Cold Open

SPEAKER_02 0:00

It's a place for people to bring their creative ideas to life. So maybe they've been dreaming about this, I don't know, this crazy game that they've developed in their brain, and they wanna, you know, make wooden pieces on the laser, they wanna um, you know, reupholster some furniture, like whatever dream they might be dreaming up, they can come to Maid and make that.

Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:24

If you wanna hear about St. Louis, tune into the Bucket List Show weekly. Hear what Marissa and Luke say. It drops every Wednesday, got a dope new guest every single week. Buckle up for the ride. Who's it gonna be? Who's on the show today? They rap Saint Louis. What to do in the loo on a late night? I maybe what to do on a date night. Yeah. Bucket list as you covered, they know what's going on. What's going on? They'll give you. Hey, eighteen different things to do on nineteen. If you need one more to choose, yeah. This city, city, city is a place we call home. A place we call home. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:02

At the STL Bucket List

Royal Banks of Missouri

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show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor and the official banking partner of STL Bucket List, Royal Banks of Missouri. Royal Banks is a full-service, independent community bank, locally owned, locally run, and proudly investing in St. Louis since 1964. That's more than 60 years of taking care of the people and businesses who make this city special. From checking and savings to mortgages, business banking, and wealth management, you get real personalized service from neighbors who actually know your name. With 16 locations across St. Louis, St. Charles, Illinois, and Northeast Missouri, there's a branch right around the corner. Royal Banks of Missouri, proudly investing in our communities. St. Louis, welcome back to

What Is MADE Makerspace?

SPEAKER_01 1:40

another episode of the STL Bucket List show, highlighting the people, places, and events that make St. Louis special. One of those events coming up is MakerFest. And I'm here with the executive director of Made Makerspace over in the Del Mar Maker District. Rachel King, thank you for joining me today.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Yeah, of course. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Can't wait to get into it. But before we start, I want to help our listeners understand for those who who have never been to MADE, tell us, you know, first what the mission is, what the origin is, and what somebody can expect in your own words when they walk in and experience what you guys do.

SPEAKER_02 2:12

Yeah, sure. So Maid Maker Space is a creative hub for anyone and everyone. You don't have to have any prior skills. You can come in and learn how to sew a bag, make a bookshelf, just about anything you can imagine. You can come and make it made. And part of our mission is to make sure too that whenever someone walks in the door, they feel like they belong and they have purpose. And so my background is in clinical mental health and what we do at MAID just helps people feel better and uh feel connected to the community in a creative way.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

How important is that with like in a world that we live in digitally and obviously this AI world that we live in now to actually like go and make things with your hands and you being in, you know, clown counseling, I feel like that there's a lot of benefits there as well.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

Yeah. So it's it's actually there's a lot of research behind like working with your hands and how it can help you feel better. And so I think that what we do at MADE is like a really great combination of you can come in with a creative idea. And then when you get there, you realize that there's so much more than the tools and the thing you wanted to make. Then suddenly you've met your best friend there. And now you want to come and you know hang out as like a third place.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

So,

Rachel's Path to MADE

SPEAKER_01 3:24

how did you personally end up running the makerspace? What was your path there?

SPEAKER_02 3:27

Yeah, so I have an interesting background. I did wedding photography for 15 years. So I have that creative bone in my body. Um, but I also graduated with my clinical mental health counseling degree. And I started at MAID as the membership director. And then I got to learn a lot about the members and their personal stories and just really fell in love with the space. And so, whenever it was time for what am I going to do next, I was promoted to the executive director. And it has been a wild ride since then. We were hit by the tornado, of course, last year. And um, that was right after I had become the executive director. So I've literally seen just a roller coaster since I started.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Oh my goodness. Yeah. I was gonna say take us back to that day on May 16th because you know, we've worked with Ben Prembo a lot. We've worked with Doug a lot. Um, and though we we call those guys close friends of ours just because we've seen all of what they've been doing in the maker district and and we were working alongside the maker district and all this momentum that you guys were having that May 16th tornado. Walk us through that moment. For over 150 years, SSM

