We have 3 main parking areas: the parallel spots on Lewis St, the gravel area under the pear trees (near the Forge graffiti on the building), and on the side of the building near the loading dock.  If you're interested in parking on the side of the building, reach out to a mentor or staff person on Slack for best practices on accessing the area.

The Forge has a 7-day temporary storage policy for members' materials, projects, and tools.  Members can leave those items in any of the common spaces (not classrooms, closets or bathrooms) for up to 7 days with a label.  Label must have the member's name and date, either date left or date of expected pick up.  Items without labels should be posted to Slack in the appropriate channel (e.g. #woodshop if found in the woodshop) and if unclaimed within 7 days is deemed up for grabs.

The Forge has some month-to-month storage options as well.  As of June 2023, the Forge only has $15 lockers available, but we are looking to expand options to accommodate the need for more options.

Utilize the Shop Hours Calendar to book time with Shop Mentors and Shop Leads for whichever shops you intend on using.  These are one-on-one, 1-hour appointments with Shop leadership that can be used for different things.  The main thing is being cleared to use equipment.  Mentors and Leads meet you where you are in your maker journey to ensure you can safely use the equipment solo, and that may take more than one appointment (and that is okay!).  After a Mentor or Lead clears you to use whatever it is you've been training on, you'll receive a badge to proudly display on your name tag!

Don't sweat it!!!  We got you.  Digital New Member Orientation takers are encouraged to schedule a time to meet up with their orientation leader for a quick tour of the space.  

If you're more of a loner (Dottie, a rebel) that is totally fine too!  Utilize the facility map at the top of the Facilities & Tools page to learn the lay of the land.  And definitely reach out to staff and/or mentors with questions :)

Yes!  It is encouraged :)

If a classroom is not booked on Proximity, feel free to use them as community workspace/coworking space.

If you want to ensure use of the classroom for just you, you are welcome to book them on Proximity.  Each member gets 1 free hour to use each month in each classroom.  Past that, members will be charged to reserve the classrooms.  

If you're interested in either of the classrooms for a company event, meeting, etc., please reach out to either the Deputy Director or Education Coordinator.

First off, thank you for thinking of the Forge!

Please reach out to either the Executive Director or the Deputy Director on Slack or email and they will assess the needs of the shop and get back with you!

What an awesome question!  There are lots of ways to give back to the Forge Community and we would love to help you figure out the most meaningful way to do that.  There is a #volunteer channel on Slack that is a great resource for finding volunteer projects.  You can schedule a meeting with the Deputy Director to talk about what you're passionate about and what skills you might want to lend, and they can work on developing something with you.  

Shop Mentors are volunteers, and we are always looking for more!  We are also seeking "Facility Mentors" -- those folks have a weekly (short!) task list that focuses on improving the space, typically through cleaning or organization.  Mentor positions are a year-to-year commitment and include free membership for your efforts!

Monthly memberships are truly month-to-month and folks are welcome to cancel their membership at any time if things aren't working for them.

Use this link to cancel your membership.  You'll have access to the space until the next scheduled membership draw day.  For example, if you cancel on the 16th but your membership dues typically draw on the 30th, your cancelation date is the 30th.

Reach out to a Forge administrator if you need further assistance.

For the safety of your personal information, Forge staff no longer accepts payment over the phone or on their devices.  Forge members can change their payment source at any time using this link.  Add the new card or ACH source before deleting the old one or there may be a disruption in your membership access.

Maybe!

If you have been gone from the Forge for over 6 months, we will ask you to retake New Member Orientation.  Sign up for it here!

If you reactivate your membership online, we still need to turn your key back on, so please shoot us an email or Slack message to let us know you're coming back so we can get your key sorted out for you as soon as possible.