The Bodgery, Madison’s latest addition to the hackerspace and makerspace scene, is a place for tinkerers, hobbyists, makers and, well, everyone. “If you’ve ever made a sandwich, you’re a maker,” says John Eich, one of the Bodgery’s founders.
The Bodgery hosts making of all sorts, from crocheting to blacksmithing. Visitors might find people creating roses made of thinly hammered brass, forming coral-like sculpture by pouring molten aluminum over chilled water beads, typing code for an Arduino board (a programmable microcontroller board used in electronics projects), or knitting pieces for a yarn bombing. One member recently made a set of costumed plush bats that play tunes from Les Misérables...in high-pitched “chipmunk” voices. And, one evening, a guest spearheaded the building of a firenado in the parking lot. Yes, that’s a tornado made of fire.
The Bodgery grew out of social club MadCity Makers, who had been meeting since 2013 in libraries and garages around town. In June 2014, members partnered with Evolution Arts Collective to have a physical space in which to meet and make. A year later, the Bodgery had outgrown that location. In July 2015, it moved to its current home: a 3,400-square-foot warehouse on Madison’s east side between Cottage Grove Road and Milwaukee Street.
The catalog of tools at the Bodgery is impressive. Walls are filled with hand tools; elsewhere are lathes for sculpting metal and wood. (Appropriate, since the space is named after “bodgers,” or wood workers who traveled from place to place in the 19th-century in England.) There are also CNC machines (a computer-controlled machine that cuts, grinds or shapes materials), welding and blacksmithing equipment, a sandblasting machine, vinyl cutter and multiple 3D printers. A “clean room” is stocked with computers, a serger, a soldering station, a CNC embroidery machine and a felting machine.
Currently, there are just over 40 members. Each member pays $50/month for 24-hour access to the tools and workspace. Consumable materials — welding wire or plastic filament for 3D printers, for instance — are available at cost. The Bodgery itself is a nonprofit.
But you don’t need to be a member to use most of the space’s resources. Guests are welcome any time while accompanied by a member. Open maker nights, held each Monday and Friday, are also free to the public. “We take pains to make sure everyone who walks in the door feels comfortable. We want people to feel like they belong,” says Eich.
One group that’s embraced this welcome are woman makers. Over a third of the Bodgery’s members are women. This can be unusual in the makerspace and hackerspace world.
“Hackerspaces have a tendency to be a bit of a boys club, sometimes unintentionally,” says founder Karen Corbeill, “sometimes not.” It was part of her mission to “try to make a space where a woman didn’t feel like she had to prove anything in order to be there or feel like she belonged.”
Member Myranda Hege, a knitter who also transforms old books into journals, found it a “novel experience” to walk into the Bodgery and be surrounded by a community of people who took genuine interest in her work. “I think the welcoming nature of the people has attracted women,” she says. “I have never felt out of place.”
With the diversity of tools, materials and people, it’s likely that even the most seasoned maker will discover something new at the Bodgery. Inspiration can easily cross-pollinate. “We’ve seen crafters take up welding, woodworkers build circuits, artists fly drones, and programmers make furniture,” says Eich. “It’s like asking ‘Why not?’ every day.”
The Bodgery thebodgery.org, 4444 Robertson Rd.
