Artisan's Asylum

Artisans Asylum is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

community workshop in Allston, Massachusetts. Artisans Asylum was founded in 2010 by an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, an artist, and friends who needed an affordable place to build and make things. Artisans was the first makerspace to incorporate in the U.S. in 2012 and today is 40,000 square feet of fabrication space. Artisans hosts over 430 members, 160 studios, and 15 workshops. Shops include

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...

welding Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as br ...

, bicycle maintenance and repair, machining, electronics and robotics, jewelry, digital fabrication, a digital photo studio, fiber arts, casting, laser cutting,

CNC machines Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a pie ...

, prop shop, and design lab. The Asylum hosts 30-40 public classes each month, providing hands-on tool training and skills-building courses. As of 2013, the Asylum housed 40 or 50 small manufacturing companies, and raised the number of manufacturing firms in Somerville by 50%. The Asylum is credited with attracting the greentech incubator Greentown Labs to Somerville and contributing to the creative economy in Somerville. In 2017, Artisans Asylum was featured around the web for hosting MegaBots Inc. as they built their 4.9 meter tall

robot</