Open Works
Open Works Reopening 7/1/2020
Hello!
Happy Juneteenth! Today we celebrate the day the last enslaved people in Texas learned of emancipation at the close of the Civil War. Not familiar? Learn more about this holiday here. Going forward, we will be adding Juneteenth to the national holidays that we observe by closing each year.
In addition, we are joining the Stop Hate for Profit ad boycott of Facebook and related platforms announced by the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League on Wednesday. As a nonprofit, we have a tiny marketing budget, and most of it has been directed to digital ads on Facebook and Instagram in the past. While our few hundred dollars a month won’t make or break these companies, it’s important to put our money where it matters. From now on, we will be limiting paid promotions of our classes and events to direct mail and local media outlets only.
We are also excited to announce that we are finally able to reopen! Please read the following updates carefully to prepare for changes to the space and procedures.
Makers Unite Update
We are FINISHED (for now)! Check out the amazing stats above. We are so grateful to all of our volunteers, staff, and donors. In the coming weeks, we will be handing this project off to our partners at Innovation Works to take forward as a permanent social enterprise serving the Baltimore region. Still need some face shields? We still have a few boxes in stock — email Jay Nwachu at jay@iwbmore to find out more.
Staff Changes
We are super-excited to announce some promotions amongst our long-time staff!
April Lewis has been promoted to Director of Community and Culture to recognize her role in developing not only our member community, but staff training, equity policies, and working on national anti-racist trainings for the maker community.
Laura Cohen has been promoted to Director of Education to recognize her role in overseeing adult, youth, and teen programs and curricular development.
Tiersa Sullivan has been promoted to Office Manager, and will be overseeing billing, staff scheduling, and events. She has a new office in the former small conference room, which is too small for socially-distant meetings.
Give ’em a (socially distant) high five next time you’re in for a visit!
Reopening!
We are finally ready to reopen! Mayor Young announced a move into Phase 2 at his press conference at noon today. We are going to take next week to wrap up deep cleaning, infrastructure preparations, and staff re-training.
The safety of our users and our staff is absolutely paramount. The Mayor’s order also limits capacity at facilities like ours. We have chosen to limit capacity by capping the number of people in the shops, limiting hours, and not re-starting in-person classes.
- Micro-studio walls will have an additional 16″ sneeze guard installed
- Hand sanitizer and sanitizing spray will be available in every room;
- Masks are required at all times in the building
- We are capping downstairs shops to 4 users at a time
- We are capping upstairs shops to 2 users at a time
- We are limiting hours to Tuesday-Saturday, 10 AM- 6 PM
We will reopen for resident members ONLY on Wednesday, July 1st. This will allow for a clean billing cycle and a chance for us to make sure new protocols are working smoothly before opening more widely. If you do NOT want your studio to renew on July 1st, please email april@openworksbmore.com by June 30th to cancel.
Shops will remain closed that week. We ask that micro-studio members please use the three days of that short week before the July 4th holiday to clean up, re-organize, and clear out any large items that are impeding aisles or sight lines.
We will reopen for the general public for day pass use on Tuesday, July 7th. Please stay home if you are sick, wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, and respect social-distancing protocols.
In order to keep the total number of people in the building down, we will have less staff on hand than you may be used to. However, we have detailed instruction binders available in each shop; PDF machine manuals available for download on our website; and will be creating a series of YouTube instruction videos over the next few weeks to supplement tech availability. We will also be launching a help desk function on our Slack channel so you can chat with a tech right on your phone.
In the next few weeks, we will also be launching make-at-home summer camp kits and some online education offerings for adults. These aren’t quite ready for primetime yet, but please stay tuned for some exciting announcements soon!
We know this sounds like a lot of things to remember! It’s ok — we are in this together. Our focus is on making sure that everyone can make safely. Please be patient with us in this readjustment period — it is an absolute mountain of work, and we have limited staff to do it.
We are grateful for you and your continued support of Open Works in this complex and challenging time. See you soon!!

Open Works Weekly 4/7/23
Increasing Digital Equity Beginning this Spring! A number of different neighborhoods throughout central Baltimore will be able to charge their devices and access WiFi thanks to our partnership with the Central Baltimore Partnership (CBP). The 29th Street Community...

Open Works Weekly 3/31/23
Do you want to bring your young person into the Textiles shop to sew with you? It's time to get them youth certified! Combined with our new youth membership option, we now offer a portable sewing machine class that prepares you and your young person for working...

Open Works Weekly 3/24/23
We've got just TWO of our 105 micro-studios left! Small but mighty, each comes with fast wi-fi, an optional workbench, and conference room privileges. But the best part is joining up with the fascinating and wide-ranging creative community! And have we mentioned the...

Open Works Weekly 3/17/23
TODAY! Join us at 10:30 with your little one for story time with Mrs. Abigail! Grab a coffee from our friends at Black Acres and enjoy songs, stories, and activities. While you're in, it would also be a perfect time to register any older siblings for Maker Camp 2023....

Open Works Weekly 3/10/23
One of our FAVORITE things to do is connect makers with opportunities! There are a lot coming up in the next few weeks -- check out the links below for accelerators, competitions, and vending opportunites.+ The inaugural Make/Space Accelerator is now accepting...

Open Works Weekly 3/3/23
Enrollment is OPEN for Maker Camp 2023! We are offering 5 weeks of half-day summer camp exploring drones, digital design, and fabrication skills for ages 8-15. All 5 weeks sold out last year, so don't wait! Scholarships are always available here. Not sure about...

Open Works Weekly 2/24/23
Today is the 3rd day of our EPIC wood shop reorganization! We are busy cleaning, labeling, engraving, inventorying, pegboarding, and moving machines to improve member experience. It will take another week or so to wrap up final touches. Going forward, each tool will...

Open Works Weekly 1/12/23
There are still a few open spot for official premiere of the Black Butterfly Dream Lab with Dr. Lawrence Brown. Participants will play the board game Urban Cipher, view a history exhibit, examine Baltimore City's budget, and literally build a more equitable...

Open Works Weekly 1/6/23
It's been quite some time in the planning process, but the cafe take-away window is finally up and running! Currently open from 8–9am, you can now grab take out from Black Acres Roastery just a few short steps away from the ample parking along Greenmount Ave. As part...

Open Works Weekly 12/23/22
Just a few quick things before we close up for the break. We're closing early today, at 3:00pm due to staff being out sick, and will be closed, as planned through 1/2/23. We want to encourage everyone to stay safe and healthy out there. We also wanted...

Station North Arts Walk
TONIGHT!!! 5–8PM Tonight is Station North Arts Walk’s Spotlight on Greenmount West and Open Works will serve as a hub with a maker’s mart, food vendors, and music from DJ Trillnatured. Registration is not required, but appreciated. Maker Vendors...

Open Works Weekly 6/24/22
Today, we’re graduating the first cohort of the Baltimore Sewn Trades Training Program!!! Congrats to Kay, Ellie, Jody, Will, T., D., and Devan! It’s hard to sum up all the hard work and detailed learning that went into completing this program, but the slim binder...

The Boutique Life at Open Works
Number one perk of writing the Open Works newsletter is the opportunity to go around asking our talented members a bunch of questions about their work. Last week I had a chance to sit down and chat with Samantha Montgomery from The Boutique Life, one of our resident...

Open Works Weekly 5/13/22
Are you interested in computer-aided design, CNC routers, 3D printing, laser cutting, or making furniture? The Makers Unite CAD Training program teaches AutoDesk Fusion 360, use and operation of our CNC (computer numerical control) wood routers, and basic woodworking...