Hi folks,
Welcome to the Wowser website. We tried to make it simple, clear, and easy to navigate; but when you have lots of ideas, sometimes that isn’t so easy. And since you made it this far, perhaps it is time for the introduction.
We plan to present a lot of ideas here. Things that seem important to consider. (At least they seemed important when we wrote them).
In no particular order these blogs will be chatting (sometimes RANTING) about;
- Thoughts from the founders. (Roger, Dickey, Cyndee, Lila, & Mike)
- How to make things.
- And as our instructors wish to, we’ll have their ideas in here for you to think about.
I hope you’ll enjoy hearing ideas that are new to you.
Specifically, my posts will present my ideas about:
- Why Wowser exists.
- What things I did & learned (that influence how I do things now.)
- Why Wowser is setup the way it is.
- What things we plan to accomplish at Wowser.
Overall, Wowser is a place to make and think. We offer you members the opportunity to make anything YOU want to make (Safety being our only rigid constraint on what you can make here.). If you know how to make it, and you have all the parts; start making. Do you need special tools? Ask and we will try to make them or get them here, somehow (Got a friend with scrap Titanium? Ask if they want to donate some to us).
Do you need to learn how to run one of the machines at Wowser (to fabricate that part you need)? Ask someone to help you learn. Need more formal help? Sign up for one of the Basic workshops. We plan to have lots of these. Wood-working, metal-working, welding, sewing, electronics, electrics, and many many more. (Stay tuned to the workshop calendar as we will be adding more in the coming weeks and months.)
Maybe you already know how to operate the machines, and just need some other people to help you. Then teaching a workshop might be a way for you to collect people who now have the skills and interest to work with you on that big project.
I have found that Ideas become goals, which in turn become projects, and at some point can become real things. I think the process of designing is enormous fun. And possible for everyone. These days, few people have access to a large workshop, along with the help they need to make stuff. And THAT is the limitation which prevents most people from creating. So we built a place for YOU. Wowser is the place where YOU can explore the possibilities of what YOU can create.
Everyone asks “why are you doing this?” While there are a lot of answers to that, the main one (for me) is this. Willits is my home, and I enjoy being around people who are having fun creating stuff. There wasn’t a place like that anywhere around here, so I made it.
So, when you are in Wowser, drag me over to see what YOU are creating.
In the meantime, welcome to the blog. Please come back often and if you are so moved please share with a friend.
-Roger
The Wowser open house was so great! We had people from all over the county coming to check out what Wowser is all about and we send a huge THANK YOU! To everyone that came. It was so great to hear what people in the county are interested in making. From free energy and micro houses to lamps made out of old shipping crates. We all know that Mendocino County has some big dreamers with big ideas and it’s Wowser’s goal to provide the tools, space, and help so that we can all bring our ideas to life.
We’d also like to send a lot of thanks to the local papers. We have been featured on the front page of the Ukiah Daily Journal, in the Willits Weekly, and in the Willits News. Thanks so much to each of the news organizations for supporting us and getting the word out! Check out the articles below if you haven’t read them already:
