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11/08/12 | Uncategorized

MotherShip HackerMoms: The First Women’s Hackerspace!

There’s a little more than a week to contribute to MotherShip HackerMom’s Kickstarter page!
By Shannon Nicholls (Fundraising Director, MotherShip HackerMoms)

We are a new kind of playground and workspace for creative mothers. Fun to us is not mani-pedis, but making, breaking, learning and hacking our bright ideas. HackerMoms model active creative lives for our kids who learn, explore and create as mini-makers alongside us. We offer members daily childcare. We also welcome dads.

We started our non-profit organization in April 2012 because traditional hackerspaces don’t really have safe spaces for babies and young children – or, consequently, their mothers. Our mission is to give creative moms the time and space to explore DIY craft and design, hacker/maker culture, entrepreneurship, and all manner of creative expression – with childcare. Mothers sometimes need a room of their own! Learn more about who we are and our philosophy.

Help HackerMoms Grow

We’ve been in our 1,000 square foot space for six months now – long enough to know that we must build out the workspace, equipment selection and programs in order to keep growing. The 350 square foot childcare room was soundproofed and furnished first. Our Kickstarter goal will pay for tools, equipment and renovations for the remaining 650 square foot adult space that accommodates 20+ members.

Here is our space:

 

Support MotherShip HackerMoms

Our goal is renovation. Our strategy is to tackle this like a NYC apartment, with ingenuity, Ikea and a CNC machine. We will convert the majority of the main space half into a workshop and half into workstations. The front will remain a communal living room/nursing area. The tiny back office will turn into a quiet computer room. The storage loft above our heads will be ladder-accessible and hidden by a curtain.

Check out the MotherShip HackerMoms Kickstarter page here!
The great risk we face is simply that we’re the first women’s hackerspace and we don’t want to be the last. HackerMoms has created a landmark, one that could be repeated in every country. As a non-profit hackerspace run by professional women, for mothers, to the benefit of families, we are a unique business model. With the support of an international network of hackerspaces, one of the most influential indie movements today, we hope to someday add many more HackerMom spaces to this rapidly growing community. But our first goal is to establish ourselves with permanent roots.

POWER TO THE MOTHERS!

This post was originally posted at Kickstarter and syndicated with permission. Photos from MotherShip HackerMoms Facebook page.

Women 2.0 readers: How do you hack your own ideal work/live environment? Let us know in the comments.

About the guest blogger: Shannon Nicholls is Fundraising Director at MotherShip HackerMoms. She became involved with MotherShip HackerMoms when her first born was under a year old. Back then, they were a small group of mothers meeting in each other’s homes. Shannon has been an integral part of MotherShip HackerMoms’ growth into their 1000 sq.ft. retail space in Berkeley, California. She believes that a good day must include running a few miles, creating something new and doing no errands.

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