When we made a modest increase to our membership dues to support the rising cost of operation in Austin, one of our main aims was to build towards hiring Asmbly’s first ever full time employee. I, and the full leadership team, are beyond excited that we’ve not only reached the place where we can move forward with this hire, but we have done so with a person that could not be more perfect for the role.
Please join me in welcoming @Snestle to the Asmbly Leadership Team as Asmbly’s very first General Manager and full time employee! 
Shane Nestle
Shane started in woodworking early in life, building his first piece of furniture in high school – a printer cabinet with a hidden cabinet space (because every teenager wants hidden compartments). As an adult, he has been heavily involved in new construction and remodeling – both residential and commercial — but he also sold and built cabinetry for a couple of years. Some of his cabinetry can be seen in the grocery displays of La Mexicanas and Man Pasands around town. He learned welding when he started building gates for his fence company, Anderson Mill Fence. Most of his projects are non-standard type of work, involving some out of the box thinking.
Along his journey, he found a national makerspace company many of you are familiar with called TechShop. There he worked as General Manager for a year, learning key elements of what it takes to keep a community shop running, as well as important lessons on what to avoid (RIP TechShop).
I fell in love with the makerspace concept as soon as I saw it, taking pretty much every class offered. Wood shop is my natural stomping ground, but I intend on using most of the equipment at Asmbly. The ability to create solutions to new problems at such an affordable price is too good to pass up. Plus, the brain power found in my fellow makers is invaluable.
I’m really impressed with just how far Asmbly has come in such a short time under it’s board of directors and all the amazing volunteers I have met and been working with in my short time at the space. I’m looking forward to meeting even more of the membership and helping to propel the organization forward so we can all keep building, creating, and exploring new ways of doing both in a safe and rewarding environment.
Congratulations Shane and thank you so much for all you’ve already done for this community. We’re lucky to have someone with a broad range of skills who is an excellent listener, compassionate leader, and as enthusiastic about Asmbly as the rest of us. I’m excited to keep working together to continue growing and expanding Asmbly’s reach!
Join us this Wednesday for an extra special Community Social Hour at Vigilante hosted by Shane! Come check out the cool stuff at Vigilante that was made at Asmbly and play games with our new GM 
