OpenFab Brussels builds a community of makers
Nicolas de Barquin is more than a fablab (fabrication laboratory) founder. He is truly a 21st century community builder drawing on the wisdom of the crowd to empower his OpenFab Brussels maker community. Nicolas is also not the person who runs into a sentence, he doesn’t talk fast but searches for the right words — he wants to be precise, convey the gravitas that the topics that he speaks about need. Indeed, in that he is very much the scientist he is trained to be. A former employee contracted to work for the European Space Agency, Nicolas learnt to “apply space innovation to how to use it on earth”. Seven years ago, at the time of the first 3D printers, he first came in contact with what is today standard fablab technology and learnt to produce machine parts. He modelled the parts and printed the hardware using the new 3D printers. The work was “exciting, concrete and useful”.
Founding a fablab out of fun
After his first contact with 3D printers at ESA, Nicolas bought a CNC machine with a friend. He learnt online how to use it sharing knowledge with the like minded community. The idea to start a fablab came from there: “I created the association — the legal entity — with my sister who is a physiotherapist. She is interested in well-being and we share a passion for the environment. I created the fablab to bring both aspects together — address the question how can we refocus and bring the human back into their own environment. Creating harmony between the outside and material world and well-being on the inside. But it was difficult to explain our approach as focussing on well-being was not obvious to people.” The fablab approach quickly became core to their work and Nicolas’ sister eventually left the day-to-day running of the fablab to her brother being somewhat overwhelmed with the technologies that the fablab accumulated and used.
Nicolas, thus, explains that he came to found a fablab “through fun. I didn’t have this objective of being a founder but I enjoyed engaging with the technology that was new to me, and I still learn every day.” He goes on to explain how as a “multipotentialite” (referring to this TedX talk), the ability to move from one topic to another through the fablab fits his drive. “I’m curios. I learn a lot about one topic that interests me and when I feel that I’ve understood it, I move on to the next.” But Nicolas’ goal is “not per se to learn”, but to “solve problems” and to continuously dive into new fields, explore them in depth, and eventually to move on. As such, he reflects, having founded a fablab is perfect for him because it allows him to “valorise the switching”. But it becomes clear when sitting and talking to Nicolas that he is not a “traditional founder” but instead a community driver.
Empowering the community and creating ripple effects
Since its move to its current location two years ago, OpenFab continuously grows into a community. And that is what Nicolas wants and works towards. OpenFab distinguishes between members and customers whereby costumers have products made for them. But he wants to empower members — he wants those who come to learn in a fun environment and have the learning turn into value for others through teaching and coaching.
He illustrates his point talking about OpenFab member Dewi Brunet who is another multipotentialite who over time turned into a co-worker. This member is an urban architect turned origami artist. He connected at OpenFab with another member who is a fabric designer and they took the origami art from there now creating lamps together. Today, Nicolas and he both work together on growing OpenFab. Nicolas explains that this member is driven to expand OpenFab because he knows it gives him more opportunities.
Another member that Nicolas choses as an example might come less often into OpenFab than the urban architect but uses each opportunity there to work on things that are related to OpenFab. And this is the community that Nicolas wants to drive. He wonders out loud to me how he can communicate these ripple effects of OpenFab that are not financially sustainable but exactly what OpenFab wants to be about. “There is an effect on people”, Nicolas says. “That is what I’m looking for in a member — I want someone who gives back to the place”. In order to continuously foster the community, he has founded a blog to ponder in the open and hear from others how they build their communities. For example, Nicolas wants to know how he can manage who can help whom at what time — he is looking for ideas to better organise the association using the wisdom of the crowds.
“You did not wake up today to be mediocre. Be awesome instead and level up yourself!” — from theOpenFab website
Activities: “Tinkering and drinking”
In their own words OpenFab Brussels is an urban innovation laboratory with the mission to empower individuals, groups and places through digital manufacturing processes and increase the production capacity of a pool of adapted and shared machines. They do so working to create a “digital permaculture”. A “systemic and holistic method of designing human habitats and farming systems inspired by natural ecology and tradition”. For Nicolas, it is not “a way of thinking but a way of acting that takes into account the bio-diversity of ecosystems”. OpenFab also wants to be a “catalyst of innovation and creativity” fostering intra- and entrepreneurship through proofs of concept “to set a precedent to illustrate the impact of digital machines in social, economic and production models”.
They put this mission into practice through a variety of opportunities to get involved. Inspiring by sharing material on their social media channels, organising talks, maintaining a blog that is a portfolio of their work and offering activities. One of the activities is “Fablab Mobile”. OpenFab won a project call by the city of Brussels to connect children “with science and the technical metier”. “We show them what they can do as a professional in the sciences”, as Nicolas puts it. The mobile fablab is a converted food truck that is build around the concept of fablab in a box. It brings the fablab workshop approach to schools working on different modules with 10 to 18 year olds. Each thematic “box” is organised containing a small 3D printer and laser cutter, PCs, and then topic-specific tools such as electronics-focussed equipment. Mobilefab then works with the teenagers on a “lighthouse project” of their own, like launching a rocket or a weather balloon, which is a project that OpenFab cooperated on with scientists from the weather station in Uccle.
Adult activities that OpenFab runs include “Bricole&Picole” — “tinkering and drinking” in English which does what is says on the tin. In the evening, those who want come together for a drink and a chat or a a couple of hours of DIY tinkering. OpenFab also organises “BrainCandy evenings” where members and friends come together to share and watch videos and recommend YouTube channels on fun, educating topics, for example space science. “We watch a video and discusses and brainstorms about it afterwards”, explains Nicolas. “This is a great opportunity to share knowledge, and discover treasures.”
It all fits together
Talking to Nicolas, it is easy to see and follow Nicolas’ vision and how the activities that he describe fit into it. When talking about his OpenFab community, I come to hear of his idea of a maker “passport”. Nicolas envisions a “membership card” based on the badges approach that show abilities in using different tools which entrusts the badge holder to use the tool and coach others. Nicolas sees this approach of trust as a currency working inside and outside of OpenFab. It addresses his ideal to empower members and solves his “problem” to manage the community by having them manage each other. But he also wants to see it applied outside of OpenFab. Nicolas talks to me about an “VULCA, an Erasmus exchange for Makers” whereby learners spent one to three months abroad at another fablab. The exchange “student” then teaches something she knows in the host community but also share what she has learnt back in her home fablab.
The “maker passport” can then contribute to establishing trust across fablabs in the abilities of the students. Nicolas sees such a programme as an extension of OpenFab’s mobile fablab programme. “I see these kind of learning programmes as a way for those who prefer learning-by-doing and learn differently”, he explains.
Learn more about OpenFab here
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