Maker Space
Maker Space is a community-owned, not-for-profit workshop in Newcastle/Gateshead, UK, providing individual makers shared access to fabrication tools, electronics, and amateur radio infrastructure via a minimum £10/month membership model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNewcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Maker Space does
Maker Space is a community-owned and operated not-for-profit workshop located at 65 High Street, Gateshead (Newcastle upon Tyne area), United Kingdom. Founded in 2010, it provides shared access to fabrication tools and equipment including 3D printers (Prusa MK3, Bambu Lab P1S), an 80W CO2 laser cutter, a WorkBee CNC router, a metal lathe, woodworking and metalworking machinery, and electronics workstations. The organisation also operates a distinctive amateur radio infrastructure (DMR repeaters GB7MS and GB7XY, POCSAG paging MB7PNE, and LoRa APRS gateway MB7UMS) connected to BrandMeister, DAPNET, and APRS-IS networks, with a dedicated talk group (TG 23564) for the North East Makers community.
The core customer segments are individual makers, hobbyists, programmers, scientists, and engineers who lack access to expensive equipment at home, supplemented by general public visitors who attend Welcome Wednesday open evenings. The business model is a membership subscription at a minimum of £10 per month via monthly standing order, with no external investment, no cash payments, and a board of directors elected from the membership. The go-to-market approach is community-led and event-driven, relying on word-of-mouth, weekly visitor evenings, maker fairs, and regional event partnerships (Centre for Life, Gateshead Library, V&A, Crafts Council) for top-of-funnel acquisition.
Revenue is not disclosed but is reinvested entirely into space operations, tools, and consumables. Strategic activity has historically centred on physical expansion (the 2013 move to a five-times-larger facility in Newcastle City Centre), institutional partnerships, and the gradual buildout of amateur radio and digital infrastructure. The space closed due to COVID-19 in March 2020 and shifted to Matrix-based community communication during closure; current growth signals are insufficient to classify.
Maker Space firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Maker Space
- Legal name
- Maker Space
- Website
- https://makerspace.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Maker Space is a community-owned, not-for-profit workshop in Newcastle/Gateshead, UK, providing individual makers shared access to fabrication tools, electronics, and amateur radio infrastructure via a minimum £10/month membership model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Maker Space industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Makerspace Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Crafts & Maker Arts (Ceramics, Textiles, Jewelry, Mixed Media) (EDAMAAAD), 3D Printing, CAD & Digital Fabrication Programs (EDAMADAH)
Keywords
Where Maker Space is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Newcastle Upon Tyne
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Maker Space business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Subscriptions: Monthly standing order payments from members. Minimum subscription of £10/month, with members encouraged to pay more based on their usage of facilities. Not-for-profit organization where all revenue is reinvested in the space for basic costs, tools, and consumables.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Standard Membership |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels9 records
Maker Space product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Maker Space is a community-owned and run workshop in Newcastle Upon Tyne providing members access to shared tools and equipment including 3D printers, laser cutter, CNC router, metal lathe, and woodworking machinery, along with collaborative workspace. The organization also operates amateur radio infrastructure (DMR repeaters, POCSAG paging, LoRa APRS gateway) serving the North East maker community. Access is provided via monthly membership subscriptions with weekly public visitor evenings.
Product overview
Maker Space is a community-owned and operated hackerspace/makerspace in Newcastle upon Tyne offering a physical workshop with shared tools and collaborative space. The core offering is the workshop itself, featuring 3D printing stations (Prusa MK3, Bambu Lab P1S printers), an 80W laser cutter (Hoshiguma), CNC routers and mills, metal and woodworking equipment, and electronics workstations. Maker Space also operates amateur radio services including DMR repeaters (GB7MS on 2m, GB7XY on 70cm), POCSAG paging (MB7PNE), and LoRa APRS gateway (MB7UMS), all connected to external amateur radio networks. Supporting digital services include a wiki (mdBook/GitHub), Matrix-based instant messaging, and a music server (Logitech Media Server). The primary access model is membership starting at £10/month with visitor nights on Wednesdays.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Maker Space Workshop Membership Core membership product providing makers access to shared workshop facilities, tools, equipment, and community of makers, creatives, programmers, scientists, and engineers in Newcastle upon Tyne.
- Welcome Wednesday Sessions Weekly public open nights (6:30pm-8:30pm Wednesdays) where visitors can tour the space, meet members, and see Maker Space activities without booking.
- 3D Printing Station FDM 3D printing service featuring Prusa MK3 and Bambu Lab P1S printers with filament available at £0.012/gram for member use.
- Laser Cutting Service 80W CO2 laser cutter (Hoshiguma) with 580x380mm bed, controlled via LightBurn software. Requires induction training before use.
- CNC Router Service Ooznest WorkBee Z1+ CNC milling machine with 1270x1270mm working area using DeWalt router. Requires induction.
- DMR Repeater GB7MS 2m digital voice repeater at 145.775 MHz connected to BrandMeister network, built with Motorola MTR 2000 and MMDVM processor.
- DMR Repeater GB7XY 70cm digital voice repeater at 439.4250 MHz using Motorola DR3000, featuring talk groups including TG 23564 for North East Makers.