SSM Health

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Health has been providing hope, healing, and opportunities to the St. Louis community. With over 40,000 employees across four states, they're not only delivering exceptional care, they're one of the region's largest employers, shaping the future of healthcare. We're proud to present SSM Health as the official healthcare partner of the STL bucket list show. If you've dreamed of a career where you're truly making a difference every day, SSM Health can help you take that to the next step. Learn more at their website in the link in the show notes. What was that? That was on like a Friday around four or five o'clock, like

The May 16th Tornado

SPEAKER_01 5:01

right at the end, right at the end of a Friday. Walk me through where you were, what that moment was actually like for people that actually worked in that area, not just watching on the news.

SPEAKER_02 5:09

Yeah, absolutely. So I remember that day very well. We have a third Friday activity every month, and it was our third Friday activities. We're like getting ready for the day, and the sirens didn't go off, but my phone makes a noise, and I'm like, oh, you know, I'm from the Midwest. It's fine. And two minutes later, I start seeing like all of the windows just shattering and coming at me. And I'm realizing in that moment that, hey, this is not a drill. Um, so I went to take cover, but got uh pretty shook up and just hid under a table and cried for about 10 minutes or less, actually. It was pretty fast. Um, but then whenever I stepped back outside, it was really surreal. I mean, there was members of the community from left and right just kind of pulling together to help make sure everyone was okay. In fact, you mentioned Ben Perimba. I remember just like walking in the street and seeing like Ben over to the left. And then over here, you know, we've got third degree glass and and all of the different people that work there and were just in the street, just kind of in awe of what had happened. But um, yeah, it was it was pretty surreal.

The Community Shows Up

SPEAKER_01 6:15

So I noticed, you know, the the outpour the days after that. So, you know, Saturday morning, cleanup, Sunday, all the way into the next week. I mean, what was that, what was that like to see people in the district, but then also all across the St. Louis area come out to support you guys?

SPEAKER_02 6:28

It was really special. So we put out a call for help just almost immediately after the tornado damage was kind of assessed. I just, you know, let people know, hey, we were hit really, it was a pretty big impact. So we were hit pretty significantly and we needed some help. And I knew that our community would show up, but it was it was crazy. So the next morning, it's like 7 a.m. and people are standing outside the doors, like ready to come in and help. And not only did we clean up made, but then as soon as we were done, we started going around to our neighbors, we're picking up bricks, handing out extra supplies. And out of out of all of the catastrophe that it was and all of the horrible things that happened, what I did really love was seeing everyone come together. No matter who they were, it didn't matter, you know, your uh your friends just all showing up together and and helping each other.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Yeah, absolutely. And uh, you know, over a year later

Make, Connect, Belong

SPEAKER_01 7:24

now, you know, you've talked about maid's mission shifting towards make, connect, belong. What changed on how you think about that space um because of that day, but then also like how you guys look at the future going forward as well.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Yeah, that's a that's a loaded question. It's a big one. Um so you know, coming in and creating has always been part of our mission. But coming in and being connected, I think is what has really grown in the last year. We not only have classes that, you know, you can come and learn like a pretty significant skill, but we also have community classes that were launched after the tornado. So what we found is that people really wanted to connect, and maybe they couldn't afford like a two or three hundred dollar class to learn like the CNC router, for example. Right. So we developed these smaller skill classes that people could come in, learn to paint, learn to knit. And um, those really opened up the doors to a lot of people in our community that otherwise couldn't have afforded it, or maybe they just didn't, they were intimidated by all the machinery. And so that feeling connected and then feeling like they belong, no matter what the skill level, they can come in and and learn something. And we encourage bad art at MAID. It's it's totally fine if you do not know what you're doing, you are in good company. Um, I don't consider myself an artist myself, but um, but it's just it's a level playing field. You know, you can come in with zero skills and just have fun. Like the goal is have fun. It's okay if it's bad art.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Yeah, no, I love that. And and I I feel that when I walk through the space and like the access to equipment and then also the mentorship from people that are in the space because there are some incredible people that are in the space as well. First timers all the way to people that have legit making makers. Oh, yeah. You know, so um let's get

What Is Maker Fest?

