“Isn’t this so cool?” I say to my family as we walk through the Maker’s Space, where sleek machines that feel too professional for my humble capabilities line the crisp white walls. The Maker’s Space is always a highlight when I give people a tour of Union.
Located on the first floor of the Ethos, the Maker’s Space is one of the seven rooms of the HUB. It’s probably what most people think of because it’s the biggest and the loudest and, in my opinion, one of the coolest places on campus.
Though I’ve shown it to others and exclaimed over the high-tech machines, I’ve never actually made anything in there.
Until this week, when I decided I would take the time to walk down to the Ethos and make something.
With a design I pulled from Pinterest to print onto a tote bag, I went to the newest, fanciest machine: the xTool Direct-To-Film (DTF) Apparel Printer. Go big or go home, am I right? This machine takes printing capabilities beyond sublimation, which requires white polyester, to now being able to press a high-quality printed vinyl on any material.
But the Maker Space didn’t start with such big fancy machines. It started with an idea, some kids, and 3D printers.
“In 2019, my husband, Dr. Pingen, had the idea to do a 3D printing camp,” Besty Pingen, the Creative Director of the HUB said.
She explained that before the Ethos, there was an old chemistry lab in the PAC, stuffed with couches and oak furniture and 3D printers. This was where the 3D printing camps for K through 12th grade were held and where engineering students could use the 3D printers.
“And somewhere over the next three or four years the idea, the vision for the Ethos Forum was born,” Pingen said, noting how they have been able to expand all the things they can do with new machines. “So it was a natural fit to have a maker space in the building dedicated to business and engineering and computer science.”
The Maker’s Space provides not only a place for students to use the technology, but also provides Union merch for admissions, ornaments for non-profits and t-shirts for student organizations for a cheaper cost than ordering custom items elsewhere.
“There’s a literal need of, like, we have to have facilities to fulfill these classes, [and] also to ensure that our classes are industry standard. Like, don’t just teach up until you print your posters. You should actually finish that and be prepared for the future workforce, ’cause that’s what college is all about,” said Adina Whaley, a current HUB tech employee and sophomore digital media and communication major said.
However, encouraging creativity is the main purpose of the Maker Space.
“The primary vision is that it’s a space where students can come and work on things for classes as well as personal projects and have a creative outlet,” Pingen said.
Creativity can often be put on the back burner in the midst of pressing deadlines and full schedules. But the Maker’s Space provides a place with minimal risk and endless opportunities if given the chance.
Junior engineering major and former HUB tech, Isaac Beaman, explained how the Maker Space and the adjoining engineering workshop create opportunities to be messy and creative and try new things without paying hundreds of dollars.
“The more you eliminate those barriers to entry, the more you can actually be creative. And that’s what gives you so many actual, legitimate life skills,” he said.
In college, students are aiming to become a producer in their field, not just a consumer. The Maker’s Space provides an opportunity for students to practice becoming producers. We create because we bear the image of a Creator God.
“I think it’s important for students to have a creative outlet because creativity is a big part of being, I would say, a holistically well person,” Whaley said. “It is really great for education, but there’s that other half of creativity: being a fulfilled person and using the gifts God has given you. I think there’s a lot of value in math classes, but there’s also a lot of value in creativity.”
On that Wednesday, amid the noise of a thumping embroidery machine and a periodically beeping Resin 3D printer, I approached the HUB tech on shift. We spent the next few minutes troubleshooting how to import the design and then figuring out the quirks of the DTF printer. Problem-solving can feel inefficient, but the reward in the end is well worth the work.
“Even though in the moment, it doesn’t feel very useful, you’re still doing a hard thing and completing it. You get a lot out of that,” Beaman said. “And then when it’s, like, a physical thing, that you can actually see and feel and touch, that’s just super edifying.”
The Maker’s Space is a great resource to submit custom orders. But the efficiency of buying something that will be shipped in two days to your house pales in comparison the growth, learning and excitement that comes in the process of creation.
“There is something about knowing that you did it, to look at it and know that I made that. That provides a sense of satisfaction that you can’t get if somebody else does it for you, if AI does it all for you, if Amazon just delivers it,” Pingen said.
Once the design was printed, cut, powdered, and baked in the DTF printer, we placed the tote bag on a wide, flat, pressurized heat press with a big handle. The tote bag was a blank canvas as with a little piece of film as the heat press lid went down. But the lid came up, and it became a beautiful bag with bright colors, sharp edges and a clear design. I audibly gasped when I saw it.
“I think pursuing creativity is fulfilling because it’s so inherent to just being a human. And creativity is where you start the process of progress, period,” Whaley said. “The reason our college even exists is because a bunch of people were creative at some point. I think on a big scale, creativity is fulfilling because it’s literally what society does in order to see progress. But I think, also on a very individual level, creativity is fulfilling because every person’s different. Everyone is made in God’s image, but everyone is so uniquely designed.”
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