Mixed Media Shop, AKA The Cantina, that hive of scum, villainy, rogues and heroes. Multi-material, multi-modal, multi-verse. Jack-or/and-Jill-of-all-trades, polymaths, preachers and prophets.

And you can cut plastic on our bandsaw.

Our Mission!

The Mixed Media Shop, initials MXS, aka “The Cantina”, has a interesting place in the Nova Labs mission. It hosts innumerable programs: makerschool camps, Robotics builds, the Nova Labs Internship Program, beginner projects galore, while also boasting the ability to create some large and really cool pieces.

Mission:

  1. Support beginner makers with approachable, simple tools and sign off process.
  2. Support programs by offering flexible, maneuverable shop furniture to maximize shop-centeric education.
  3. Support craft-centered artisans & content creators with curated tools and capacities aimed at generating arresting visuals for social media platforms.
  4. Support mixed media/material projects (wood, metal, plastics, concrete, etc - all together.) Slabs, resin, power carving, foam cutting and more.

Tooling and Logistics

Mission #1:  Bandsaw, drill press, scroll saw, hand sanders, belt sanders &  shop dust collection via Shop Vac w/ filter.  Pattern-makers vise with power carving (flexshaft/dremels, die grinders, angle grinder)

Mission #2: Strong visual aesthetic & design, especially once walls go up in Phase II/III.

Mission #3:  As much as possible, an all-in-one shop sign off process.  Rather than multiple classes required for access to the shop, there is one sign off.  This sign off covers powered hand tools, bandsaw, sanders.  Hand-held router for surface prep, planer, 10” sasquatch circular saw may be added to a “red tools” class in the future as we develop these capacities.  This may change as needed/scope creep occurs, but the mission remains: as few sign offs as possible.  As many project classes as possible.  Let’s get making, not collecting our pokemon cards.

List of Smugglers (aka Donations):

New benches:  NL providing steel, generously donated ash tops by Shane Smith, labor and sundries donated by Woodshop Cowboy and Daniel V.

Drill press: Donation by Shane Smith

~~Harbor Freight 4” stationary belt/disc sander: Donation by Bradley Matthews~~