This holiday season, Philly PR Girl had the pleasure of speaking with Rebecca Ledbetter, Director of Marketing at the Philadelphia Makerspace, NextFab. As their talented ‘entrepreneurial elves’ work away in the workshop creating one-of-a-kind pieces, NextFab has released its annual holiday gift guide. The guide not only highlights the incredible craftsmanship of their members, but also offers unique gift ideas for your loved ones. Read on to discover the success stories and creative studios at NextFab!
PPRG: What inspired you to start NextFab?
REBECCA: I loved the artist community and the ways in which NextFab supported innovation and creativity in the Philadelphia area. I wanted to be part of something that gave back to the community and could make a difference. As an artist myself, I felt like I could understand the needs of our makers and make a difference.
PPRG: How do you tailor your services to meet the diverse needs of small business owners, creatives, and startups?
REBECCA: We’re really lucky because we get to see and experience the needs of our community within our makerspace in real-time. As a space that provides tangible resources and tools, we can hear and see where there are gaps. One great example of this is hearing from our community a need for business resources specifically geared towards the creative community and meeting them where they are in their business needs. From this feedback and after some brainstorming amongst the team we came up with an annual conference, dubbed Tools of the Trades conference, which became a 3-day event with topics and resources geared towards the creative entrepreneurs of Philadelphia and beyond. Now an annual event, Tools of the Trades is a hybrid conference that focuses on connecting artisans and makers to business resources in Philadelphia and beyond. This three-day event provides a concentrated period for creative learning to help craft-focused businesses accelerate growth and find success however they choose to define them. It delivers a variety of programming and materials – lectures, resource directories, and a collaborative event – to address the needs voiced by our creatives running small businesses. The conference strives to emphasize approachability, affordability, and a supportive environment where everyone can come together and no question goes unanswered.
PPRG: How do you balance offering state-of-the-art technology while maintaining accessibility for all members?
REBECCA: We are big on learning and even bigger on providing a safe experience for anyone that walks through our doors. Our educational offerings include pre-designed classes, private training, and one-on-one certification checks so no matter what we can ensure everyone knows how to safely use any tool. We also ensure you know the staff working here, so you don’t feel shy about asking questions or for clarification.
PPRG: What steps do you take to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new technology and fabrication trends?
REBECCA: Many (if not all) of our staff are makers themselves who utilize our tools and equipment, so by using the tools themselves they can experience hands-on what works, what doesn’t and how to best use these machines. By keeping on the pulse of new technology and forging relationships with those tool and equipment suppliers we are able to ensure our members have the best experience they can have.
PPRG: Can you share success stories from startups or makers who benefited from NextFab’s resources?
REBECCA: There’s too many to count, but one who stands out is Ethan Feinstein of Philly Drum Co. Ethan came to us with the idea of wanting to create one drum kit for himself. With little woodworking experience, he quickly gained knowledge to finish up his drum kit. Armed with this new passion and fast forward years later, he now runs his own drum making business with several employees right out of our NextFab studio spaces. One of my favorite events we’ve done at NextFab is partnering with the Philadelphia Orchestra during the pandemic to film performances in community spaces, such as NextFab, since public spaces were shut down. Ethan performed with the drums he crafted himself alongside the performers.
Another great success story is Burro, a robotics company that has revolutionized the agriculture sector in autonomous robots. Charlie Andersen, CEO of Burro, moved into NextFab to build this innovative collaborative robot, designed to assist in carrying cargo. Charlie’s vision for Burro is akin to Disney’s beloved character Wall-E, but for outdoor agricultural environments. Unlike traditional robots confined to warehouses, Burro is designed to work outdoors alongside people. It’s an autonomous ground vehicle that can carry, follow, tow, and perform a range of tasks in agricultural settings. The integration of computer vision and AI intelligence enables these robots to navigate safely in complex environments, heralding a new era of efficient and data-driven farming practices.
Joining NextFab’s RAPID program was a pivotal moment for Charlie and Burro. The program provided Charlie with access to a pool of robotics talent, state-of-the-art machinery, plus a supportive community. Charlie’s startup transformed from a one-man operation into a robust team of over 40 professionals. According to recent reports, Burro has raised a total of $24 million in its Series B funding round, bringing their total funding to over $45 million.
PPRG: What’s one of the most unexpected or groundbreaking projects that’s been created at NextFab?
