February 19, 2015

Fab Fridays! Join us and Fab Lab London

Fab Fridays are an exciting new development in the partnership between The RSA Great Recovery and Fab Lab London. They will allow us to bring together the different elements of Fab Lab and The RSA Great Recovery in practice, and to share this with anyone and everyone!

The phenomenon of innovation hubs, fabrication hubs and make spaces have been around for a while, and the accessibility they bring is key. Literally anybody can turn up, get trained on the laser cutter, 3D printer or milling machine, and make something for and by themselves. What is new is the emphasis on circular economy thinking that The RSA Great Recovery brings to Fab Lab London, the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what’ of making, and the use of design as a creative as well as disruptive influence.

What will the day look like?

Each Fab Friday will have a slightly different theme and structure, but the basic building blocks are outlined below. They are designed to give you an insight into the work of The Great Recovery and Fab Lab London; help give you the tools to take your next steps; and provide an opportunity to share learning, insights and discussion with a great group. Each session will run from 13:00 to around 16:00 on the last Friday of the month.

‘Circular Economy for Dummies’ with the RSA Great Recovery

The Great Recovery team will give an introduction to the project and some of the concepts associated with designing for a circular economy. They will look at the practical opportunities and challenges that face us in the 21st century, and will examine some of the social and end-of-life implications of the products you might make in a Fab Lab.

 Intro to Fab Lab

The Fab Lab team will introduce you to their world. You will learn about what you can create in a Fab Lab, how the machines work, and which materials you might use.

Rethink, Redesign, Remake: Innovate &Play…

The Great Recovery and Fab Lab teams will run a practical ‘tear-down’ and ‘design-up’ session, in which you can dissect everyday items (think broken mobile phones or laptops, old shoes & clothes).

– We will consider some of the materials in these products, where they might have come from and where they’re likely to end up.

– We will look at some new applications for this so-called ‘waste’, or ways of repairing and repurposing items, and see how the Fab Lab kit can help

With a slightly different focus each week, you will introduced to use Fab Lab’s facilities (machines, tools, materials, event space and experts!) and begin to learn how to re-design different products or business models and prototype your ideas.

Next steps

– We will consider what individual action can be taken to improve circularity, and what wider systemic change is needed

Sign up for a Fab Friday here

Want to have a Fab Lab kit induction too?

If you would like to attend a Fab Lab and /or laser cutter induction in the morning, please sign up directly on the Fab Lab website.