Opinion: The Studio can help grow your small business

When I first came to The Studio, the makerspace at the Greenwood Public Library, I came exclusively to the programs. It took a long time before I realized that there were also kits to check out at any time.

When I discovered that, I started to put mental check marks by all the things I would like to try – needle felting (check), dry embossing (didn’t even know that was a thing – check!), quilling (check). I saw the equipment in the room, like the Cricut, but did not put a mental check mark to try any of those things out. Sure, it was cool to have access to, but what would I really do with it?

Fast forward to now, when I work at the library and have had the opportunity to get up close and personal with every item in The Studio. And I get it now. There are definitely everyday uses for all of this stuff. That’s why this summer we are hosting open houses in The Studio. So that you, too, can get up close with all of our kits and equipment and see how it can be useful for you.

We are hosting one specifically focused on how you can use The Studio to benefit your small business on June 21 at 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Though the library is not technically a small business, I find that I use The Studio in many ways for work that I think would also be really beneficial for small businesses. When we needed t-shirts for a library program, I cut out the iron-on vinyl with the Cricut. When I needed well-lit photos of a project I made, I used the light box and camera. When I wanted to make a greeting card with the library logo on it so it would be branded, I designed it and cut it with the Cricut. And when we wanted to make promo videos for library programs, I popped my phone on the ring light and recorded a time lapse video in the A/V studio. Not to mention that our 3D printer can be used for prototypes or promotional materials.

I’m not the only one using The Studio for things like these. I’ve had patrons come in to use our binder to create their own planners to keep track of their busy schedules. One patron came and laminated his advertisements for his business with our laminator so they could safely be adhered to doors and still be resistant to the elements. Yet another patron regularly visited the A/V room to film content for his YouTube channel, and other patrons came in to film instructional videos to use as part of their work.

That’s the beauty of the makerspace. It can be as simple as just using our dedicated and quiet space to record on your own devices. Or it can involve coming in and using several different pieces of equipment to create a variety of materials for your business. How you use it is up to you, but we have so many choices and most of them are completely free to use.

If you are not running a small business and are just interested in The Studio in general, please join us on July 9 at 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. to get a tour of the space and find out all of the fun stuff you can do – for free.

Amber Parsons is Head of Adult Services at Greenwood Public Library. GPL staff members share in writing this bi-monthly column for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].