Tag Archives: TechShop

Free Classes for Women at TechShop on March 8

Have you every wanted to try welding? Maybe you have always wanted to learn to build your own furniture or learn to use a 3D printer. If you are a woman in the Pittsburgh area, this is a great opportunity for you to try these classes for free.

International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women. TechShop is celebrating International Women’s Day by offering FREE classes to all women on Tuesday, March 8th.

TechShop is a maker space located in Bakery Square. What’s a maker space you ask? I happen to work at TechShop and while I might not be qualified to use all of the equipment in the shop, I am more than qualified to tell you about all of the things you can do and make at TechShop.

Think of TechShop kind of like a gym or fitness center, instead of treadmills, free weights and an akward area where people are supposed to do situps, TechShop has all kinds of equipment that members can use for making things. Everything from laser cutting machines, to welding, to a woodshop, as well as a large area that is not-so-awkward where everyone can work on projects.

Once you are TechShop member, and you have passed the SBU class (SBU is TechShop speak for safety and basic use), you can come in to use that piece of equipment whenever you want. The SBU classes cost between $50 and $150, so this is not only a great chance to learn a new skill but also to check an SBU off your TechShop bucket list.

Free Classes for Women on March 8 @ TechShop Pittsburgh

Here is the schedule of classes for Tuesday, March 8. You MUST call the front desk (412) 345-7182 or come into the shop to register. The front desk is open from 8:30am to 10pm. The shop is open to members from 8am to 1am.

10:00 am – Woodworking // Woodshop SBU
10:00 am – Welding // MIG Welder SBU
1:00 pm – Furniture Basics [Pre-requisite Woodshop SBU]
1:00 pm – Sand Blasting & Powder Coating SBU
2:00 pm – Textiles // CNC Embroiderer SBU
4:30 pm – Basic Metal Shop SBU // Make a Metal Bottle Opener
5:00 pm – Welding // TIG Welding SBU
5:00 pm – 3d Printing // Printerbot SBU
5:30 pm – Laser Cutting // Trotec Laser SBU
6:00 pm – Metal // Ironworker SBU
6:00 pm – Circuits & Stuff // Electronic Instruments
7:00 pm – Woodworking // Shopbot SBU
7:00 pm – Blacksmithing Basics // Leaf Wall Hook

Interested in learning more about TechShop?

Everyone is welcome to stop by the shop for a tour. Click here to sign up.
Friday, March 4 – TechShop Happy Hour from 5pm-8pm. Tickets are $10, or you can enter to win 2 ticket here.

Cities Can Help to Shape an Equal Opportunity Maker Movement (nextcity.org)
‘The Looming Entrepreneurial Boom’: Kauffman Weighs In (theatlantic.com)
Entrepreneurs Take On Manufacturing (hbr.org)

Win 2 Tickets to Happy Hour at TechShop

Sip a local brew while enjoying fun activities including giant jenga, cornhole, DIY crafts, a flame tube, a tesla coil, and more.

Live demonstrations of blacksmithing and 3D printing will be available for viewing. Refreshments provided.

This event is open to both members and non-members of TechShop.

Tickets are $10 and available via ShowClix here.

Enter to win 2 tickets to the happy hour here: http://bit.ly/1SlKLhg.

Artist Lecture with Oreen Cohen & Sean Derry

TechShop will be adding a new lecture and demo series! We will be inviting artists, engineers, and makers to share their motives and techniques with our community in a group setting. Suggested Donation, $5. Donations will be used to off-set the cost of the event, and to build the event in the future. They can be made at the door!

Open to Members & Non-members. Snacks and drink will be provided.

Please RSVP here.

Oreen Cohen // www.oreencohen.com

With a visceral approach towards material and site, Oreen creates publicly performed actions and sculptural interventions that attempt to transform transient spaces into places of meaning. Symbolic industrial materials and gesture is used to cultivate social allegories that re-interpret the past, solidify the present, and anticipate the future.

