About

South London Makerspace is a social community workshop in the heart of Herne Hill. It’s owned, run and maintained by the members; there are no paid staff so everything is done on a volunteer basis.

We’re not just a workshop; we’re also a community.

Makerspace was incorporated Thursday, 26th September 2013, although the origins of the project stretch back much further.

We’ve crowd-sourced a history of South London Makerspace, which you can read here.

Membership

Thank you for your interest in becoming a member of the South London Makerspace

Since our early days in 2014 we’ve seen a steady growth in our community to become the vibrant creative and social mix you see today. However we have finite space and need to be realistic about how many members can comfortably share that space

So we’ve come to the point where have to manage the acceptance of any new membership applications by running a waiting list, its currently not long but will get longer as the space fills up – Please click here for details

Facilities

We have three main workspaces, each geared towards a certain sort of making:

Clean Area


This space is for any activities that don’t make a lot of noise, smell or dust. Things like electronics, sewing or coding. There’s a big table to sit round, a dedicated electronics workstation, our 3D printer, and a collection of sewing machines near the large front window (our main source of natural light). This room also contains our social area, kitchen and accessible toilet.

Messy Workshop

This space is for any activities that make smells or messes or noises. This is where our laser cutter lives, and it’s where you can do general purpose assembly. Our desktop Isel CNC machine as well as CAD/CAM PC is in here. Our metal working tools live here (mill, drill press, metal lathe, cold saw) and so does our screen printing equipment (vacuum table, screens, washroom).

Wood Workshop

This space is a dedicated to wood work and is built to contain the sound and dust from our heavy-duty machine tools. We’ve got a very solid table saw, band saw and cross-cut mitre saw to cut things up. We’ve got a planer/thicknesser, mortiser, spindle moulder and router table and handheld routers to shape things. We’ve got a wood lathe for turning. We’ve got sanders, drills, drivers and other power tools. And we’ve got plenty of decent hand tools for delicate work. We also have a full sheet (8′ x 4′) CNC machine!

Contact us

The best way of reaching us is via Discourse, where members can discuss the space, their projects and any other related topics. It’s the best way to introduce yourself and find out about the latest activity in the space.

If you have a more official enquiry, you can email the directors, however most enquires are best directed to our Discourse, otherwise you can email us at:

directors@southlondonmakerspace.org

You don’t have to introduce yourself online. We hold open evenings every other Wednesday from 19:00 – 21:00, at which all members of the public are welcome.

Organisational structure

South London Makerspace is a non-profit company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales with company number 08706591. We are not a charity, we are a members’ association or club. There are three directors, whose responsibilities cover the legal and financial operation of the company.

The structure and aims of the company are set out in our Articles of Association. This is a dense legal document that is not very easy to read, but the important points are:

  • The stated aim of the company is “to promote and encourage creative, technical and scientific skills through social collaboration and education; and to provide and maintain shared community workspace and equipment in Greater London.”
  • All funds must be used to further those aims.
  • No member (including the directors) may take profit or remuneration from the company.
  • All members are liable for just £1 to be paid in the event that the company must be wound up in debt, up to 1 year after their membership ends.

You can read the full document here (PDF)

Workshop address:
South London Makerspace
Arch 1129
41 Norwood Road
London
SE24 9AJ

Administrative (registered) address:
South London Makerspace
Arch 1129
41 Norwood Road
London
SE24 9AJ