Maureen Wallenfang
Appleton Post-Crescent
Published 11:38 AM EST Dec 4, 2019
Cre8lab — pronounced just as it looks, Create Lab — is a new business that will hold its grand opening Saturday at 1131 S. Commercial St. in Neenah.
It’s a membership-based workshop space for do-it-yourselfers and anyone who aspires to make things. It has a wood shop, metal-working area, routers, 3D printers and laser cutters.
“The idea is that there are a lot of people in the community who have great ideas, but they can’t build something because they don’t have a workshop of their own,” said Adam Waite, co-owner/operator with Eric Brehm.
Cre8lab will also have classes for children and adults. Upcoming classes include arduino (circuit boards for projects), Christmas ornaments, wood burning, crafts and painting.
Waite is a radio frequency engineer and Brehm is an architect. They started a STEM club at the Boys’ & Girls’ Brigade in Neenah and noticed that a lot of kids didn’t have basic skills in technology or know how to do a simple woodworking project, like building a birdhouse.
“We feel like the trades are dying a little bit,” Waite said. “We wanted to make sure children and adults have skills.”
Kids are old enough to take classes starting around the fifth grade, said Brehm. Retirees who’ve downsized their homes will be prime customers, and they could even end up helping out or teaching a class. “They’ve got 20, 30, 40 years of experience,” he said.
Memberships are priced by the day, week, month or year. Members have to be certified on equipment for safety reasons.
Classes are open to the public. Students can pay for classes without paying an additional membership fee.
Saturday’s grand opening/open house starts at 9 a.m. and runs all day with demonstrations and activities.
The building the partners purchased was formerly a laundromat across from Family Video and Barrel 41 Brewing Co.
Info: cre8lab.com, Facebook, Instagram, 920-486-1009
Contact reporter Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @wallenfang.
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