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What’s been cooking at Makerspace North since Ottawa declared a state of emergency? Well, it goes without saying that we closed to the public and all of our tenants are doing what’s necessary to keep our community safe and healthy—in most cases, working from home. Perhaps most notably, our mixed-use space has been temporarily reorganized to house and support our sister company and tenant, Top Shelf Distillers. They’re answering the Canadian government’s call on businesses to mobilize in the face of immediate shortages of protective clothing, hand sanitizer, and medical equipment due to COVID-19.  The Perth-based distillery (whose talented Ottawa...

The federal government unveiled its Economic Response Plan last week to help Canadians facing hardship as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Then, on March 25, the government proposed legislation to establish the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, aka CERB. The benefit is a more streamlined combo of the previously announced Emergency Care Benefit and the Emergency Support Benefit with an aim to make it easier for people to apply and receive money, including contract workers and the self-employed. While there are a whole host of relief options for individuals and families that may pertain to your unique situation (e.g. child...

We can probably all agree that it’s a strange time right now.  At Makerspace North, we’re doing what we can to keep our community safe and healthy. Many of our tenants have shifted to working from home. All tours, drop-ins, events, meetups & workshops have been postponed. And, our ChitChats drop-spot is suspended until further notice. As you know, many non-essential businesses and services are shutting down across Ottawa as health officials urge self-isolation and social distancing (two of our new favourite buzzwords).  This means that now, more than ever, your small local businesses need your support to help them...

We’re honoured to have been selected as a venue for the 20th edition of Soup Ottawa, which will take place in the warehouse on March 26th, 2020 from 6:30-8pm (doors open at 6pm)! What the heck is Soup Ottawa? Soup Ottawa is a recurring participatory micro-grant event to support creative ideas that benefit the Ottawa community. The event is open to the public to support and be inspired by these incredible ideas. Attendees enjoy delicious eats (soup and bread) courtesy of iconic Ottawa veggie joint Pure Kitchen. How it Works A $10 cash entrance fee gets you soup and a...

Today, we chat with one of the makers from our Makerspace Hustle crew. Hemi Patel is a Makerspace tenant and the founder of Ottawa-area startup Bloom Upcycle.   What was your inspiration to start Bloom Upcycle? My inspiration honestly sparked because I was given a huge pile of otherwise garbage leather scraps that needed a new home (one that wasn’t the landfill). From there, I realized there was so much other scrap and “garbage” going to landfills for no reason. So, I figured I could help this issue by upcycling the scraps into something new and bloom a new life...