Chicago Photography Academy

The Maker Lab doesn’t look like part of a library—and it certainly doesn’t sound like one. The compact room on the third floor of the Harold Washington Library periodically reverberates with the sound of drills slicing through wood on the custom milling machine, vacuums sucking up sawdust, and vents airing out laser-cutter machines. These devices nearly drown out the mechanical buzz of three microwave-size 3-D printers as they turn thin streams of biodegradable PLA plastic into bookmarks, detailed figurines, and stretchable bracelets. The Lab’s possibilities are quite literally limitless. “It’s really up to your own imagination what you can do,” says librarian Yolande Wilburn, who helped brainstorm and execute the project, made possible with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The lab has already churned out laser-cut metal keychains, wooden cell-phone docks, vinyl T-shirt decals, a chessboard with pieces, and busts of library employees—using 3-D scans taken with an Xbox Kinect. Yolande even boasts that the MakerBot can print its own replacement parts, making it both an impressive self-sustaining machine and a terrifying progenitor of a Matrix-like future. Yolande explains that the lab uses consumer-grade products from the likes of MakerBot and Silhouette because CPL “wanted to be able to give people hands-on experience with things that were affordable to them.” The machines themselves run anywhere from $200 to a couple thousand dollars, but the software used to develop designs is downloadable for free on the internet. That means anyone can map out a design at home, then come into the library to bring their blueprint to life—for free. Anyone Can be a Maker “One of the things we really wanted to do is make this space accessible to both women and men,” Yolande says. During fact-finding trips to 3D-printing labs around the city, such as Pumping Station: One (PS1), she and her colleagues couldn’t help but notice the “huge male population” manning the machines. “We get lots of guys who are interested in sewing, but we wanted to make sure that we brought women in here to really see what you can do.” By combining “low-tech” sewing and jewelry-making skills with fabric cut via laser and 3-D-printed pendants, students enter a whole new era of fashion design. The 3-D printer even churns out lengths of flexible mesh that can sub in for traditional fabric. ”You see a lot of designers that are starting to use this technology to design new and really interesting dresses,” Yolande says. Yolande herself had no experience with 3-D printing before embarking on this project, and she admits she felt a bit intimidated when she first set foot in PS1. “The first thing they did was say, ‘Tell us what you make.’ … I never really thought of myself as a maker,” she recalls. But as she explained her lifelong love of DIY, from fixing her childhood bicycles to recently renovating her house, she realized that she had earned that title. “Once we had established that, they accepted [me] into their community.” And after seeing kids as young as 9 years old take to the technology, and mastering it herself, Yolande’s convinced that it really is for everyone. “If a bunch of librarians can learn it, then anybody can come in here and learn it.” All of the library’s software-overview classes are already filled up through August, but the Maker Lab will keep operating through the end of the year, at which point the machines might make their way to other libraries around the city. Until then, visitors can acquaint themselves with the technology during open-shop times or other classes that feature hands-on projects such as jewelry making or sewing. An Entrepreneur’s Reference Section The Maker Lab may still seem incongruous with the concept of a library as a place for quiet study, but Yolande sees the space as filling a niche that Chicago’s libraries have inadvertently come to occupy. “One of the things I noticed [working at various library] branches was that people were using our space to do things. For instance, at the Humboldt Park branch, we had artists who were coming in and they were bringing in their canvas,” she says. “We had people in there making jewelry.” She noticed that some of these artists appeared to be homeless or jobless, and the library became a space where they could feel like “they’re doing something productive.” Some of them would even sell their creations in the park. In a similar vein, she’d catch aspiring entrepreneurs trying to Skype potential clients on the library’s free WiFi, and she realized that CPL had become a resource for startups, whether the librarians liked it or not. She sees the Maker Lab as “giving opportunity to people who are trying to help themselves.” Although the Maker Lab isn’t set up as a “manufacturing warehouse”—patrons will be limited in how much they can print—the librarians are happy to refer people to places around the city that will print out designs for a fee, such as the 3D Printer Experience. Using their knowledge and expertise with the machines, the librarians continue to serve as reference resources like any other in the library system. “I see it as checking out sort of a human book of experience that you can’t put on a shelf,” Yolande says. “It only happens when you put spaces like this in and people who create can come together. It creates a whole new knowledge base for others to use. I completely see it as the library’s mission to provide [that] information.”

