A new makerspace, Brooklyn Spark, is slated to open in Bushwick

Attention, crafty people: Bushwick is getting a new makerspace.

Brooklyn Spark is located at 75 Stewart Ave., and is equipped with a 600-square-foot woodshop, a ceramics studio complete with a kiln and slab roller, areas dedicated to textiles and fine arts, and workspace and lounge areas.

The venue is slated to open March 1, according to Caleb Young, one of Spark’s nine co-founders. He said they selected Bushwick for the venue because leases were within what they could afford (unlike Williamsburg) and generally “there’s a ton of creatives and it’s a great neighborhood.”

Young, a former mechanical engineer who now works in software, decided to open Spark because he “really missed building things.” When he put the word out to friends and the maker community, he found eight other people on board to help him realize the dream.

Since February 2024, the nine founders — who have a diverse array of craft-related interests, from adaptive reuse to loudspeaker-design and furniture-making — have been meeting at each others’ apartments, planning Brooklyn Spark.

Membership costs $165 a month and includes 24/7 access and use of equipment including a laser cutter, 3-D printers, a sewing machine, a serger, a floor loom and a table loom.

According to a GoFundMe for the self-funded venture, there are no requirements to join, and everyone from "beginners to seasoned experts” is welcome.

While rising rents have shrunk Brooklyn’s DIY arts scene in recent decades, Young believes makerspaces are on the rise.

“I think the makerspace movement is just going to keep growing and growing,” he said. “I think there is a huge demand.”