the Pajama Factory Newsletter

In Focus:
Dave and Deb Stabley

Dave and Deb Stabley recently moved to Williamsport from Bloomsburg and we are thrilled to have them overseeing The Clay Studio, part of Factory Works, a non-profit organization housed at the Pajama Factory. Dave and Deb owned and operated Creative Clay Works in Bloomsburg for over 25 years and have shown and sold their work in art shows /galleries around the country. They have been published extensively and have taught in a variety of settings while supporting arts in their local community; helping to establish Artspace-a cooperative Bloomsburg gallery in which they are still involved. More recently they both have begun teaching ceramics at Penn College and spending their time in our new Clay Studio. They offer instruction and a membership program for people who are interested in working with clay. It’s always a treat to be in the studio and see them ’making’ while guiding their students’ wonderful creations as well!

Greetings,

As we head into the holidays, many of us will be busy handcrafting gifts for our friends and family, which brings to mind a new and exciting cultural movement—both in and outside the Pajama Factory—called the Maker Movement. It’s a DIY movement that celebrates self-reliance and hands-on solutions. While much of the Maker Movement culture is technology based, it also extends to traditional arts and crafts. It’s grounded in invention with an emphasis on applying practical skills to pressing problems or challenges and then hacking and tinkering to come up with creative solutions.

Since our Pajama Factory community lives and breathes the DIY spirit every day, we decided to devote this newsletter to the Maker Movement, with a focus on just a few of our many makers.

We are hoping you will join us for the 5th Annual Holiday Artisans’ Market on December’s First Friday—to see what we are making here at the Factory, and meet the many artists and artisans exhibiting their work. We also invite you to our 3rd annual Blues Festival on December 30th with a line-up of four great bands making their own great music. Reserve your tickets early, as they sell out fairly quickly—and let us know if you need a place to stay!

Mark and I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and we are thankful for your continued support.

– Mark and Susie Winkelman

Tom Mahoney and his 3-D printer (and his yearning for "Making")

Tom Mahoney is a fairly new member of our creative community, and not only lives and breathes the Maker Movement, he is very interested in creating Williamsport’s very first Maker Space right here at the Pajama Factory

Tom was raised in a family of makers, which sparked his early interest in building things. Later, he applied this interest to computers, code, and technology. Groups of visitors to his studio on a recent First Friday were fascinated by his new 3d printer, a device that lets you design a three dimensional model on a computer, then, with the push of a button, print it out! He had just made some business card holders to give out to folks who were interested in finding out more about the Maker Movement, and/or joining him in creating a Maker’s Space. Tom aspires to “nurture his maker soul, connect with those alike and share with those who have it and don’t know it.” Feel free to email him for more information tommaho@gmail.com

Other Kind of Makers

Makers, more loosely defined, come in every discipline here at the Factory—from bakers, coffee roasters, painters, writers, photographers, printmakers, actors, musicians—the list goes on and on.

In no place is it more evident than within Factory Works, one of the building’s nonprofit organizations (formerly the Center for Creativity). This creative incubator’s mission is “to provide the Williamsport community with resources for nurturing artists and innovative thinkers to ignite a spirit of creativity that enriches our entire community.” Factory Works is all about ‘makers’.

Pictured above from left to right are David Stone, Director of the Factory Works Bike Recycle shop “tinkering and fixing” one of the bikes that have been donated and a group of "makers" after one of the Factory Works Woodshop classes with their newly finshed cutting boards.

Making Building Improvements

Over the past few months, efforts have continued to focus on fixing building windows as we get ready for the colder months. This is no easy task: in just the three main buildings, we have a total of 19,950 panes of glass in 665 large steel windows (about 7’ X 8’). It keeps us busy!

Make-up and Making fun

This year the “Zombie Outbreak Response Team” truck (or as we call it around the factory – ZORT) —filled with goulish Pajama Factory tenants—joined the South Williamsport’s Mummers Parade. You can see more pictures of the "ZORT" preparing for the parade on our website.

In Closing

How wonderful it is to enjoy Octobers—filled with golds and autumn hues. It hints at the start November’s transition into colder days and nights and time spent inside, perhaps enjoying a warm fire or a hot cup of cocoa. As winter tightens it grip, we wish everyone a joyous holiday season with their own DIY activities, catching up with friends and family and we’ll look forward to seeing you at the Pajama Factory in the new year (if not before).