Rising Stars: Meet Mala Arthur

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mala Arthur.

Hi Mala, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The Mountie MakerSpace was originally funded with a grant from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office and opened for business on September 18, 2017. As time has gone by, we have added more tools, equipment, categories of activity and experts available for consultation. Over the past almost seven years, our membership has increased to 3500 people, including Mt. SAC students, faculty and staff, students from other colleges and universities, and people who live or work in or near our location in Walnut. Everyone who is at least 18 years old is welcome, and all skill levels are welcome (our staff can help people get started).

We have a full woodworking shop, full metal-working shop and much 21st-century equipment such as 3D printers, vinyl cutter, laser cutter/ engraver, etc. We have three sewing machines and a fully-equipped electronics station with tools and components.

About half of the member activities at the Mountie MakerSpace are related to Engineering, including designing and building custom rockets, designing and building robots including entries for the TV show “BattleBots”, designing and building useful items such as cellphone holders.

We also have artists who work in metal, wood, acrylic and other media to produce 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional pieces. These include sewn items, buttons and stickers. Some of the artists are in the trades, including theater tech, architecture, interior design and furniture building. We also have marketing people who create models or prototypes.

In addition, people do work that can be categorized as construction and trade activities, including welding, designing and building large items such as a custom garage door, robot fighting arena or scale model of the lunar lander. Automobile, motorcycle and bicycle repairs are also fairly common.

We strongly support the Right to Repair and many members bring items in to work towards their rejuvenation.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The largest obstacle to our success was the COVID pandemic and lockdown. We were closed for 17 months, and it was not feasible for us to provide any online activities since our entire premise is that people use our physical equipment and tools to do work. As of April 2023, we are finally back to our pre-COVID attendance.

The other obstacle has been funding. For various reasons, we have not been able to secure an adequate and reliable stream of funding for staff salaries, supplies and maintenance costs, instead depending on a patchwork of grant monies, donations and support from Mt. San Antonio College. We appreciate those funding sources very much but would feel more comfortable if funding was more definite.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The Mt. SAC Mountie MakerSpace is a gym for creators, making tools and equipment available to facilitate ideation and creation. The mission of the MakerSpace is to drive member success and innovation by creating an environment where members can collaborate on the creation of tangible items and entrepreneurial ideas. The MakerSpace serves as a hub for project-based learning across subject areas by providing the tools, mentors and space to complete practical and artistic projects.

The underlying culture of MakerSpaces is one of collaboration, sharing, and additive innovation. Sharing one’s work with others creates an open community and collaborative culture in which members are excited to assist one another and willingly exchange design knowledge. The diversity of users creates opportunities for members to work with and learn from others who have unique experiences and skills.

What makes you happy?
The Mountie MakerSpace is most happy when it is full of lots of people doing many different activities, excitedly exchanging ideas and suggestions and supporting everyone’s endeavors.

Pricing:

• Membership is FREE
• Many materials are FREE

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.mtsac.edu/makerspace/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mountiemakerspace/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/MakerSAC/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MountieMakerSpaceMtSAC
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/vCkn0uuW084i7ltXImIb9Q/
• Other: https://mountie-makerspace.business.site AND https://www.alignable.com/walnut-ca/mountie-makerspace

Image Credits
Mala Arthur