SPEAKER_01 9:07

into Makerfest a little bit. So you guys have concepted this event, and you know, you have some heavy hitters out there, some of the best food in St. Louis. Um, it's gonna be let's just walk through that that whole event. So the event is on October 2nd. Um, walk me through what people can expect, um, why Makerfest exists, what the goal of the group, the, the event is, and and and really what you guys are excited about for this year as well.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

Yeah, so MakerFest is actually our first in-person fundraiser, but it's not your typical fundraiser where you kind of think of like a stiffy, we're gonna ask you for uh stiff, ask you for money. This is more like a festival of creatives and, like you said, amazing food. So Ben Paremba is shutting down three of his restaurants on Delmar Maker District for us that night, which is incredible. So we have Nixta, Dalbano, and Florentine, and all of those restaurants will have different tastes and drinks that you can come and try. So for $25, so it's $25 a ticket, you get a $10 food and drink voucher. So it's honestly an incredible way to taste all of those different restaurants at a really low cost. And because of his generosity, all of the ticket proceeds go back to made and helping make creativity accessible for all.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Oh, wow, that's amazing. So October 2nd, it's your first, it's the signature now fundraising event, something that hopefully will get bigger and better every single year.

Demos, Makers & Shopping

SPEAKER_01 10:27

What are some of the activations that people can be excited about? I know that this is an age is 18 plus event, you know, on a Friday night. So kind of walk me through the vibe of that too.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Yeah. So when you walk in, we'll have a DJ, we'll have grab bags, we'll have lots of things for people to participate in. So not just coming and eating and drinking, but we'll have different stations that you can actually come and make something yourself. It wouldn't be maker fest if you couldn't come and make something. Um, so we'll have like screen printing tote bags, we'll have some live demonstrations so you can actually see our artist firsthand, like working on different projects. And then we'll also have six of our makers there selling their artwork. So we have a select group of people. The space is limited. So we have a select group of people that will be sharing um anything from like textiles to woodworking, laser art. And so you can do some shopping while you're there too, which also supports our makers.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

So they'll have vendors, vendors, vendor tents out there as well.

Who Should Come

SPEAKER_01 11:22

So who should come to this event? Because you mentioned all these exhibits, but is this a date night? Is this a you know, friend, like who should come to this event? It's it's anybody and everybody, it sounds like.

SPEAKER_02 11:33

Yeah, everyone should come. Nope. Well, only uh 300 people max were anticipating to sell out. So um definitely, you know, get your tickets. Um, but I would say it's it's a great date night. It's also uh it's not necessarily a family-friendly event, but you could bring your brother, you could bring your mother, you could bring anybody, you know, in your family with you.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

Um, but yeah, I I envision a lot of people coming with like a big group of friends. So like maybe you and five other friends want to go hang out on a Friday night, have some great music, have some great food, maybe you do a little shopping. Um, it's a it's a unique experience too. So it's only happening this one time throughout the year. So it's it's something that I think people will look forward to year in year, um, year after year. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

The STL bucket list show is proudly sponsored

Swade Dispensary

SPEAKER_01 12:21

by Suede Dispensary with 11 Missouri area locations. Suede does so much for the St. Louis community. We've been working with this team for a couple of years back since Medical was here, and we're excited to support their new product launches, events, and community initiatives. We couldn't be happier to work with this premier cannabis brand, and we're excited for them to sponsor the show. Enjoy the rest of the podcast. And is there a specific

Live Wood Lathe Demo

SPEAKER_01 12:44

exhibit this year that you're personally most excited about? Because you you have your hand in a lot of people that are involved and probably people that go to go to MADE as well that'll that'll be there.

