New London — Dan Flavin of Groton, an engineer at Electric Boat, offered at least one good reason he uses the sprawling wood shop at Spark Makerspace rather than performing his woodworking projects at home.

“I obviously can’t fit a table saw in my third-floor apartment,” Flavin said.

Flavin, who heads the woodworking department at Spark’s newly renovated space at 7 Union St., worked as a carpenter while attending college. Like others at Spark, he’s now sharing his skills with anyone who is interested in creating things like a Kentucky stick chair or handmade cutting board.

Spark’s various workspaces were on display Saturday during a ceremonial grand opening celebration. The nonprofit organization, which was founded in 2015, opted not to have a ribbon-cutting. Instead, Mayor Michael Passero used a battery-powered jig saw to cut through a board nailed across the front entrance to the applause of a crowd of nearly 100 people outside the building.

Makerspaces are a community workshops where people can gather to create, invent and learn together. Spark was founded by artists, engineers and entrepreneurs interested in supporting the idea of a shared workspace. It offers classes, equipment and a community where like-minded people collaborate and share ideas, said Casey Moran, Spark’s executive director.

There are five fully equipped workshops in the Union Street building: woodworking, stained glass, fiber arts, electronics and visual arts. The visual arts room has equipment for screen printing. The electronics room has a 3D printer. The fiber arts room has stations with sewing machines.

The renovated space on the first floor of the nearly 10,000-square-foot Union Street building is as big as its last location at 225 State St. but still has an entire second floor yet to be renovated, said Kristin Harkness, chairperson of Spark’s board of directors. Plans for the second floor are still under consideration but are likely to include an audio and visual space, recording studio and perhaps an area for painting.

Spark, when it was founded, occupied space at the former El ‘n’ Gee Club at 86 Golden St. It later moved to a rented space at 225 State St. before purchasing the Union Street building for $60,000 in 2020. Spark reopened to members at the beginning of the year.

Harkness said Spark members were “blown away” by the potential of the building during the search for a new permanent home. That potential started to be realized when it met a $500,000 fundraising goal for renovations. Spark’s list of partners includes Thames River Innovations Place, a regional economic development agency.

While it was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Spark now boasts about 100 members and continues to raise funds and seek grant opportunities to subsidize its programs and paid staff.

“Our goal is to be a self-sustaining, not-for-profit business,” Harkness said.

Other revenue comes from the various costs of classes and the $55-per-month membership fee. Members have access to all workstations from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. People interested in joining can visit the organization's website, sparkmakerspace.org.

Faith Scimone, who moved with her husband, John, to Waterford from California, said she was excited to learn the area had a makerspace. Both started volunteering and her husband, an electrical engineer, now leads Spark’s electronics and technology department.

“He loves to teach and excited to share with other people,” she said.

On May 12, the technology department is offering a three-part class on how to sew LEDs into circuits on fabric to create light-up clothes.

There’s also an upcoming one-day workshop on making stained glass feathers. There are also classes on soldering, quilting and screen printing.

In addition to access to equipment and workshops, Spark board member Erica “Maple” Andrews and her daughter Violet said Spark livens up the downtown and offers a welcoming and unique place to collaborate with others.

“Everybody is really kind," Violet Andrews said. "It’s a welcoming community.”

Bill Foreman, who splits his time between Waterford and Florida, said he discovered Spark a couple years back and now is making use of its wood shop. Foreman manages a wood shop in Florida.

“You find people who are makers and they're usually good people,” he said.

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