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What is KwartzLab?Invention; innovation; cooperation. These are the driving forces behind the creation of hackerspaces, and behind Kwartzlab. A hackerspace is a physical location where like-minded people get together in a cooperative environment to pool their knowledge, experience, and physical resources with a goal to bringing into reality the projects about which they’ve been dreaming. The sky is the limit, almost literally: projects range from building hardware to building art, from restoring antique equipment to putting electronic blinking eyes in a crocheted doll. Put simply, members get together at the space to make stuff, to work on personal projects or bigger collaborative ones. Check out this page on Wired.com for a little more info about hackerspaces in general. We are a social and creative group, first and foremost. We love to think of new things to invent, or new ways to do things; our work really is a window into our personalities, and into the spirit of the Society. We’ve joined Make:KW for workshops on programming Arduino microprocessors and motor drivers, and even metal casting. Individual projects include a steampunk gown with a complete animatronic bustle; a laser synth guitar; and a “hillbilly” amp made from an old wooden box. We even had a booth at this year’s DIY and DJs event. But in addition to all this hard work, we also love to have fun, and sometimes we just get together for lunch, or a few drinks, or to take part in community activities. The fun stuff helps us to get to know one another, and this additional bonding really feeds our cooperative spirit. The Kwartzlab Society is a not-for-profit corporation, registered in the province of Ontario; it is entirely member-driven. Members pay a monthly fee, which goes toward the cost of running the space: rent, utilities, cost of tools and equipment, and other costs that may crop up. For more information about becoming a member, including the privileges and responsibilities thereof, head on over to our membership page. Kwartzlab was born, so to speak, out of the Kitchener-Waterloo maker group, Make:KW, headed by Michael Hiemstra. We love Michael and thank him so much for his support as we get our group and our space together! A Brief History Of (Kwartzlab) TimeA hackerspace can come together extremely quickly. We all started off as strangers; since March we’ve gotten together socially a number of times to get to know one another, and this has built a real sense of community among the members. This and excellent communication enabled us to get a lot done in just six months:
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