After work, many people just want to lie on the couch and relax. Not so in the Stadtwirtschaft - things tend to get louder here after work. This has been the case regularly since our move - which is why we want to provide a little update on the state of the association. Because: yes, we are actually active all the time! Even if you can't really tell from the street. It's been another 4 months since we last provided information. It's amazing how quickly a few months can turn the clock.
First things first: our textile area is up and running! It's not yet ready for full use, but there are shelves, two professional industrial sewing machines, sewing dummies, a cutting table, plenty of power sockets, yarns, fabrics, needles, mending kit and most of the things you need for a good day's sewing - including labeling and a cosy place for braiding thoughts.
In addition to the textile area, there is also our central meeting point, which is now equipped with tables, chairs, a seating area, a projector and a screen, making it suitable for smaller get-togethers. A few nice lights and plants are now also making it more pleasant to linger. It's not yet suitable for large courses, but it's fine for 5-10 people. There is still a problem with sockets and a poor internet connection via an LTE router, which we have unfortunately only been able to trim to 3 out of 5 bars of signal strength so far. So the digital construction site is still there. However, we are looking forward to the first mini-workshops. Otherwise, we use the area to eat together and often order something from our trusted food supplier in the evening.
Our wood workshop is also slowly becoming a real workshop. Here, after a few dozen Euro pallets that had been in temporary storage have finally been returned to the lender Splendid Drinks (thanks again for the long loan period!), project shelves are currently being screwed together, heavy wooden doors are being dismantled and used for other purposes, and we are often talking about measured lengths and quantities in an iterative, intensive discussion. Just as it should be, the most important equipment such as a band saw, circular table saw, pillar drill, wood lathe etc. are already in place. A few great machines have also been added - especially good, old parts that are still solid.
Here, too, use is currently limited to removal work. But if you listen very carefully, you can already hear the Dremel calling for new projects …
The electronics corner is currently being created in a usable size and concept after many weeks of strenuous planning and discussions in which many ideas were discarded and generated. New shelves have been procured and two height-adjustable work areas with solder fume extraction, earthing, a non-slip and stable work surface for more complex projects, which also favor SMD processing, are currently being created. In addition, a suitable oscilloscope from Siglent has recently joined our ranks.
Just 2 meters away from the soldering areas, the repaired Epilog laser cutter, about which we published a rebirth article at the beginning of the year, is being completed. A new extraction system for the laser smoke and a Hiblow pond pump for the air curtain are currently on their way to us - because engraving and cutting is usually problematic without blowing. In the meantime, a sealed anti-manipulation cable has also been created. So that the laborious laser is not lasered by every layman without instruction 💥🔫.
Across the beams, the 3D printers have been running several days a week, producing various spare parts and modules for our wall shelves, as well as a few tiny semi-transparent special parts for the inner-city decorations for the upcoming Hutfestival. We have also cleaned out our printer universe and started to decompile and recycle old electronics.
In general, we have tackled various annoying things that are not visible but are practical. For example, after our move, more than 10 computers had to be fundamentally updated and equipped with more software. We installed and configured around 150 gigabytes of OS updates. All our PCs now have a basic default setup, where you can find great standard programs such as Blender, FreeCAD, OpenSCAD, Inkscape, GIMP, Blender, Scribus, Krita, Kicad, Arduino IDE, VS Codium, Libre Office and more. According to our current internet access, this alone took several days 🗿.
After the ceiling was renovated in the spring, we were finally able to unveil our equipment here too. Since then, the workshop has been progressing rather slowly, but things are generally happening here too. Unfortunately, Mathieu, our most active metal guy, is currently involved in so many other matters that he will only be able to devote his time here later. In any case, we are still looking for reinforcements for the various topics in this zone. Because here you can turn, grind, weld and mill. Our little Kosy milling machine also arrived back home a few weeks ago.
The rest can still be rearranged, tidied up or cleaned. We fight our way from the front to the back. There's still a lot to do. But even if not every little thing has found its place yet: as long as the coffee machine is running and we don't run out of cups, we'll stay on the ball!
We work on mundane and less visual things such as fire protection and fire extinguishers, installing power cables and sockets, internet contract, the FabAccess access system, locking systems, exterior façade signage and renovation different stuff. Last but not least, we also rock events or take part in planning and take care of the digital Chemnitz: the river of daily emails, appointment clarifications and calls, sometimes with flooding and rampant spam. There is also quite a lot to do in 2025 in terms of public participation. For example, Europe Week, KOSMOS Festival, UWE Festival, Makers United, Wimmeln und Wuseln, MakerFaire Hannover, OctoberMake, to name but a few.
We are already looking forward to our new opening! Even if, from time to time, scaffolding spontaneously blocks the door, construction equipment stands in the way or piles of material regularly give the letter carrier the impression that our delivery address doesn't exist (unfortunately, we've already had around 5 missed parcel deliveries due to the general Bielefeld effect 📦).
While all this is going on, we are indeed enjoying the fresh greenery that is slowly growing in the Stadtwirtschaft and sending out the first signs of life, which the landscape architects discussed with various stakeholders like us in participation formats in 2023/2024 and which have been implemented in the ground in real terms since the end of 2024. As a result, the building material vision is gradually giving way to the rooting will of young seedlings and newly transplanted stems.
- Text by Alina and Mario
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