👋 Hi, we’re Makeshift Collective, local artists building Durham's first craft-focused makerspace.
We’re tired of crafting alone and bet you are too. So we’re building a room big enough for all of us.
Come craft with us.
Makeshift is a shared craft studio and gathering place in Downtown Durham. We believe:
-
![Four people sitting on couches in a cozy living room, engaged in different crafting activities, with a coffee table holding drinks and a sewing kit in front of them.]()
We all need a third space that helps us get offline.
Screens have filled in where community used to be. Third spaces are disappearing everywhere, and craft, done with other people, is one of the oldest and best replacements we know of.
-
![A young girl knitting pink yarn while sitting on a wicker sofa, with a woman assisting her.]()
Knowledge that skips a generation is worth preserving.
Techniques passed hand-to-hand for centuries are at real risk of dying with the people who hold them. We want the person who's been quilting for fifty years teaching the person who picked up a needle last week.
-
![A woman working on a sewing machine in a home setting with fabric scraps and tools on a table.]()
Access to tools shouldn’t gatekeep craft.
A loom, a serger, a good 3D printer; these are expensive tools. We believe access to them shouldn't be. Shared equipment means the biggest barrier to making something is showing up.
-
![Female workers operating machinery in an early 20th-century factory assembly line.]()
Durham has a rich craft story that deserves to be told.
This city has a real craft culture and history that doesn't have one shared home. We want Makeshift to be where it gets celebrated, documented, and passed forward. Actively.
Join us for open studio, classes, and events.
We host Open Studio hours every Wed/Thu/Fri from 5-9pm at ReCity Network
Drop in or sign up to reserve specific equipment like sewing machines, 3D printers, Cricuts, looms, and more.
Drop ins are pay what you can!
OCTOBER 2026 - JAN 2027
Right now, we're proving our concept at ReCity in downtown Durham.
If Durham shows up for it, we go permanent.
From October 2026 through January 2027, we're running a trial residency in Downtown Durham with open studio nights, classes, and community events, three evenings a week.
This isn't a soft opening. It's an experiment with a real deadline, and it needs a real answer from this city; which is exactly what we're counting on you for.
When: WED / THU / FRI 5-9pm
Where: ReCity Network (112 Broadway St), Durham
Showing up matters as much as giving.
-
Donate
One-time or monthly: every dollar is tracked toward our $100,000 trial goal, transparently.
-
Volunteer
Demo your craft, staff a shift, help with kids' craft time, or help us spread the word. Volunteers earn free studio access and classes.
-
Teach
Working artists and experienced craftspeople: propose a class or workshop. We handle the space, the sign-ups, and fair pay. You bring the craft.
-
Simply show up
Come to open studio. Take a class. Bring a friend who makes things. Attendance is its own kind of proof.
WHO ARE THE FOUNDERS?
We’re a group of local makers, fiber artists, and serial crafters who met working at Freeman’s Creative.
We love to make things together, share ideas, and support each other’s entrepreneurial dreams.
Now you’re invited too.
WHO CAN JOIN
For fiber artists. Crafters. Hobbyists. Everyone still figuring it out.
Makeshift is for:
The maker who crafts for work and needs a legit studio setup
The sewist with a pile of mending and zero table space at home
The weaver who doesn’t want their cat destroying their warp
The crafter who wants to learn hand-dyeing, weaving, or needle felting for the first time
The needle felter who wants to talk shop and commiserate on their finger wounds
The knitter who needs a place to block a sweater and grab a coffee with a friend
But really, this space is for anyone who wants to make something one-of-a-kind, in good company, in the heart of Bull City.