If you want a dose of character with your new instrument or packet of strings, try one of these inspiring local music shops.     Illustration: © Greyory Blake, Groupon

In addition to a killer hangover, each New Year’s Day brings a wealth of possibilities and promises of self-improvement. The problem is, actually going to the gym or making a home-cooked meal is a whole lot harder than just settling into the couch to binge-watch TED Talks on Netflix. This year, we’ve compiled a list of ways to make your New Year’s resolutions last longer than your leftover Christmas cookies. If your resolution is: “Get in shape.” If treadmills and yoga classes make you sleepy, parkour just might be the shot of adrenaline your muscles have been waiting for. Kurt Gowan, the founder of Parkour Ways and an erstwhile Divergent stuntman, leads beginner-friendly classes in the French art of freerunning, teaching the crawls, hops, and sidesteps needed to work your way up to high-intensity obstacle leaps and wall scales. Along the way, you’ll work every muscle in your body—especially the thighs, as one Groupon Guide writer noted. Classes at Parkour Ways (1750 N. Kingsbury St.) are $20 each—though this Groupon deal makes it easier to take the first flying leap. If your resolution is: “Meet somebody.” This year, skip the speed dating and get straight to the dance floor. Big City Swing starts a new round of beginners’ classes the week of Monday, January 6. Over the course of four weeks, students will get to know one another through a series of swingouts, lindy hops, and charlestons. No partner is needed, as the instructors like to mix couples up throughout the class, allowing students to test their skills (and their chemistry) with one another. A four-week session at Big City Swing (1012 W. Randolph St.) costs $65. If your resolution is: “Learn to cook like a real adult.” Cook Au Vin’s Vincent Colombet is serious about teaching the culinary arts—so much so that he tries not to even touch the food during his classes, preferring to let students take charge of the ladles, knives, and whisks. By the end of each lesson, students will have whipped up a four-course meal in the classic French style. As if adding ratatouille, boar sausage, and crème brûlée to your culinary repertoire wasn’t enticing enough, Chef Vincent lets his students uncork BYOB bottles of wine during the post-class feast. What does another night of Easy Mac have on that? Classes at Cook Au Vin (2256 N. Elston Ave.) start at $110, but check out this Groupon deal for an extra-privileged price.  If your resolution is: “Fix my wardrobe.” If your New Year’s resolutions include upgrading your footwear or finally retiring a beloved pair of wooden clogs, the Chicago School of Shoemaking has you covered. The school’s master cobbler, who has more than 35 years of experience, teaches students to make their own sandals or boots from scratch during intensive one- and two-day classes. Sandal-making classes at the Chicago School of Shoemaking (4723 N. Winchester Ave. #G) cost $275 and boot-making classes cost $895, but this Groupon deal for a basic leather-working class will also get you started on the right foot. If your resolution is: “Finally write the Great American Novel.” Steve Martin once said, “Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol.” However, this is the same man who approved of the script for Bringing Down the House. You can take Martin’s advice with a grain of salt (and a tequila shot) at Both Sides Art’s BYOB creative-writing classes. Led by a writing professor at the American Academy of Art, the 90-minute sessions convene Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and offer a supportive environment for writers from all walks of life. The BYOB creative-writing classes at Both Sides Art (1840 S. Halsted St.) normally cost $40, but you can use this Groupon deal to score a special price for up to four Hemingways-in-training. If your resolution is: “Become an actual superhero.”   You never know when you’ll be called upon to come to the rescue, but Chicago CPR Now ensures you’ll be prepared for any emergencies that come your way. Its instructors lead American Heart Association–approved classes in CPR for adults, infants, and children; automated external defibrillators; and general first aid. Classes at Chicago CPR Now (3717 N. Ravenswood Ave. Suite 209) start at $45. If your resolution is: “Get over this crippling glossophobia.” If you’re looking for more than a $5 improv education, you can try the Ultimate Beginner class at The Annoyance Theatre. The eight-week session begins Thursday, January 16, and covers such topics as long- and short-form improv, object work, and how to say “no” without offending Ryan Stiles. Beginning classes at The Annoyance Theatre (4830 N. Broadway) cost $225.