ORANGE  — A non-profit startup that provides space for artists and craftsmen to hone their skills outside of the home is looking to grow its membership base. 

Called LaunchSpace, the 13,000 square foot, member-based community workshop launched in October 2019. It’s housed in the Orange Innovation Center, a business center in Orange.

“We are about providing revitalization models for rural areas, especially post-industrial, in the low density underserved communities,” said Brianna Drohen, LaunchSpace’s co-founder and CEO.

“Post-industrial society” is a sociological term used to describe the transition in the mid-20th century from a manufacturing to service-based economy. Prompted by the “computer revolution” of the 1950s and 1960s, post-industrial society reorganized the workforce to one less based on physical labor to an office environment. This shift had a great impact on parts of North Central Massachusetts, which heavily relied on manufacturing as their economic base before World War II. Drohen hopes LaunchSpace can reintegrate the latest generation of hands-on workers back into the local economy.

“In these post-industrial communities, you have a lot of makers. They are generationally people who have used their hands or are creative, but lack the opportunity because the industries have left,” explained Drohen. “Now that people are coming out of their siloes and coming into the space, we are giving them access to equipment, we are giving them access to skill building, layering and access to the community.”

Drohen said that LaunchSpace has a design room with multiple studios including those for fiber art, painting, pottery, screen printing, leather working, and photography. They also have a robotics room with a laser cutter and eight 3D printers. 

LaunchSpace’s launch was stalled by the pandemic because the startup officially opened in October 2019, right before the pandemic hit. Drohen said that LaunchSpace has six members right now and is hoping to grow their membership through their classes, which include instruction on how to make pottery, cutting boards and soap, among other things. 

“We have six members now and the goal for the year was 50, so we are very far behind in our membership,” said Drohen.

If you are interested in becoming a member, please go to: https://www.launchspace-orange.com/