Three Years in the Making

The story of how the Makery, a creative makerspace and art community in Downtown Wake Forest, NC came to be.

It has officially been three years at The Makery!

I have told the story of how it came to be before, and I have written short and sweet posts about where the idea got started. But as we’ve hit the three-year mark, I think it might be time I come clean about something.

I have no idea what I am doing.

I have been asked if The Makery was a lifelong dream of mine.

It was not.

In fact, it was an accident.

In 2021, I was working from home, running my own business as an interior designer. I had my own firm, multiple projects, and was traveling and designing all over the U.S. I had projects in both New York and Hawaii. It was amazing and so fulfilling.

It was my true dream career.

And it was during this year of creative and career fulfillment that an idea slowly noodled its way into my brain.

What if there was a place where creative people could just create together? On all of their own projects. Not rented studios or an office, but just a place to work alongside other creative people.

As the idea continued to worm its way deeper into my brain, I began to daydream this place into existence. I started researching and planning a creative coworking space. I imagined a college art studio, but for the rest of our careers. I met with friends and chatted about the possibilities. More than that, I researched and read and created a full business plan.

Then the idea became too big. Too fanciful. Out of reach.

One friend told me I was “like a little girl planning her wedding dress.”

It was actually a good analogy.

I knew I wanted to maybe, one day, have this creative venture if the right opportunity came along, but I certainly couldn’t name what that opportunity looked like yet.

So in January 2023, I set the idea aside and decided to continue focusing on my current business.

And business was good.

I was traveling out of the country for design projects. I was working on four different television shows while carrying my own client load. I had hired an assistant, and my business was thriving.

Then, in April 2023, as I was driving through downtown Wake Forest, I passed a FOR RENT sign on one of my favorite buildings.

I understand not all people have favorite buildings.

But I do.

And this was one of them.

I knew the building’s layout well, and I knew that if it still looked the way I remembered it, it would be perfect.

So I called the number on the sign and asked for a tour.

The building was exactly the same.

I could see all of the ideas I had been carrying around living comfortably right inside those walls.

As I have said before, I trust my intuition and the process fully. What’s the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

So, first bite: I put together an LOI, a letter of intent, with my business plan attached and submitted it to the landlord.

I’m not getting my hopes up, I told myself. I’m not going all in. Just one next right step to see where it leads.

Following the LOI came lease negotiations. I had the building inspected by an outside commercial inspector. I talked with my husband. My mom. My friends.

I prayed.

A lot.

Each time, I focused only on the next right step.

I decided that if the inspection came back badly, then we would know this wasn’t the right move and I would back out.

The inspection came back with minimal issues.

I sent the report to the landlord and asked him to fix a couple of the bigger problems.

He fixed every single item on the list.

Without me asking.

Okay.

Next step.

The lease.

He had a strict lease agreement. I had my lawyer look it over and asked for several changes. Again, I decided that if the landlord wasn’t willing to make the changes, that would mean this wasn’t the right move.

I would back out.

Once again, he agreed.

I kept thinking, Just one more step in the right direction. I can always back out.

But the pieces were rapidly falling into place.

So, after a lot of prayer and a lot of discussion with my husband, I signed the lease on June 1, 2023.

Our grand opening happened on September 8, 2023.

And The Makery was born.

Back then, we had a space for artists to create together, an art gallery, and art classes.

That was pretty much it.

I kept thinking about the movie Field of Dreams and the line, “If you build it, he will come.”

So I built it.

And then I listened.

As people started to discover us, they would ask for new classes, and I would find a way to make them happen.

Watercolor?

Sure. I’ll find an instructor.

Pottery?

Okay. I guess we need a kiln.

People wanted to learn. Artists wanted to teach. People wanted a place to work. I met more artists, and our little community slowly began to form.

Eventually, we grew to add a kiln and pottery wheels and new studio spaces. Classes became friendships. Students became members. People who had never thought of themselves as artists started making art.

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Over the past three years, I have had people tell me how grateful they are to have this space. I have watched friendships form and confidence grow. One member eventually told me that coming to The Makery gave him a reason to wake up in the morning.

I had no idea how much this slow, one-step-at-a-time idea would affect so many people.

So when someone asks me now if The Makery was a dream of mine, I still answer no.

It was an accident.

Interior design was my dream.

The Makery is God’s.

So I’ll just continue to show up one day at a time and be here to welcome the community that needs this space.

I’ll help children learn about art and give teens a place to hang out.

I’ll give artists the confidence to sell their work and adults a place to practice, experiment, make a mess, and try something new.

I’ll keep listening when someone says, “You know what would be really cool?”

I’ll keep taking the next right step.

And I’ll keep opening the doors.

Because three years later, I think that might be the thing I understand better than I did when I started.

I may have signed the lease.

I may have opened the doors.

But this place is not mine alone.

The Makery belongs to all of us who have made something of it.