A year ago, on September 13, 2025, we unlocked the doors at 25 N. Park in Walker and honestly weren't sure what would happen. Turns out a lot of you wanted a place to make stuff.
We spent some time going back through our sign-up sheets, class rosters and shop orders to see what year one actually looked like. Here's what we found.
The short version
| 84members | 237workshop seats | 200+event guests | 2,400+volunteer hours |
Members
By our first birthday, 84 people held an active membership. Most went with a monthly plan (47), followed by household annual (16), annual (12), household monthly (5) and our community volunteer membership (4). Another 38 punch cards went to folks who like to drop in now and then.
Workshops, and what came out of them
We ran 65 workshop sessions across 24 different classes, and 237 seats got filled. Dice casting night was the runaway favorite: 61 people poured their own resin dice. Woodshop safety (23), laser-engraved tumblers (20) and intro to the CNC router (16) were right behind it.
We also counted what people built and took home. It came to about 157 projects:
- 61 sets of resin dice
- 20 laser-engraved tumblers
- 13 holiday ornaments
- 12 photo magnets
- 9 wooden bread knives and 9 sewn pouches
- 8 cutting boards and 8 book page holders
- 5 leather belts, plus resin pieces, engraved pumpkins and CNC heart boxes
Along the way, 23 people passed woodshop safety, 25 took 3D design or 3D printing, 16 learned the CNC router and 14 learned the laser engraver.
Open houses and meetups
About 200 people came out to 20 free community events. First Friday open houses brought in 115 visits on their own. Sunday Crafternoons drew 30, and the combat robotics interest meeting in April packed the room with 32 people, our biggest single event of the year.
All told, 241 different people came to a class or event, and 46 of them came back for more.
The nerdy numbers
- 29 combat robot kits sold for the Grand River Rumble (12 Dead Shaft Delight, 11 Plastic Poison, 6 Super Scooper), with 36 builders signed up for the founding season and 6 arena sponsors
- 23 kids at Maker Camp across two weeks in July
- 11.8 kg of 3D printer filament
- 132 ml of UV printer ink
- 70 sheets of birch, basswood and cherry for the laser
- 60 donations adding up to $4,150
The people who kept the doors open
Something not everyone knows: every open shift at GRM this year was run by a volunteer. That added up to more than 2,400 hours, about 50 hours every single week. 32 people took shifts across 192 open days. At the national value of volunteer time, that's roughly $87,000 worth of hours given to this place.
A huge thank you to Pat, Chris, Dan, Steve, Josh, Jeff, Lysie, Alantha, Adam and Bill, who put in the most hours, and to everyone who covered a shift when someone else couldn't. None of this works without you.
On to year two
We're a small nonprofit, and every number in this post is a person who chose to spend their time making something here. Thank you for taking a class, signing up, bringing a friend or just stopping by to see what we're up to.
If you want to be part of year two, here's how:
- Become a member. Monthly, annual and household plans, or grab a punch card if you only come in now and then.
- Take a class. New workshops go up every month.
- Volunteer. Even one shift a month helps keep the doors open.
- Donate. Every dollar goes back into tools and materials.
Or just stop by a First Friday open house. We'd love to show you around.