Welcome

We are a 100% volunteer-run NYC makerspace located in the heart of New York City in Greenwich Village. The brainchild of Noah Sapir and bootstrapped by Fat Cat jazz club in 2013, we’ve been a hub for artists, students, engineers, hobbyists, startups, and meetups to gather and grow through 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC routing, sewing, electronics, art, and more. Welcome!

Philosophy

At Fat Cat Fab Lab, everyone has the freedom to teach, learn, share, practice, and create. People come for the tools and stay for the community. Whatever you decide to do to make this place better, will make it better for everyone. As a community, we celebrate the hacker ethos and open source movement.

Dues

Member dues are collected monthly and go towards rent, maintenance, and keeping the lights on. No one is paid a salary and Board members are prohibited from using money for personal gain. We are open books so you can ask for our financials at any time you want.

Storage

Storage bins are available for storing personal items. Generally, we tolerate larger items being left in the lab out of the bins but we reserve the right to ask that they be removed at any point.

Access

Members have 24/7/365 access to the lab. Though, you can't live here.

Responsibilities

Members are asked to help take care of the lab. We don't force anyone to do anything, but doing a small part goes a long way!

Helping out with the lab looks like:

Cleaning up after you're done working (putting away tools, etc). This is a minimum requirement!
Taking out garbage on garbage days, emptying trash cans
Turning off lights, closing windows, sweeping/vacuuming
Organizing tools/items
Maintaining or fixing equipment
Hosting meetups
Teaching classes
Working on our website or wiki
Or whatever else!

Remember that the lab only exists because everyone does their part.

How to Contribute

Fat Cat Fab Lab is a place where we encourage everyone to express themselves and lend their unique skills to contribute to the physical & digital spaces and make it more fun and engaging. This includes anything you think could be better: reorganizing materials storage, fixing ceiling lights, enhancing our wiki and website, or hanging art on the walls. This is everyone's space.