SPEAKER_02 12:52

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

I'm you most excited about Ben's restaurant.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

You saw the look in my eyes. I'm like, ooh, the food is gonna be so good. Yeah. Um, no, I'm actually really excited. We're going to have some some of the live demos. So we'll have a wood lathe. I don't know if you've ever seen a wood lathe, but essentially you put like a big hunk of wood on this thing that spins really fast. It's the easiest way to explain it. And so we're going to have a live demo where there's someone sticking shark sharp objects into this spinning piece of wood and carve something really beautiful. So if you think of like chess pieces or, you know, something larger, like uh like the legs to a table. So he'll be doing a live demo and you can just see the wood chips flying everywhere. And um, that that's gonna be really fun to watch. And I think people get excited when they get to watch something being made. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Uh so that'll be a really good highlight. That's so exciting. And then how how

The Delmar Maker District

SPEAKER_01 13:45

does Makerfest tie into everything made has been through the past year? Is there a theme or is it just meant to be a celebration of what you guys are doing in the neighborhood and really just try to drive people into the neighborhood to just see it firsthand?

SPEAKER_02 13:56

Yeah, I think the the primary goal is for people to come and see what we do and what our makers offer and get excited about the Del Mar Maker District as a whole because it's not just MAID, it's also been Perimba's restaurants and our neighbors are also helping us out with different donations. So it's it's really like a community event, which is really exciting to me that we're able to partner with such great businesses.

SPEAKER_01 14:19

And your whole entire district has this sense of creativity. I mean, obviously, what the team is doing over at the Glass Factory, I've done demos there. I've actually made things at the glass factory where in your building you have you guys, you guys have other neighbors that are doing stuff, especially in your building. You guys have so much exciting stuff going on. What is it like, where does your passion come from to keep pushing forward because of all the programs that you guys do and how important it is to the city to just keep going? And I'm I've been seeing it, you guys have been pushing so hard this last year.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

Yeah. So for us, I think like we have no other option but to keep going. So like after the tornado and and you know, really trying to push this fundraiser, like the only option in my mind is to keep moving forward, no matter what we've, you know, been through, that roller coaster ride I was talking about. I think that like our only option is to just keep move moving forward. And I think that we get to have fun while we do it. So we're having fun, we're being creative, and our neighbors are doing the same. Like we have all uh joined together for the different Third Friday events. And um, it's just, it's just a really great place to be. And having neighbors like Craft Alliance, third degree glass, and then upstairs, the Magic House has a maker space. And so when we do the like Third Friday events and different things, just seeing everyone come together and have fun on a Friday night is really great.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

The Third Fridays have been one of the, I mean, what especially like with the Glass Factory, what they they started as like a smaller event and now it's become this huge it's a whole district event. Yeah,

Becoming a MADE Member

SPEAKER_01 15:43

it's this huge event. But I want to talk a little bit, um, you know, a little bit more about MAID because a lot of people probably are wondering, like, oh, how do I become a member? What does it look like to become a member? You know, I see that you guys have membership starting at at least 13 years old, so you can have kids that can come be members on top of your membership as well. Um, what is a member, what does that mean? I mean, I'm seeing access to the shop, classes, no, you know, you know, no contracts. It's all these things where you can use this space. And I've known a lot of people that have started in your space and now have created their own. It's like a it's like a hub of places that are now makers in other spaces. So tell me like what a maid member actually is and what what they have, what's included.

unknown 16:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:22

Um, so memberships start at 13. So teens and adults we serve. And um, you know, the the purpose of MAID is for people to get uh it's a place for people to bring their creative ideas to life. So maybe they've been dreaming about this, I don't know, this crazy game that they've developed in their brain and they want to, you know, make wooden pieces on the laser, they want to um, you know, reupholster some furniture, like whatever dream they might be dreaming up, they can come to MAID and make that. I don't know if I fully answered your question. It was a long question.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

Well, I I think that my question was like, what, yeah, like that was actually perfect because like when you're a member at MAID, like what does that mean? What does that include? And then what are some of the cool things that people are you kind of mentioned? Some of the things that they're doing there too. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

