NextFab

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to our newest face in the woodshop, Lauren Kim. She’s stepping in while Hannah heads to Vermont this Summer for a prestigious assistantship at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School. We’re so excited for Hannah’s next chapter and thrilled to have Lauren’s expertise on the shop floor!

A note from Lauren,
"Hello NextFab community, I’m Lauren Kim. I have big shoes to fill, and I’ll do my very best! To introduce myself a little bit, I am a second-generation Korean-American furniture designer and multidisciplinary artist. I went to school at Drexel University, and graduated with a major in product design and minors in both graphic design and fine arts. I love designing and building furniture, creating branding kits, and drawing! My practice is rooted in the joy of shaping raw material and bringing form to feeling, and I love making things people can gather around, touch, and live with. My work sits at the intersection of functional furniture, narrative object making, and material driven experimentation. I have shown my furniture in many different cities such as Miami and New York City, and you may have seen some of my public installation work around Philadelphia in the form of wooden playgrounds and signage. I love talking about everything creative, so please bend my ear with information on all the cool projects you’re working on! My practice is rooted in bringing form to feeling. I love talking about everything creative, so please bend my ear with information on all the cool projects you’re working on!"

Follow her journey: .valentine.studio

Feeling overwhelmed by the endless to-do list of social media, emails, and websites? For many makers, trying to be everywhere at once leads to paralysis rather than growth.

We’re back with another Tools of the Trades Virtual Workshop to help you cut through the noise! Join business coach Kate Gilbert as she shares how to build a sustainable, intentional online presence that actually fits your life. Drawing on a decade of experience running Twist Collective, Kate knows exactly how to show up consistently without the burnout.

The Tools of the Trades Virtual Program Pass provides you access to five live virtual programs offered monthly from April to August 2026. Can't make the live? Program recordings will be available to all ticket holders.

Welcome the spring vibes with a fusion of color, glass, and metal! Join us for our open-to-public vitreous enameling workshop, where you’ll learn to fuse colorful glass onto copper to create your own custom flower pendant or window hanging. No experience? No worries, we’ll guide you through every step and by the end of the session, you'll have fired and finished a unique piece of art to take home.

Link in bio to reserve your spot.

It’s Featured Friday! When we aren't busy making, we’re busy hosting. Here are the happenings moving through our makerspace lately:

- We were honored to host the Pathways to Housing fundraiser.
- We had an incredible turnout to our Jewelry Swap, bringing together a mix of long-time members, familiar faces from the community, industry experts, and plenty of newcomers.
- Lauren, Hannah, and Trebor have been locked in on a new rotary tool project, while Marc joined the team to help fast-track our drying room upgrades.
- Ayla was in the zone, helping David learn the power and precision of the Singer sewing machines.
- A huge welcome to Tom and Ann, who are enrolled in our Shadow Lamp Maker Series, ready to operate the 3D printers.

Whether it’s community impact or technical growth, there’s always something going on here at NextFab. Link in bio to become a member today!

We’re proud to partner with Mechanism to host the kickoff for the 11th National Gathering: “Imagining the Future of Local Production." Before the main sessions kick off at BOK, join us right here at NextFab to set the tone for the next three days. This is your chance to tour our workshops, see our creative community in action, and connect with the innovators who are redefining local manufacturing.

Let’s build a future that stays local. Link in bio and stories to register!

Let's reminisce on last weeks Mini Artisan Accelerator program together. This intensive one-day program was a whirlwind of community building and growth, as our latest cohort split up for hands-on shop demos exploring Jewelry design with Kat and Laser work with Gemma. To round out the day, everyone came together to sharpen their professional strategy during a deep dive into Business Foundations with Anna.

The perks are that participants who completed the day are now eligible for a 3-month scholarship and a $300 NextFab credit package to keep the momentum going. Ready to join the next one? Our next program date is Wednesday, June 17th, 9am-4pm. Application deadline: May 31st at 11:59 pm.

Join us here at NextFab on Thursday, April 30th (6 - 8 PM) for our public Jewelry Swap! It’s the perfect chance to offload deadstock, hunt for new gems, and tour our makerspace.

You'll have the opportunity to:
- Refresh your collection of stones, tools, and displays
- Connect with local makers and resources like Tuscarora Lapidary Society
- Tour our jewelry studio and makerspace

Come through to network over refreshments, refresh your studio, and connect with the community! We look forward to seeing you in the shops!

This week’s Featured Friday gives you a little bit of everything happening across our makerspace:

- Two Maker Series currently underway with one focused on intricate jewelry work and another building a custom shadow lamp.
- A crew of members busy working on their individual projects in Lasers & 3D Printing
- Catching some creative member experimentation in action at our Woodshop

It’s always inspiring to see so many cross-department projects flourishing under one roof. Ready to start your own? Link in bio to become a member today!

Meet Elaine, our Leeway x NextFab Resident and the founder of PHonk!Philly, a community arts initiative bringing the energy of street parade traditions to life across the Philly. Elaine is hosting her Parade Practice Workshop, held here at NextFab on the last Saturday of every month. The next one is Saturday, 4/25 from 4pm - 6pm! These percussion workshops are open to the public. No drumming experience is necessary to learn, play, and connect with the community. See you there, NextFab Fam!

Learn more about Leeway Resident, Elaine, in our most recent blog. Link in bio!