Shop Mentor Spotlight: Steve Bird

January 2022 is National Mentorship Month, and we wanted to introduce you to some of our awesome mentors!

Our first spotlight is on long-time Laser Shop Lead, Steve Bird!

Steve found the Forge in 2015 during one our First Friday open houses and always tells us it was his daughter's idea to join.  Well, now Steve runs our Laser Lab part time and teaches classes on laser technology and software!

Check out our interview with Steve ~

Forge:  Tell us about your history as a maker? What is your process?

Steve: "I've worked in various creative fields my whole life, and I periodically need to learn entirely new stuff. I thought I would be learning mostly about woodworking and 3D printing, but when I found the laser cutter, I found something that could give me the results I wanted out of wood working but leveraging the skills I already had in computer design. I wanted some tabletop game organization accessories, so I threw myself into learning any and all skills I needed to design and make the things I wanted."

Forge: What drew you to mentoring and leading/teaching others? 

Steve: "I've been an Adobe Certified Instructor for creative software for many years. I've always loved explaining how things work to folks who are interested. I do my best to make this more like mentoring and less like mansplaining––at least I'm aware enough to know that there's a difference!"

Check out Steve's business, TableTop Envy, or take a class with him in the laser lab some time!