All Hail the New Makars: MAKLab @ Glasgow's Lighthouse

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In Scottish literature the term “makar” indicates a poet or bard. The meaning of the word is directly linked with the etymology of “poet”, from the Greek "poietes", that is "maker". The term indicated indeed that the poet crafted or made formal and intricate verses. Fast-forward to our days and you will discover that the word "maker" has come back into our lives in conjuction with innovative technologies.

The recent TEDGlobal conference that took place in Edinburgh focused indeed on the DIY revolution and on the new maker movement. There are currently workshops all over the world where people meet up and share machines such as 3D printers, laser-cutters and CNC routers and create or experiment with innovative materials.

Glasgow has just joined in with a dedicated workshop called MAKLab and very aptly based at The Lighthouse, Scotland's Centre for Design and Architecture. Once enrolled MAKLab members can use all the tools available in the studio, from laser cutters and engravers to 3D printers and scanners, CNC routers, embroidery machines and additional electronic equipment and bench tools.

The studio is open to everyone, from professionals, such as architects and designers, to amateurs willing to experiment, play a bit with materials and bring back into the art of making a much-needed dose of punk technology. While MAKLab is set to inject new life into The Lighthouse, Studio Director Richard Clifford hopes it will also have positive effects on society as more and more locals will join in and share their creative impulses.

What prompted you and your partners to start MAKLab?
Richard Clifford: MAKLab was started as a means of helping designers, architects, engineers, students and the public to gain access to the latest digital fabrication tools. The main aim is to encourage to test ideas beyond the sketch and 3D model stages, but instead to make physical prototypes using innovative technology.

Does MAKLab's open studio format also have a social purpose?
Richard Clifford: We have chosen to open the studio to the public to help show people interesting techniques, but also to encourage the cross-fertilisation of ideas and multidisciplinary collaborations. The relaxed atmosphere we have in the studio allows us to have discussions not centred around money or other external crippling factors, but instead we get to focus on ideas with people. We are very conscious that some people may like to work in isolation, but we continually find that getting a group of talented and enthusiastic people around a table or a workbench leads to much more interesting and dynamic output.

So far which is your favourite machine at MAKlab?
Richard Clifford: The studio has around 80% of the tools installed now, a few very exciting ones yet to come, but the most exciting for me at the moment is our Roland MDX-40 Milling Machine. I went to a recent jewellery exhibition by a Glasgow design College, and I was staggered to see some of the amazing pieces that students created on the same machine! I'm not sure I'll make it to their level anytime soon, but I am very keen to give it a shot!

What has been the feedback so far?
Richard Clifford: We have only opened a few weeks ago, although we have had our workshop running for months, but, so far, the uptake has been great. I think people are a little unsure at first what they can do at MAKLab, but when they find out that there are so many machines and pieces of equipment, they very quickly work out how they could use them! From small scale machining of jewellery to CNC cutting of furniture, and from 3D printing of working prototypes right up to full scale architectural components, the designer's mind very quickly takes control.

There is currently a lot of interest about how innovative machines can help us creating new forms of crafts: in your opinion, will the future be completely digital or will we be merging traditional techniques with state of the art technology?
Richard Clifford: Personally, I feel that technology should always complement the design process, not be the driving factor. The equipment is a means to fabricate or produce something and will never imagine a designer or an artist's concept.