So um one thing that I really like to mention to people is that you don't have to have a membership to be a part of MAID. So we have community classes that start as low as $10. So for $10, you can come in and kind of get a little like your toes wet just to see what there is. And if you're a member, you're paying a membership fee and you're part of the creative community in that hub. But even without a membership, you can still come and take advantage of the space. We have a lot of really great instructors. We've had instructors from like Boeing and instructors from even the Glass Factory. And um, they're all coming together and teaching different skills. But I think as a as a member, like if I were walking in for the first time, I think it's it's a place to be inspired. It's a place to make friends, and it's a place to just get creative.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

And you have so many different classes. You have your community

Equipment & Maker to Market

SPEAKER_01 18:00

classes, like screen printing. I see every single Wednesday throughout the month of September. Um, you have wood shop, which is member only, where people can come in, powder coating, quilting, uh, 3D print, um, which a lot of people or a lot of kids I know are are super interested in 3D printing right now, which I'm sure is a pretty popular thing. And you guys own and and maintain all this equipment too. So like people are getting to use your equipment that's and having that accessibility because some of these machines are not cheap.

SPEAKER_02 18:27

Yeah. Yeah. So that's one benefit, I think, of having a membership at MAID. It gives you access to the whole space. So we have over 50 professional grade pieces of equipment, and each piece might be, you know, thousands of dollars. Well, for example, our CNC embroidery machine that does like, you know, if you were doing a hat like this, um, it it will take your design, your digital design, and make it um into something on fabric or on like leather hats, whatever. Yeah. And um sorry, I lost my train of thought. Oh, I know. Yeah, just just using this space to um to learn a new nope, I lost.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

Well, it's really just when you're thinking about, you know, the machines that they get access to, like you mentioned, embroidery. But like let's say a kid gets a membership, he's really in that they're really interested in 3D printing, but then they they find embroidery and they're like, oh, okay, like here's embroidery, and like here's companies that are purchasing hats, and like we got 500 of these made, and it's like there's a real business there. So people just think about it as a hobby, but there's actually real businesses that are getting created at MADE and people are servicing their customers at MAID as well.

SPEAKER_02 19:32

Yeah, yeah. I I thought of what I wanted to share. Just the the amount of equipment and the expense of the equipment. So if you wanted to go and try out all of these things on your own, maybe you're buying thousands of dollars worth of equipment and you don't even know if you're gonna like it or not. Yeah. Um, so the great benefit of having a membership is that you can come in, try all of the machines, take all of the classes, see if maybe it's something you want to keep doing, and you can just run your business out of made, or maybe you want to purchase more equipment, but at least you've been able to come in and try it and test it out. Exactly. Um, we also have an entrepreneurship program too. So you mentioned like people actually running their businesses out of MAID or getting their start. So we do have that uh Maker to Market, which is an entrepreneurship program that we launched this year too.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

That's amazing. And you're seeing so many people build businesses. Is there since your time being there, is there anybody that is that is still um,

Businesses Born at MADE

SPEAKER_01 20:25

I mean, there's so many, but is there any specific cases that stand out that people in this that that might be listening might not know that they started at MAID too?

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Yeah, definitely. So there is a company called Guys with the Fries. He's also um AK signature design and he's been a member for as long as I've I've been at MAID.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:43

And um his his house and his restaurant were both hit by the tornado. Total devastation. So we started up a new food truck and he does all of his signage work and he will show up on a third Friday with his food truck. And so we're always trying to support our members. So if he's you know building building signage, we might hire someone to build signs for maid. Um, we've also had people do custom work for like emos, the emos family. Um, they had like a den. They needed a uh really sweet table for their basement. And so they took the original chopping block from the very first emos and turned it into this sweet table that had um custom routing that had like the emos. Uh actually, it didn't say emos, it just said emo because it's the family.

