The Open World series of articles documents Liam Grace-Flood’s year of traveling all over the world exploring maker culture and spaces.
Makerversity is a “pioneering community of Maker businesses” growing out of London and Amsterdam. They offer space, tools, and community to promising people and projects, and run a pair of funded residency programs to make those resources more broadly accessible.
One of Makerversity London’s workshop spaces
The first, called U25, is a free 3-month membership for makers under 25 years old focused specifically on helping young people jump start their creative careers and businesses. Among Makerversity’s many U25 alumni are up-and-coming designer Harry Grundy and artist Ikra Arshad.
Left, one of Ikra Arshad’s sketchbook pages via her website. Right, Harry Grundy’s “Rocking Robin” via his website.
The second, 6-month residency program, Makers with a Mission, is open to a broader range of applicants, but remains focused on emerging talent and ideas. In line with Makerversity’s social enterprise mindset, Makers with a Mission are value-driven people and projects working to make a better world.
You might have already seen some of their projects — Petit Pli, for example, makes clothing that grows with children:
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- Images via Petit Pli’s website
Chip[s] Board is making materials from recycled potato waste:
Image via Makerversity
Sabina Weiss made tools for “evolving craft through human-machine interface” via lowering barriers for entry into digital embroidery:
Image via Sabina Weiss’ website
And Yun-Pei Hsiung explored IoT tools for future protests:
Image via Makerversity
If you’d like to participate in Makerversity’s community of cool people and projects, check out their website. They’re currently accepting applications for both residency programs.
