Inside Small Batch Assembly

I’ve visited makerspaces in cities around the country and the one that impresses me most is Nova Labs, in Reston, Virginia — a suburb of Washington DC. Every time I’ve visited Nova Labs I’ve encountered friendly people working on a diverse array of creative projects. I was particularly pleased to see diverse ages and genders at this makerspace.

Two weeks ago I was intrigued to learn that Nova Labs also serves as an incubator for a small electronics business named Small Batch Assembly, founded by Bob Coggeshall. This business is a perfect fit for a makerspace because it allows electronic hobbyists, researchers, entrepreneurs and others to bring their electronics projects to life — without having to commit to producing 1,000 boards. Small Batch Assembly lowers the barrier to entry for these people.

To find out more about Small Batch Assembly I invited Bob Coggeshall into a Google Hangout on Air. For some reason my own video does not show up much in this hangout, but that’s just fine. Bob is the star of the hangout and does a great job answering my questions.

If you live in the Washington DC area, come meet Bob at the upcoming Nova Mini Maker Faire on March 16, 2014. You can also meet Bob at Nova Labs when he is over there. You can also follow Small Batch Assembly on Twitter.

In my dreams, Nova Labs and Small Batch Assembly move into a wing of a public library — where anyone interested in ideas can bring their ideas to life — in a library setting. Libraries connect people with possibilities. What is a makerspace other than a place of possibilities?

[Phil Shapiro is a maker and media maker in the Washington DC area. He loves open source, digital storytelling and fixing up donated computers to deliver to people who need them. He can be reached at pshapiro@his.com  and on Twitter @philshapiro.]