This artsy river city is drawing up plans for a large collaborative makerspace

In a city where art and industry have long worked side by side, a new kind of workshop is taking shape: a 22,000-square-foot makerspace aimed at becoming an incubator for budding entrepreneurs and weekend woodworkers.

The Winona Creators Collective, a nonprofit founded earlier this year, is in the final stages of securing a lease for the former Technigraph manufacturing facility on the city’s west side. Once the space opens in late 2025, the group plans to offer a membership model allowing for 24/7 access to dedicated areas for activities like woodworking, pottery and glassmaking.

Like other makerspaces in Minnesota, the Winona facility will be entirely reliant on volunteers and donations. The group is now working to raise as much as $250,000 to support building improvements and the purchase of new tools and equipment, from handsaws to laser cutters.

Mark Zocher, president of the collective, said while some of the members may be hobbyists wanting to take up a new craft, this space is also intended to serve as a catalyst for new businesses ― from Etsy creators selling pottery to aspiring inventors working on a prototype.

The idea is that by pooling resources, the makerspace will be able to afford the kinds of equipment that would otherwise be out of reach for entrepreneurs who are just starting out, Zocher said.

“Maybe they just don’t have the space or it’s just a little bit too much money to get started,” he said. “A space like this will help entrepreneurs test out what a business could be before they grow it.”

While Winona’s plans call for creating what would become the biggest makerspace in Minnesota, the concept of a collaborative workspace has been around for years in other small cities, including Mankato and Hibbing, both of which Zocher said are serving as models for the Winona space.

Additionally, the nonprofit has put an emphasis on education by offering more than 600 classes a year ― up from 50 when it first launched in 2016.

Nearing capacity, Mankato Makerspace is now looking to double its footprint with another 6,000 square feet of space that could be used for classrooms, artist studios and a gift shop.

“People will come in to take one class; and maybe they know something about it, maybe they’re just interested in it,” Bourne said. “But when they have somebody who knows what they are doing guiding them, they just blossom ― and they are able to create something they never thought they could.”

In Winona, that type of mentorship will be key to helping the makerspace thrive, Zocher said.

He pointed to a survey by the nonprofit that found just 6% of respondents had someone they considered to be a mentor for their hobby or business.

For Winona woodworker Jon Mauser, that ability to collaborate with other creatives across a variety of disciplines is a big part of why he signed up to be an early supporter of the Winona makerspace.

Mauser said he has also outgrown the studio in his home garage, where he builds custom cribbage boards and butcher blocks to sell at the local farmers market. The makerspace, he said, will allow him both the space and the connections to help him refine his craft and scale his business.