Ep.27 – Elise Spontarelli

Ep. 27 Elise Spontarelli, Executive Director of Vector Space

Elise Spontarelli is the Executive Director and co-founder of Vector Space – a non-profit makerspace and community workshop here in Lynchburg, VA, which she and her husband Adam founded back in 2015.

A makerspace is quite literally a space in which you can make something. Or, as my tour guide Randy pointed out, at Vector Space, you can make almost anything!

This 22,000 square foot shop is filled with every tool, machine, and gizmo a geek like me could ever dream of. Woodworking, blacksmithing, sewing, screen printing, pottery, and on and on and on…

It…is…so…COOL!

I invite you to enjoy this wide-ranging conversation, not only about Elise and Adam’s backstory but also about the transformative power of making something with your hands, especially in today’s disconnected digital world.

We also discuss the importance of running a non-profit like a business and how to sustainably grow an organization by letting your customers and members help guide its path (in addition to creating something YOU love).

Enjoy the show!

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Show Notes:

Vector Space’s Website
Vector Space on Instagram
Vector Space on Facebook
Vector Space on YouTube
Make Magazine Founder Dale Dougherty on LinkedIn
Dale Dougherty’s Ted Talk “We Are Makers”
Adam Savage Book “Every Tool’s A Hammer”