Sean Derry // www.seanderry.com

Sean Derry grew up in Alaska. His family moved to the territory via steamship in the late nineteenth century and later established one of the largest commercial reindeer herds in the history of Alaska. Derry’s ongoing interest in mechanical devices and amateur engineering canbe at least partially attributed to his childhood experience repairing Craftsman lawnmowers. In his artistic practice, he explores the lived experience of a place and investigates alternative strategies for inhabiting these environments. Derry’s work includes installations, commissions and curatorial projects. He has developed projects for the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area, Trust for Public Land, Anchorage Museum at the Rasmuson Center, Art in Action, National Institute for Fitness and Sport, and Waterman Agricultural Center. He has completed public commissions for the University of Alaska, the City of Indianapolis, and Indianapolis Cultural Trail. In 2006, Derry’s commission, Charting Pogue’s Run, was featured in the Americans for the Arts Year in Review. Derry is the recipient of grants from the Sprout Fund, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Alaska State Council on the Arts, and Edith Fergus-Gilmore Trust. Sean Derry currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is the area head of sculpture at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Free Patent & Trademark Seminar

Guest Speaker: James Porcelli

This presentation discusses patents, trademarks, and copyrights in terms understandable to the non-specialist. Included will be explanations on the processes for acquiring federal protection through patents, trademarks and copyrights, and how you know if you need such protection.

James Porcelli has been a patent attorney for the past 25 years and has worked for the Webb Law Firm for the past 15 years. He worked as a mechanical engineer for 8 years prior to graduating from law school at the University of Pittsburgh.

This event is FREE and open to both members and non-members of TechShop Pittsburgh. It is not affiliated with any other group or companies. First-time visitors, please come early to check in at the Front Desk and receive a free tour of TechShop.

RSVP for this event on the TechShop Pittsburgh MeetUp page here.

24 Gifts of Pittsburgh: Spalted Maple Wood iPhone Kerf Case

Spalted Maple Kerf Case for iPhone 6

When I think about buying gifts, I want to buy someone something that is really beautiful, something that is useful and that they might not buy for themselves. Many beautiful items are often saved for special occasions, so finding a gift that can be used daily, that isn’t something like a blender, can be hard to find. This Spalted Maple Wood iPhone Case is just that item, its beautiful and it is something that can be used everyday.

I first met the Kerf Case team at TechShop a few years ago. The woodshop is tucked in the back corner of TechShop Pittsburgh and is often overlooked by people who want to see 3d printing and laser cutting, you know the techy stuff. But there is something kind of magical about woodworking. One of my most favorite classes in grade school was woodshop. As a kid, I am sure I could have cared less about types of wood. Most of the time people talk about wood is hardwood floors, but unless you are remodelling house, you probably don’t get that intimate with the different types of wood.

One of the things I like most about the Kerf Cases is that is brings this incredibly detailed pattern that is created in nature right to the palm of your hard. And it is a delightful experience. Not only are the cases beautiful, each unique, but they are incredibly durable and protect your phone.

: Cork

: PurpleHeart

: Yellow Box Burl

The iPhone cases that Kerf has been creating are stunning works of art. The photos on this post and on the Kerf Case website don’t really show you the beauty of the wood. The Spalted Maple is my personal favorite, but the case is offered in 15 other different types of wood, and all are equally as beautiful.

See the Kerf Cases in Person at Handmade Arcade this weekend

You can order a Kerf Case online, they will even custom engrave your case with a name, website, photo or any other design you choose.

If you are in Pittsburgh on Saturday, December 5, make a point of heading to Handmade Arcarde to meet the Kerf Case team and see these products in person. Kerf Case will be there selling cases and wallets. Kerf Case will also have a cell phone charging station, so you can power up while you browse.

We’re Giving Away a Kerf Case & Wallet

A huge thank you to Kerf Case for sponsoring IheartPGH this month. Not only are they supporting this site and helping us to share more stories of Pittsburgh, but Kerf Case is giving away a case and wallet to one of our lucky readers. You can get all of the giveaway details here.