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Community members and creatives of all types came to an open house on Wednesday for The Hatch Makerspace, a new facility with the goal to help makers in the area overcome the barriers of entry to their craft by offering members access to a variety of equipment.

“Whether you’re here to unwind with a hobby or you’re moving pallets of finished product out the back door, The Hatch grows with you. It’s your space to create on your own terms,” said an informational poster about The Hatch.

A makerspace is like a gym membership, but for tools, said Nic Lang, founder of The Hatch. 

A fabrication consultant by trade, Lang has experience with different types of building disciplines from working on themed restaurants, hotels, high-end homes and luxury retail spaces, he said.

Lang added he wants to help people follow their dreams without having to worry about startup and overhead costs associated with getting a new business running. He also said he wants to bring resources to community members who are looking for a new hobby or trying to find people with similar interests.

“It comes down to the simple fact that I think everybody needs to have the barriers and access to their dreams and ambitions lowered,” he said. “At The Hatch, we provide the production equipment to manufacture your woodworking project or metal project and things like that.”

When a person wants to turn their side hustle or hobby into a business, he said, it can be scary to think about how they will be able to afford it, especially when they might already work a traditional 9 to 5 job, have a family and other obligations. One of the goals of The Hatch is to expand the resources available to people through shared space, equipment and collaboration.

The activation committee for The Hatch was formed in 2023, but Lang said he has been studying makerspaces and compiling professional-grade equipment for five years.

While traveling for work, Lang said, he visited about 100 different makerspaces and studied what makes them successful. When creating The Hatch, he said, he wanted to incorporate things that made thriving makerspaces work and plan ahead for issues that made other makerspaces struggle. 

“We joke around and call this ‘the makerspace on steroids,’” he said. 

The building The Hatch is housed in was formerly Litho Printing & Graphics. After much renovation on the part of the Hatch activation committee and community volunteers, it is now 25,000 square feet of space where people can work on many different disciplines such as welding, woodworking, blacksmithing, glass blowing and fusing, digital printing, laser cutting, 3-D printing, sewing, textiles, machining, electronics and more.

Lang said he had previously visited models for makerspaces that produced $18 to $20 million in revenue from members’ microbusinesses. He hopes to bring that success to Albert Lea and the southern Minnesota area, too.

“The economic impact and the community impact that The Hatch is projected to bring is substantial,” Lang said. “With the size of Albert Lea, and with our southern Minnesota location and what our capabilities and what our limitations are, we think that in the next five to 10 years, we should be able to bring upwards of $40 to $50 million worth of impact in the community.”

Jean Eaton, a member of the activation committee, said she was pleased with the turnout of the open house Wednesday. She also said she hopes The Hatch can become a regional hub for microbusinesses. 

Lang said The Hatch will only be successful if it becomes a community project with more people operating various disciplines and help from platforms like the Albert Lea Economic Development Agency and the Albert Lea Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

The Hatch Makerspace is at 232 S. Washington Ave. in Albert Lea. More information can be found at facebook.com/TheHatchMN or by emailing TheHatchMakerspace@gmail.com.