IdeaForge to provide Penticton workshop for the creatively inclined

PENTICTON – It’s not a new concept, but it's new to Penticton.

Manda Maggs thinks the time is ripe for a member-based workshop in Penticton and has been working on a project she calls IdeaForge.

IdeaForge is a “maker space” where tools, equipment, materials, knowledge and experience can be shared among those with common interests and creative minds, she says.

Maggs is hosting a networking event at 5 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Cowork facility at 129 Nanaimo Ave. where she will talk about her project and seek input from the public with respect to the types of things they would like to do in such a facility. The meeting should be of interest to hobbyists, do-it-yourselfers, learners, crafters, entrepreneurs, inventors and designers, she says.

The idea has been around in several different forms under several different names. She says two other groups are trying to trademark the "maker space" name so she came up with her own name.

Maggs says the closest thing she’s seen to the concept was a building in the industrial area that once provided studio areas for artists and craftsmen.

“Our new home will be in Shatford Centre. This first meeting I’m hoping to bring interested people to the idea, so we can figure out what type of equipment we’ll need, what our intentions are going to be and what people want to do with this space. We’re very excited to call Shatford Centre home, ” Maggs says.

For more information, or to submit thoughts and ideas, go to the IdeaForge Facebook page here.

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