Fabrication labs in the University of Minnesota’s College of Design provide a dedicated space for students to explore and be creative. 

Any student enrolled in design courses can utilize the labs, which are equipped with a wood and metal shop, digital fabrication tools and a material store to work on projects and learn how to use equipment with the help of onsite staff. 

The lab is open on weekdays and for limited hours on weekends with facilities on both the University’s Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses. It welcomes students with all levels of shop experience.

Anne Henly, a fabrication technician with the labs for eight years, said they are designed to be inclusive and encourage students of different disciplines to take advantage of the tools and staff expertise the lab provides. 

“The Fab Lab offers great resources to people where they can make their ideas a reality,” Henly said. “They start to work with materials and see how things like wood, metal, plastic or fabric, all those things, how you can then fasten them together. You can do all sorts of things.” 

Henly said the lab is as practically beneficial for students as it is academically, allowing them to experience the design process firsthand while gaining important hands-on skills. 

“It’s good to know how to use a drill. It’s good to know how to hand-sew something, and I like helping people learn,” Henly said. “To get people out of the online world and into reality is fun, and people get really excited. They get excited about learning new things.” 

In addition to helping students in the open labs, Henly runs the labs’ mending hour, a weekly workshop that provides anyone a chance to learn and practice fabric mending techniques through repairing fabric items. 

Henly said learning how to stitch is a useful skill, and the mending hour provides a way for people to learn while extending the life of fabric items. 

“I have heard from people that after they’ve mended something or altered it, they like it better.  You appreciate that clothing more and appreciate the little mend you did on it,” Henly said. “It’s a both economical but also sustainable way to create less waste in clothing and have to buy less.” 

The labs are staffed by five professionals, including the fabrication director and a digital fabrication specialist. Fifteen to 20 student workers also help. 

Nat Kim, a fabrication technician, said the labs ultimately help reduce barriers to learning shop skills by providing access to quality shop tools. 

“We’re really unique for the amount of hours that we’re open and the level of staffing that we have,” Kim said. “We’re open 68 hours a week and try to provide as much scrap material for students to get started.” 

Kim said staff in the metal, wood and laser shops try their best to educate people on how to salvage material. The labs make an effort to retain as much usable material at the end of each year, she added. 

In addition to prioritizing sustainability, the labs also work to be a creative space for people of all backgrounds and create a culture of inclusivity, Kim said. 

“I’m always excited to make the space inviting for folks like me who didn’t grow up with an extensive knowledge of tools,” Kim said. “I just find it really rewarding working with students who come in really nervous and they leave really confident.” 

Justin Kindelspire, the labs’ digital fabrication specialist, said he enjoys helping students gain skills and confidence with 3D printing, laser cutting and computer numerical control machining. Kindelspire wants to partner more with other makerspaces on campus to expand the labs’ current resources. 

“It’s a lot of fun when students come in with the thing that they want to make, but they don’t know how to get there, or they’re totally stumped,” Kindelspire said. “Helping them work through how to get to the goal that they want and solving problems is great.” 

Michelle Nunez, a student worker and fourth-year majoring in product design, said helping full-time staff as a student worker is rewarding and has helped her develop important problem-solving skills. 

“This is a great space,” Nunez said. “It’s an insanely important resource, not only between the bonds and connections that you can make with each other, but also all the skills that you can learn that translate outside of the shop.”

Correction: A previous version of this article stated the labs were open six to eight hours a week. They are actually open 68 hours a week.