SPEAKER_00 21:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

Um, but yeah, things like that, just getting to see those really cool projects. And these guys are, you know, running their businesses, getting some really cool clients. We've had people work with um celebrities in St. Louis as well. They'll come in and they're like, Yeah, you'll never believe who I'm working with.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

Yeah. So that's cool. That's really cool to hear those stories. You're like, I'm making this for this person. You're gonna see it here. And that's like that ongoing impact. And I'm glad that the community that hasn't either heard of you guys or knows about you guys, but hasn't been able to see that, like, all it takes is that $25 ticket to. Come experience maker fest and you can experience it all in one setting and you have all those makers out there. But then also just you know following you guys on social media, coming to some of those community classes and things like I'm a dad, you know, I would love to take my kids aren't 13 yet, but like you being able to take your kids to things like that. I know the magic house offers stuff, you know, for littler kids and stuff too. Um, so the creative energy that you guys are building there, I think is inspiring. And I I think that, you know, for those listening, I know that you guys are gonna push to sell this out, like grab a ticket, go experience it. Definitely a $25 ticket, 10 of that goes to food. So you're already gonna experience more than that almost in food because I know Ben's gonna be taking care of people and slices of pizza. He's gonna be handing out tacos and chips and all that from Nixta, and obviously full bar running at all the places too. So I'm sure people will be excited about you know trying some of the drinks.

Why Rachel Loves MADE

SPEAKER_01 22:47

So I want to ask a couple questions just to wrap up here. Um, what is your favorite part about working at Maid? It seems like you have all this energy. You flew in early just to come talk to me today because you really wanted to share that with everyone that's gonna be listening to the podcast. So tell me about, I know it's hard to put that into words, but like what is what it what gets you up every day and keeps you motivated to chasing that mission.

SPEAKER_02 23:11

So people ask me all the time when they walk into Maid, Rachel, what do you make? And I kind of joke and say, I make friendships, but I consider myself a relationships expert. And so when people come in and they're looking for, you know, equipment to make things, but then they start as they're walking around, like telling you their personal stories. And I just really love being a part of a community where you know someone comes in and they are, you know, trying to build something, but maybe they just lost their wife or maybe they just lost their apartment or something, you know, something traumatic happened. And so they're really looking for multiple things, right? They're looking for somewhere to make something, but then they're also really being inspired and just feeling like they have a place where they can feel heard and feel like they belong there. And so my favorite part, I would definitely say, is the people, the community, the people. And we do plan a lot of really fun events. And I won't lie, that's that is a huge perk of working there, getting to be a part of these epic events. So Delishant Delmar is coming too in October. It's great. That is going to be an amazing event, third year in a row. And so, yeah, I think the the people and the celebrations and so Makerfest is both of those things just colliding, just being around all of the people that I care about, and also being um, you know, in community doing something fun.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

The STL Bucketless show is fueled by Upshot Coffee.

Upshot Coffee

SPEAKER_01 24:36

My friends at Upshot Coffee have some of the best beans in town. I got some of their new packaging here. Look at this bag. Look how big this is. Um, they have four St. Louis locations, their flagship in Coddleville, the break shop over by Lindenwood in St. Charles, their Clayton location called Hi-Fi, um, and then Flyby over in Tower Grove, their newest location. Um, and they also sell their coffee online everywhere. If you guys haven't added Upshot Coffee to your STL bucket list, it's time to try it. Some of the my favorite people in the industry and some of the best coffee in the game. And everybody in the neighborhood has this chip

Tickets & Partners

SPEAKER_01 25:10

on their shoulder now to rebuild. And I think it's a it's a it's a nice, not that that wasn't there before because you guys were pushing so hard to revitalize this neighborhood, but like now, even more than ever, it's like, hey, let's let's not give up, let's put our foot on the gas. You know, we just did a tour of the Oleo space seeing that getting redeveloped, which is right across the street from you guys. And like excited every time that something opens, and these events give like Delish on Del Mar is is another great one for everybody in the community to just pull up. It's a free event, just to be able to see what's going on in the neighborhood, you know, and that that's really what is so cool about MakerFest. So if you guys are interested in getting tickets at maidstl.com slash makerfest, you can find the tickets or just go to maid's home website and you scroll down right there, and the ticket link is right there to be able to click off. Um, but Rachel, thank you so much for coming in uh to the podcast today and super excited to be out there this year and really um experience what you guys are building. And I would love to come and do a tour again at uh Maid just to be able to see the progress and be able to check that out. And I think that would be a great video too that we can capture as well.