- POCSAG Paging Service 439.9875 MHz paging transmitter using POCSAG protocol connected to DAPNET network, serving Newcastle and Gateshead area.
- LoRa APRS Gateway Experimental LoRa APRS gateway at 439.9125 MHz covering central Gateshead and Newcastle, supporting APRS-IS tunnelling and native AX25 payloads.
Companies that use Maker Space
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Maker Space technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature6 records
Maker Space partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Crafts CouncilminorPartnered with Crafts Council as part of Make:Shift:Do initiative for Spooky Makers Halloween event.
- Institute of MakingminorPartnered with Institute of Making as part of Make:Shift:Do initiative for Spooky Makers Halloween event.
- V&A MuseumminorPartnered with V&A Museum as part of Make:Shift:Do initiative for Spooky Makers Halloween event.
- Ultimaker GBminorPartnered with Ultimaker GB as part of Make:Shift:Do initiative for Spooky Makers Halloween event.
- Gateshead Central LibrarycoreMaker Space partnered with Gateshead Central Library for eDay technology show-and-tell events during the British Science Festival. The library lent equipment including Makey Makey boards and hosted Raspberry Pi workshops.
- Newbridge ProjectcoreMaker Space took over the bottom floor of the Newbridge Project artist's space in June 2013, providing approximately five times the space of their previous location. This partnership enabled the expansion to include workshop, quiet working areas, social space, and more facilities.
- Northumbria UniversityminorPartnered with Northumbria University at Gateshead Library eDay event to provide Raspberry Pi workshops for pupils and teachers.
- Centre for LifecoreMaker Space partnered with Centre for Life to host Raspberry Jam evenings and participate in Maker Faire UK events. The Centre for Life venue hosted Maker Faire 2013 which saw over 10,000 attendees.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Maker Space competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Make Community (Make: Magazine): Organizer of Maker Faire events and publisher of Make: Magazine, serving as the central ecosystem brand for the maker movement. Comparable as an umbrella entity supporting makers and makerspaces, but operates at a much broader scale spanning events, media, and educational programs.
- Fab Foundation: Global non-profit organization supporting the Fab Lab network — a worldwide chain of digital fabrication workshops. Operates broadly in the same makerspace category as Maker Space but as a franchised network rather than a single community workshop.
Direct peers
- London Hackspace: UK-based community-owned hackerspace offering shared workshop tools and equipment for makers. Closely comparable community-led model, membership-based funding, and focus on shared tools and knowledge for makers, similar to Maker Space.
- Nottingham Hackspace (Nottinghack): UK community hackerspace providing shared workshop facilities, tools, and electronics equipment to members. Operates the same community-funded, member-governed model with recurring open evenings for prospective members.
- Swansea Hackspace: UK community hackerspace providing shared workshop space, tools, and equipment to members in Wales. Operates a directly comparable membership-driven, community-governed model to Maker Space.
- Cambridge Makespace: Cambridge-based community workshop offering shared tools, electronics, and maker facilities. Operates with a similar member-funded, community-led structure serving makers and hobbyists in a UK regional market.
- Bristol Hackspace: UK community hackerspace providing shared access to workshop tools, 3D printers, and electronics equipment. Comparable membership model and community-led governance structure for makers and hobbyists.
- Sheffield Hackspace: UK community hackerspace providing shared access to workshop tools, electronics, and creative equipment. Directly comparable member-funded model serving regional makers in the UK.
- Edinburgh Hacklab: Edinburgh-based community makerspace offering shared workshop facilities and equipment to members. Closely matches the community workshop model with similar tool offerings and membership-based access.
- MadLab (Manchester): Manchester-based community makerspace offering shared tools, electronics workstations, and workshop space for hobbyists and makers. Directly comparable community workshop model serving the maker/creative community in the UK.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Maker Space social profiles
Digital presenceMaker Space financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Maker Space leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Maker Space funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Maker Space M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Maker Space
What does Maker Space do?
Maker Space is a community-owned and run workshop in Newcastle Upon Tyne providing members access to shared tools and equipment including 3D printers, laser cutter, CNC router, metal lathe, and woodworking machinery, along with collaborative workspace. The organization also operates amateur radio infrastructure (DMR repeaters, POCSAG paging, LoRa APRS gateway) serving the North East maker community. Access is provided via monthly membership subscriptions with weekly public visitor evenings.
Is Maker Space a public or private company?
Maker Space is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Maker Space founded?
Maker Space was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Maker Space based?
Maker Space is headquartered in Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Maker Space make money?
One revenue line is on record: membership Subscriptions.
Who are Maker Space's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Make Community (Make: Magazine) and Fab Foundation. Direct peers are London Hackspace, Nottingham Hackspace (Nottinghack), Swansea Hackspace, Cambridge Makespace, Bristol Hackspace, Sheffield Hackspace, Edinburgh Hacklab and MadLab (Manchester).
Does Maker Space have an API?
No public API is recorded for Maker Space.
What industry is Maker Space in?
Maker Space's product category is Community Makerspace Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMADAC, Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios), with a secondary code of EDAMAAAD, Crafts & Maker Arts (Ceramics, Textiles, Jewelry, Mixed Media).