Ideas for space improvements

Space Teams Textiles
1

Not sure if this is actually the right place in the forum for this post, so if it’s not, let me know where it should go and I’ll move it!

I wanted to float a couple ideas I have for improvements to the space that would make things easier for sewists (and possibly be useful to other hobbyists sharing the space, too).

The main one is mounting a projector on the ceiling above the large worktables where people cut out their fabric so that they can project patterns onto the cutting mat instead of dealing with printing out and piecing together paper patterns. While pattern cutting is the main use I’m interested in, it could also be used to help people do things like tracing designs onto surfaces to embroider, emboss, maybe even carve out… And although the ceiling is the obvious location for a projector to be mounted, if that for some reason isn’t possible, there are projectors designed to be mounted on walls instead. Based on my cursory research, it seems like there are plenty of options for new projectors in the $100-$300 range, and even more options if you start to look at used ones. This website seems like a good starting point for research.

My second idea is one I came across while doing a bit of research on the first: getting a thin sheet of galvanized steel that people can put under the cutting mats, which would basically create a magnetized cutting surface and give us an option less tedious than pinning things down and a little more secure than using a bunch of pattern weights.

3 Likes
2

Hi @jlwilson16 – perfect place to post, and thank you for the suggestions :smiley: The latter is definitely easier to manage (and something I can look into as early as this weekend), but the projector sounds cool as well. I’ll add it to the list of improvements, admittedly held up by getting the infrastructure out of the way.

If you have suggestions about projector solutions, do post them here or ping me directly. We’ll see what might be in the budget vs. looking for a used solution.

3

I think a lot of us would also love to have a projector that helps guide our patterns! :wink:

1 Like
4

That does sound like a pretty sweet idea

5

My only comment, having used an overhead projector for this in the past (RIP Ditto), you have to get the room pretty dark for it to be effective. Not a problem in that room at all, unless someone else is also using the space.

1 Like
6

I would like to see digital signage (large TVs mounted up high, perhaps) for announcements and perhaps machine statuses and workarounds. Multiple could be fed from a common source, so that they are all always up to date. Handbills tend to fossilize in place.

Also, I find that meetings and classes in the MPR are always plagued with noise from the various devices in the room. It can be hard to understand persons speaking in there. A calmer meeting space would be welcome. Or could something be done to manage the acoustics within the existing space?

7

I have a hearing disability, and noise from the various devices in the room, along with the overhead A/C blower noise, affect my hearing for meetings and classes in the MPR.