SPEAKER_02 26:10

So well, you are welcome anytime. I do want to give a quick plug to two of our vendors that are gonna be on site because Ben's gonna have a lot of amazing food and drinks, but Forehands Brewery is also gonna be there, and they are donating $1,500 worth of product. Wow. Yeah, which is amazing. And so all of the proceeds from the beer that night will also be given to maid and then Bold Spoon Creamery. Yeah, I've never had Bold Spoon myself, but I've heard so many amazing things, and they're also donating product, and so all of the proceeds from your ice cream and your beer that night goes.

SPEAKER_01 26:43

She's a good maker too. I mean, we've had Rachel on the podcast. Yeah, and she is like straight farm to ice cream table. I mean, they farm all the mint and everything that they make the ice cream, and then it's it's so way. Yeah, she has a farm out in, I think, in middle Missouri.

SPEAKER_02 26:57

Sweet. Well, I'm even more excited now. So yeah, there's gonna be just so many great things and so many great people.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

Bold spoon is incredible, but yeah, four hands have been great partners. Kevin and Liz over there have always been supportive of all of our events as well. So I love that they they get out there. So, guys, makerfest. Um, still time to get tickets, you know, experience it. But regardless, if you can't come this Friday or come on October 2nd, um get down there and experience a community class, go to a third Friday. That's probably a good introduction introduction to the neighborhood. And then Delish on Del Mar, when is that again?

SPEAKER_02 27:27

October 16th. October. So it's Third Friday. Yeah, two weeks after. Um you can come back and it's a different, it's a different event, but it has the same feel of a celebration with food, music, makers. Um, it's a large scale event. So we'll have thousands of people there. Yeah. Where Maker Fest, it's a max of 300. It's more like a elite VIP special experience.

The Upward Spiral Project

SPEAKER_01 27:50

There was one thing that I was reading about the Upward Spiral project. Can we talk a little bit about that? So that what I was seeing was 26 free libraries and 26 neighborhoods. Where does that stand today? And what is the what is the passion behind that project as well?

SPEAKER_02 28:02

Yeah. Oh my gosh. So Upward Spiral was a project that kind of came out of seeing the community come together after the tornado. And so I went to one of our artists at MAID and I said, hey, I've got this idea. I really want to do something that is uplifting, something that brings the community together. So together we came up with this idea of 26 little free libraries. And so each one will have something different. So each library represents a different neighborhood. So maybe the, you know, the Delmar Maker District library might have craft supplies. Um, the library, you can tell I'm not from St. Louis. I'm like the library for the other neighborhood.

SPEAKER_01 28:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:42

But each neighborhood. So we're relying on, we're relying on the artist to um develop that library. So each neighborhood will have its own uh artist for the for the library. And so they'll get to develop what's actually in the box and they'll decorate it. But um, part of the project too is that we're developing these libraries that will be covered in 3,000 community-made tiles. So there's these four by four tiles. We'll actually be making some at Makerfest. Nice. Um, these four by four tiles that are either uh glass pieces put together or they might be ceramic and painted, they might be laser cut. And so everyone in the community is invited to come and make one. And then they will get installed on the libraries at the end so you can come back and see the artwork that you've helped create. And it's part of this um overall project.

SPEAKER_01 29:31

Yeah, that's

Wrap-Up

SPEAKER_01 29:32

amazing. Well, Rachel, thank you so much for coming into the studio today. Thank you so much for educating us on what MAIDE does, but more importantly, what they can come experience at MakerFest, which I know that we've been working on. We're super excited to be out there this year. Um, if you guys are interested in getting tickets, like I said, go to uh uh madestl.com backslash makerfest. Follow you guys on social media to see some of the updates as they come out. Um and just come come with an open mind and come support the neighborhood. Um perfect. It's gonna be a fall night. I guarantee it's gonna be crispy out, it's gonna feel so good.

SPEAKER_02 30:01

I hope I'm so excited for the fall. We want a nice crispy night.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

Yeah, no, absolutely. Well, thank you guys so much, and we'll see you guys on the podcast next week.