Grand Opening an awesome success!

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Well, I don’t know about you but I had a great time tonight! So many fascinating people, so many interesting conversations. So much support! Royal Oak is really the right place for a space like ours, with neighbors who “get” what we’re doing. Get a load of  mayor Jim Ellison with a cutting torch, in what he said was his most unusual ribbon-cutting yet! There are more photos online already, and more will surely be added by the time you read this.

A lot of folks who came to the party didn’t sign (or see) the guestbook, so please leave a comment if that includes you! Also, for i3 newbies, some important info below the cut… Read more

Sneak Peek!

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We wanted to share a with all of you a small sneak peek of the finishing space.

If you would like to see the final space come to our open house on Saturday October 3rd 2009 12-5 pm and after party starting at 7pm-12pm. See you There!

Meeting tonight: Badges!

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Wow, time flies! Since our last meeting, the floors have been finished, a lot more walls have been painted, and the space looks completely different. Also, the card-access system arrived yesterday and we installed it last night, so members will get their RFID badges at the meeting tonight.

Otherwise the agenda is pretty short, as we move into the final push prior to Grand Opening.  Guests are welcome as always, but don’t be surprised if we put you to work, whittling down the to-do list!

Location: 322 E. 4th St, Royal Oak. Time: 7pm-???

New Classes!

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As most of you know we are winding down the build out of our space and gearing up for our opening house party. At the same time we are starting to lay out our class schedule for the first week of October. We have posted a few classes for the first week. We will be working over the next couple of weeks to continue to grow our class offerings for the month of October. You can see all the classes we have to offer on our classes page.

Here is a list of some of the classes currently open for registration:

Introduction to Web Advertising (Part 1) Monday October 5th

Web Advertising is a medium that evolves daily.  There are millions of websites to advertise on and it is hard to know what is best for you. The goal of this course will be to empower you to select the right sites and services to drive traffic to your website. This course will start to cover these topics in two parts.

Radio Basics (Part 1) Wednesday October 7th

This class will introduce radio communication, the nitty-gritty of how signals get from a transmitter
to a receiver, and how information is encoded in those signals. We will tackle misconceptions and try
to give each student an intuitive understanding of how this stuff works, which will make future radio
classes and experimentation easier.

Introduction to Web Advertising (Part 2) Monday October 12th

Part 2 to Web Advertising is a medium that evolves daily.  There are millions of websites to advertise on and it is hard to know what is best for you. The goal of this course will be to empower you to select the right sites and services to drive traffic to your website. This course will start to cover these topics in two parts.

Part 15, CB, ham, broadcasting &You can pass the ham exam! (Part 2 of Radio Basics) Wednesday October 14th

There's more to radio than just the technology, of course, and before you get on the air
(even with a wifi AP) you should understand the rules about who can transmit where, why, and what.
This class will talk about the "license-free" myth, commercial and amateur services, licensing and
testing for individuals and for equipment. Most importantly, we will discuss why this all matters to you,
the experimenter.

i3 Detroit Open House and Party

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i3 Detroit, a cooperative space for makers, inventors & entrepreneurs of many trades, will celebrate its grand opening with an open house on Saturday, October 3. The event will be held at i3’s new facility, 322 E Fourth St, Royal Oak, MI. The public is invited to an open house 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. where they can tour the workspace, meet the members and view their projects. At 7 p.m. there will be a party open to those 18 and over.

Russ Wolfe, founder and president, describes i3 as “a collaborative environment for people to explore the balance between technology, art and culture.” The 1,500 sq. ft. facility contains an assortment of fabrication tools, a classroom, and stock of many common components. “We want people to learn how things work by enabling them to build projects and providing them access to tools that would normally be found in a factory.”

i3 moved into the Royal Oak location on September 3. Since then, members have been working every day to prepare the space and bring in heavy tools. “It’s a lot of work, but we are all excited to see the vision coming together,” says member, Ted Hansen

Members have a wide range of interests and professions. “We have machinists, programmers, artists, and electrical engineers as members now,” says i3 member Phil Frost. “Everyone has a useful skill to share.”

i3 hosts public classes on topics as diverse as its membership, such as woodworking, Linux, amateur radio, telecom architecture, computer programming, and automobile repair.

Everyone is welcome to come by to see the space and chat with our members. The space is full of creative individuals and great conversation. We hope to see you there!