Al Parra and Arnaud Nicholds are Co Founders and Directors at “open access factory” Bloqs
These days, we don’t hear quite so much about the “maker economy.” At a time when the word startup is indelibly associated with software in general and new hot categories such as deep tech and AI in particular, the work of twenty-century artisans rarely grabs headlines.
And yet, the maker economy is thriving. From arts and crafts products sold on Etsy through to inventors and using crowdfunding platforms to connect with potential buyers, makers play an important role in today’s economy as designers, manufacturers, employers and taxpayers.
And as the tech sector evolves, the ability to produce prototypes and small runs of physical objects may also play an increasing role in the development of technologies that combine software with physical equipment.
The question is, of course, where does all this work actually get done? Pre-pay for a new product via a crowdfunding site and the chances are the item in question will be manufactured in a factory somewhere in Asia. The same may be true of prototypes. Unless a creator has both the skills and machinery to turn an idea into physical reality, the manufacturing work will probably have to be outsourced. Here in the UK, it can be difficult to find factories that offer short runs, so the only option is to look overseas.
That’s a problem that Arnaud Nichols, Al Parra and Vinny Nanray have set out to address. As co-founders of Bloqs, they have created a co-working space for craftsmen and designers. Operating rather like software-oriented workspaces – with open plan design to encourage collaboration – and styled as an “open access factory,” it offers access to a wide range of tools on a pay-as-you-needs basis. When I spoke to Parra and Nichols earlier this week, I was keen to get their take on the maker economy and their own role in encouraging domestic design and manufacturing on a small scale.
Born Out Of Necessity
Established twelve years ago, Bloqs was a venture born out of necessity. Nichols, Parra and Nanray were three of seven crafts workers facing eviction from a co-living/working space. Faced with the prospect of having nowhere to work, they leased a building in Enfield and began to fill it with equipment, some of it borrowed from Arnaud’s father. The idea was to provide makers with all they needed to work on a flexible basis.
“The idea was to make it as big as possible and fill it with as many tools as possible,” says Parra. And as Nichols adds, the fundamental principle was to offer craftspeople a “no-overheads” model.” They would only pay for the time spent working in Bloqs.
In practice there is a wide range of equipment on offer, allowing users to work with wood, fabric, metal and 3D laser printers. Training is also provided for those who need it.
So who does this cater for? Is it a space for traditional crafts workers or are centers like this something that startup founders – particularly those who combine software and hardware – should be taking advantage of?
A Place For R&D
Well, it’s a broad church. A user might be a furniture maker accessing the woodworking and fabric tools, or an engineer using the metalwork facilities. Some users might be fabricating products for customers or building prototypes.
“So we have people doing cross-disciplinary R&D work and others doing small production runs,” says Nichols.
In terms of R&D, Nichols cites the example of a climate tech company building a prototype machine for carbon sequestration. Typically carbon capture systems combine a range of disciplines, including chemistry and software engineering. But there is also the all-important physical component. A machine has to be built.
Interfacing With Tech
As Parra sees it, this is where the services offered by Bloqs reach beyond the obvious market of craftspeople, designers and engineers, and interface with the evolving tech-startup community.
“In the new industry of tech, there is a lot of software and a lot of process. But there is also a lot to do physically. That’s a market that we are keen to serve,” he says.
The company is also keen to encourage a home-grown maker industry. “If you want to mass produce something you will have to go to a massive factory,” says Nichols. “But if you have the node, you do something small and you can bring manufacturing close to home. You don’t have to manufacture overseas.”
This, he believes aligns with the changing expectations of potential customers. “We are seeing a change in the industry,” he adds. “People are much more conscious about what they are consuming.”
In particular, there is concern about the carbon footprint of manufactured products. All things being equal, goods produced closer to home are likely to generate fewer emissions around shipping than those wending their way from far-flung corners of the world. For its part, Bloqs uses solar power and recycles wood chippings in a bid to move closer to net zero. How much of this can be communicated to end consumers is perhaps an open question, but reducing C02 output is a good end in itself.
Nicholas and Parra say they are keen to expand to other centers, using their pay-as-you-use model. They aren’t alone in the marketplace. Many British cities and towns are home to Makerspaces and universities have also been keen to offer facilities to their students. The key for would-be makers is to find facilities providing appropriate-for-purpose tools.
In the meantime, Bloqs is catering to a range of constituencies, including the perhaps traditional audience of designers and small manufacturers and also tech startups who need a space where they can build prototype devices which may at some time in the future become cutting-edge products.
