Connie access to a $45,000 laser engraver to try her ideas and explore the production of products over two years to see if, in fact, it would be marketable and sustainable. At Generator there was a supportive community that encouraged her every step of the way, pointed out various contacts and connections to answer a myriad of questions. She has reached that point of success that she needed to buy her own laser cutter to be etching away more hours in a day. Her business future is strong and the hardest challenge is to not scale up too fast.
Like it was said in the video created by Susan Reid in partnership with Young Writers Project…
We decided that the combination of this unique place, Burlington, and the cool people who have chosen to live here and work here is a combination for success.
Generator members, partners, staff, board of directors, and volunteers have all pitched in to facilitate the successes evident in 2016. The last collaboration of the year has been to transplant Generator into the South End Arts District at 40 Sears Lane. Here is more information about the move and we can’t wait to greet you into our new home in 2017.
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“Oh Generator,
Memorial will go dark
without your bright bulb”-Miro Weinberger
Generator received a haiku from Burlington’s Mayor, Miro Weinberger, in the final moments at Memorial Auditorium. The doors closed on November 30th and immediate transition mode kicked in. In one week Generator was packed and moved to the South End Arts District at 40 Sears Lane. Our current members will be thrilled to know that our lighting in the new space is far superior to what was experienced at Memorial Auditorium. That’s not the only upgrade, there is more space, dedicated teaching room, free parking, bigger metal and wood shop, some new equipment, and more studio spaces. All the studios have been filled but don’t be shy to get on our waiting list.
Here is information/FAQ about the transition and a link to our official press release.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Nov. 28, 2016
Media Contacts:
Lars Hasselblad Torres, Generator, [email protected] | 802-595-0605 Stephen Mease Champlain College, [email protected] | 802-865-6432
Expanded Facility in Partnership with Champlain College to Reopen in January
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Generator, the city-supported maker space currently located in Memorial Auditorium, will begin remaking itself in December for its move to a new, larger space in Burlington’s South End. On Nov. 30, Generator will close its doors at Memorial Auditorium and the 170-member creative community will move to its new home on Sears Lane.
Generator’s move to 40 Sears Lane is made possible by an investment in infrastructure improvements from Champlain College and a $300,000 capital campaign led by Generator board members Michael Metz and businessman Steve Conant. “More than 100 individuals, companies and philanthropic organizations contributed toward the campaign’s success, for which Generator and Champlain College are deeply grateful,” explained Generator Chair of the Board Dan Harvey.
Generator is planning an open house for the community in mid-January and a series of on- going events to introduce the new space to neighbors, students and members of the public.
Founded in March, 2014 with support from the City of Burlington, Champlain College, the University of Vermont and numerous institutional, corporate, and individual donors, Generator has become a hub of creativity, learning and entrepreneurship. Generator’s 5,600 square foot location in the lower level of Memorial Auditorium housed 16 studios and several dedicated workshops for wood, metal, prototyping and rapid prototyping. In addition to making these tools available to its members, Generator sustains a monthly schedule of workshops and classes to provide training and support to its members and the public.
Generator’s new 8,500 square-foot home at Sears Lane is a renovated portion of Champlain College’s Facilities and Operations warehouse. The new space is expected to open on Jan. 2, and will be 35 percent larger with more space for individual studios, workshops and build areas. The site is opposite Champlain’s Miller Center at Lakeside, which is home to the Emergent Media Center and the College’s own MakerLab. Generator has signed a three-year lease with the College that includes an option to renew for five more years.
“We are pleased to be working with Generator to help facilitate this move and further strengthen the collaboration between Generator and Champlain College,” said Champlain College President Donald J. Laackman. “Champlain College has been a partner and supporter of Generator since its inception. Generator has provided our faculty and students with exciting opportunities to innovate at the intersection of technology and art in furthering Vermont’s creative economy.”
The new facility will feature dedicated Learning Lab classroom space, state-of-the-art LED lighting, improved ventilation, and accommodations for bicycle commuters. Burlington Telecom will continue to provide gigabit network infrastructure and service; Vermont Energy Investment Corporation will deploy an eGauge energy consumption monitoring system; and Generator will be a node on the BTV Ignite supported city-wide LoRa network.
In addition to the joint fit-up effort, Champlain College and Generator demonstrate a vibrant collegiate collaboration that includes equipment procurement, student-faculty exchange, and public engagement efforts. Champlain College has purchased and installed a computer controlled milling machine and 3D printer at Generator and covers the monthly cost of student, faculty and staff access to the Generator facility through its “Exchange” partner status.
Along with the University of Vermont, Vermont Tech, and the Community College of Vermont (Winooski campus), Champlain has helped to lead the formation of an intercollegiate consortium housed at Generator that fosters cross-campus encounters among students and makers, joint social and learning opportunities, and project development. Among the activities supported by the consortium are a BioFabLab, the Pitch It Fab It product design competition, a “Makers in the Classroom” teacher assistant program, and the BIG Maker speaker series. Students from participating institutions have also taken part in hands-on workshops in the arts, micro-controller design and assembly, and rapid prototyping.
“Generator is thrilled to bring these and other resources to the growing arts, fabrication and entrepreneurial ecosystem of Burlington’s South End,” said Executive Director Lars Hasselblad Torres. “Both Champlain College and Generator view the upcoming transition as an investment in Vermont’s creative economy and are proud to be contributors and allies to the South End district’s history of fusing the arts and industry. Through this move, Generator will continue to demonstrate that the hands-on, experiential learning environment of a makerspace promotes creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship consistent with the values and aspirations of the city and our state as a whole.”
There are a few raised elements on the shield so I cut those out of scraps. I did it free-hand and it took me a few tries to get shapes I was totally happy with, but since they all had beveled edges this was probably the most efficient approach. If I had thought of it, I totally would have tracked down that 45 degree matt cutter I have somewhere for matt board. Instead I went for the trial and error approach. Meh.
Once the edges and raised elements were glued down, I went over everything with paintable caulking and created smooth, rounded transitions. It took 2-3 coats with sanding in between for me to be happy with the texture because I was really hoping to put a metallic finish on this thing.
With support from the Bay Paul Foundation, Generator is pleased to welcome applications for our first Educator in Residence. The goal of this program is to provide human, material, and financial support to middle and high school teachers in the greater Burlington area who are looking to develop novel hands-on learning experiences that bring the maker ethos into the classroom.
Generator welcomes Mel Pulley to our gifted instructional staff!
Joining us from Conant Metal and Light where she is a shop lead for Contract Manufacturing (and Safety Coordinator!), Mel has begun teaching MIG and TIG welding courses at Generator. Raised on a farm in New England where her father encouraged her to fix her equipment and build her own things, an early interest in physics and chemistry has helped Mel develop an appreciation for how much goes into metalwork.
A restless autodidact and consummate DIYer, when she’s not helping customers fulfill larger orders at Conant, Mel’s likely working on one of a number of projects to design draft equipment for goats, all part of a larger system for using animals and small equipment to raise food and take care of the land in ways that are both satisfying to the people involved and sustainable. Her “art” is papercraft (cards and stencils and prints).
So, when you’re next at Generator look for Mel Pulley and say “hey!” Welcome Mel, we’re thrilled to have you.