METZ SEES MAKER SPACE MAKING DIFFERENCE
Published October 23, 2014
Source
After nearly six months, Burlington’s Generator space is making things happen, Charlotter Michael Metz told The Burlington Free Press in a story that appeared in its Oct. 15 edition. The nonprofit startup accelerator based in Memorial Auditorium has bred seven businesses and boasts 47 members, including “an industrial designer working on a cellphone accessory for athletes, a business that wants to make custom puzzle pieces maps for schools, and a jeweler who’s exploring ideas for opening her own store,” writes the article’s author, April Burbank. Perhaps most exciting for Generator, the organization has hired Lars Hasselblad Torres, director of the state’s Office of the Creative Economy, to run the organization.
With memberships, studio rental revenue and fundraising ahead of expectations— It has secured $250,000 in donations and in-kind support—Generator has a lot to look forward to, Metz notes. However, there is one issue: the space at Memorial Auditorium, which boasts a room filled with studios, computers, a 3-D printer, laser cutter and other tools. Metz and the Generator board are exploring options for new spaces or new partnerships.