REBECCA: To just pick one is incredibly difficult, but the one that really sticks out in my mind is during the very early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic when there weren’t enough PPE masks to go around. In the early months of the pandemic, demand for traditional medical-grade masks skyrocketed. Manufacturers were unable to keep up. This forced many essential healthcare workers to reuse masks which left themselves and their patients at risk. There were some DIY mask solutions circulating, but it was unclear if they were safe enough to protect against the coronavirus.
The local Philadelphia innovation ecosystem recognized this need and sprung into action. NextFab’s president, Evan Malone, was a founding member of CoverAid PHL, a coalition of representatives from hospitals, universities, manufacturers, government, and small businesses working to increase the supply of PPE. Various groups of our peers in the product development industry formed to design and produce ventilators, face shields, masks, and other PPE. Among those groups was one formed by a local medical device development company, Archimedic, NextFab, and local healthcare and university partners. The group’s goal was to design and produce a mask using an origami-inspired design made from high-filtration material that could protect healthcare workers in a pinch. By creating a few prototypes, and faced with the scarcity of materials, the team was able to not only design something that works, but mass produce it using the equipment at NextFab. During the pandemic we also assisted in laser cutting face shields for the local Penn hospitals and assisting in medical devices to help ease sanitation of masks.
PPRG: How has the Philadelphia maker community shaped the growth and direction of NextFab?
REBECCA: Philadelphia is the birthplace of innovation and invention (thank you Ben Franklin!), but more so than that, it is (and always will be) the city of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia wants Philadelphia to succeed, and we see that time and time again with the people that walk through our doors. We have inventors creating the next great medical device to craft lasting memories through a handmade chest that will be passed on for generations to come. Without the people and community, we’re simply a building with cool tools. The makers, inventors, napkin sketchers, artists, creatives are what make our spaces as vibrant as they are.
PPRG: For someone just starting out on their entrepreneurial journey, what advice would you give them?
REBECCA: I think the best thing to do is just to start! A lot of the time, we put up excuses or wait for that perfect moment, when in reality, the perfect moment may never happen. One day you’ll have to decide for yourself to just jump out of the airplane and build the parachute on the way down. I’d also say find your community! NextFab is great because it provides a lot of those practical resources and tools, but much more than that we have a diverse community of makers and entrepreneurs who have been or are currently going through the same struggles you may be experiencing. Not only are they a great source of advice (and the occasional venting session), they can be great accountability buddies and cheerleaders for what you’re going through .
On a more practical level, when you’re starting out, making sure you cross your t’s and dot your i’s will save you a world of headache later. Ensuring you have your legal and new business documents in place is a great way to start. Philadelphia has some great (free!) resources for small business owners, even if you’re just starting out. For example, local SBDC (Small Business Development Centers) through schools such as Widener and Temple University have worked with a lot of our NextFab members in things such as forming an LLC, getting your website started, and bookkeeping. BRIC (Business Resource and Innovation Center) also offers free resources and support for entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and inventors, such as workshops and events, a database of resources and sample business documents, and even free professional headshots every month! I’ve signed up for all of these resources’ newsletters so I can share any upcoming relevant workshops and events with our members.
PPRG: Tell us about the 2024 Holiday Guide—what can people expect to find and how can it help them shop local this season?
REBECCA: The NextFab Gift Guide is chock full of local, handmade goods that are perfect for that unique gift. It has everything from home goods, like one of my favorites, Untitled_Co’s sustainably-sourced cutting boards and rolling pins, to fine art, to jewelry to clothing. By shopping for these handmade gifts you’re not only buying something of high-quality and long-lasting, you’re making a direct impact on your local economy. We have physical copies available at many coffee shops around the city, as well as at our physical NextFab location, but it’s easy enough to digitally flip through the pages on our website as well. Many of the items featured are available for local pickup and shipping so it makes shopping (even last minute like myself) super doable. In addition to some of Untitled_Co’s pieces, I’m looking at Girl Holding a Pen’s porcelain local-centric ornaments for my brother, Tombino’s coaster sets for my parents, and maybe even Niki Leist’s Reap earrings for myself.
To check out this years annual NextFab’s holiday gift guide click here or to learn more about this makerspace and how you may become a member to begin your entrepreneurial click here! Follow NextFab on Instagram to check all the latest events and artist news!