Local venue provides space and guidance for hobby, DIY projects

If you've ever had a project you've wanted to tackle, but didn't have the space or the tools to do it, you'll appreciate the efforts of a local group of tinkers, hobbyists, and artists in Richland.

"We all met through different meet-up groups in town, and the one thing we realized about Tri-Cities is there was no where for us to do our projects," said board member Amanda Becerra. "We could go to a bar or coffee shop, but most of us did things that were bigger than that or messier than that."

The group worked on a business plan, and created Confluent Makerspace, opening up in February 2016.

Over the weekend, the group celebrated its second year in operation at a facility on Williams Blvd. in Richland. The facility includes a woodshop, pottery area, electronics lab, metal shop, community garden, and everything in between. There's even a community garden in the back, where volunteers planted and cultivated vegetables and greens. The volunteers took some of the food home, and donated the rest to local food pantries.

While the space isn't plentiful, ideas for growing its offerings are endless, limited only by the volunteers who can help teach classes, and guide fellow hobbyists.

"Everyone here volunteers their time. We all learned from other people, and so we wanted to have a space where we could teach what others had taught us," said Becerra.

There are currently about 35 members who pay an ongoing fee for access to the facility, and hundreds of others who use the facility just for certain projects or to take classes.

"Someone might come in and want to build a table, so they get a 1-month membership and they build their table and we don't see them again," Becerra laughed. "But then there are others who make this their second home."

Wheelhouse Bike Shop recently partnered with Confluent, setting up a satellite location at the site. They plan to teach bike safety and bike repair classes.

"We really want to start working on our metal shop," Becerra said. "We have a lot of equipment that's been donated to us, so we would like to start offering classes in the metal department so we need someone who can help with teaching that. We also received an electric pottery wheel and two kilns, so we'd like to see someone help with that as well."

You can email confluent.space@gmail.com or visit their website for more information.