The Makerspace by the Sea: The First Two Days

We are in the midst of a pandemic. Outdoor activities are now considered safer than indoor activities. It's the right time for the Makerspace By The Sea.

How does anything start? Even a few months after the beginning, it is difficult to recall what the exact synergies were that coalesced into that thing we have today.

I am Trish Tsoiasue, for many years known as Squigglemom, but now I am also The Mask Lady, and I have started, together with Jesse Miller of Miller Communications, a mask making community. I recently discussed with Jesse, the events that led to the making of Fashion Masques, an outlet for our community of sewists, with a physical presence at Shoreline Village in Long Beach, an online website and an ETSY store. It was not easy. We think that we got the facts straight. But this is not that story. I use it simply to illustrate the need to take photos, notes and share what you are doing, as you do it, so that when you try to recall what you did, there is a trail of breadcrumbs to follow.

This past Monday, we started converting the Fashion Masques kiosk to the Makersville General Store, a sales outlet for Makers. Behind the Makersville General Store hangs two whiteboards. I have to say that I must have a fairy godmother - or perhaps it's a godfather... I just need to have an idea, and gather some of the things that might be needed to make the idea real, and the work is magically done! I think that it might be Jesse's doing.

What is the Makersville General Store?

It's a place where Makers' products and supplies are sold. You might think of it as a specific version of an art supply store, a hobby store or the Maker Shed.

Why the Makersville General Store and Why Now?

We made an observation that since downtown Long Beach store Lyons (which became Graph Aids) closed down, there is no local Art Supply store in Long Beach. There are places like Michaels and the Hobby Lobby, but these are not of the flavor we seek. Large corporations add standardization and reduce the creative opportunities that make local differences possible. We have a kiosk we can convert to the Makersville General Store. On Sunday it was known as the Fashion Masques kiosk. Today it is the Makersville General Store.

What is the Makerspace By The Sea?

The Makerspace By the Sea is an outdoor makerspace in Shoreline Village, behind the Makersville General Store. It is marked by whiteboards, and you will find some ideas and projects in work. There may be tables with projects on them, particularly between 3 and 6 PM betwen July 6 and August 7 of 2020.

We've got some special projects we're working on, but that is a topic to be shared another day.

Why the Makerspace By the Sea?

On the historic Pike was an 'amusement' known as the 'University by the Sea'. Before that, it was known as the 'Spit and Argue Club'. The following from an LA Times article on the Spit and Argue Club.

"The story goes that in the 1880s, a woman spotted some tobacco-chewing debaters on the veranda of the Long Beach Hotel and complained to a friend: “All they do is spit and argue.”
And so the Spit ‘n’ Argue Club became the name of the informal group of mostly retired characters who met daily in Long Beach to chew and whittle while tackling such issues as God, world peace and the proper methods of plowing a wheat field. The colorful conclave eventually became a tourist attraction, drawing upward of 1,500 spectators a day and surviving more than three-quarters of a century."

and this below

"In 1935, the Spit ‘n’ Argue Club came under the control of the image-conscious city and was renamed the University by the Sea, though few of the regulars wasted their saliva on such a stuffy title."

The University by the Sea was a place where people could talk about whatever they wanted to talk about. We are makers so ours are maker projects.

The Makerspace by the Sea is open from 3-6 PM every day from July 6th to August 7th. We are located in the piazza (near the sock shop and the carousel), behind the Makersville General Store kiosk.

Please visit us at the Makersville General Store and the Makerspace by the Sea. Play socially distanced games and let us know if you would like to share something you know.

You may find out more about Makersville at our website: http://www.makersville.net