Washington, D.C. has long been known for its political movers and shakers, but the city’s builders and makers are carving out a place of their own these days.
TechShop, in nearby Crystal City, Virginia, offers a host of machines, tools, and materials for those who want to work with their hands—or learn how to do so—on everything from 3-D printing to welding to woodworking. The D.I.Y business, one of eight locations across the U.S., plus other outposts in Paris and Abu Dhabi, is run by co-founder Mark Hatch, author of The Maker Movement Manifesto.
“Our mission is providing an inspirational space for people to build their dreams,” says Gadsden Merrill, general manager at the Crystal City shop.
Surrounded by government agencies and a major defense industry presence, the D.C. location boasts a particularly knowledgeable membership base.
“There’s a lot of talent here, a lot of high-level degrees and engineering backgrounds,” Merrill says. “People bring a lot to the table when they walk in the door, which is another asset you get when you’re a member. We pride ourselves on having a pretty expert staff, but if we don’t know the answer to something, chances are pretty good that somebody in the shop does.”
The space is funded in part by the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Innovation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, along with real estate developer Vornado. Merrill estimates there are currently about 900 members.
Opened in April 2014, TechShop goes hand-in-hand with a larger push to reinvigorate Crystal City, a longtime outpost for high-rise office buildings and hotels for travelers headed in and out of nearby Washington National Airport. The neighborhood is quickly becoming a hub for startups and small businesses, thanks to the presence of several incubators, including 1776 and Eastern Foundry. The collaborative workspace WeWork Crystal City is also drawing new businesses to the area.
Meanwhile, TechShop is also a home for entrepreneurs. Square prototyped its first credit card reader at a Bay Area location, as did the maker of the first origami-style folding kayak.
Crystal City’s Jamie Terbeest, a wireless engineer for a defense contractor, is launching a line of modular standing desks after building one for himself with ShopBot, a large machine that cuts shapes out of wood, plastic and metal using computer-based designs.
Terbeest credits TechShop with helping him get his concept off the ground and expanding his ability to innovate.
“You start taking all these classes and having all these different resources, kind of like a cookbook of capabilities,” he says. “You go through your day-to-day life and it builds on itself, and you’re like, ‘Hey, I’ve got another idea.’ Now I’ve got a list of 100 ideas I’ll probably never get to, but all of those are potentially marketable.”
Photo Credit: Foster White