RIP TechShop Brooklyn: October 2017–November 2017

Just weeks after opening its doors in the Brooklyn Army Terminal, coworking/makerspace TechShop is closing them.

As of 8 a.m. this morning, the company, founded in 2007, announced it had filed for bankruptcy and all 10 of its American locations would be immediately shut down.

The company offered Brooklyn members its 20,000-square-foot space, which included 3D printers, laser cutters, plastics and electronics labs, a machine shop, a wood shop, a metalworking shop, a textiles department and welding stations, to use for projects they wanted to work on. The memberships went for $200 a month. Evidently, it wasn’t enough.

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that effective today all TechShops, including TechShop Brooklyn, are closed for business. Thank you for all of the support in the short time that we've been open. For questions, please email: techshop.trustee@gmail.com. pic.twitter.com/ZPYE51QyO6

— TechShop Brooklyn (@TechshopBK) November 15, 2017

“I’m not going to spin this,” TechShop CEO Dan Woods wrote in an email to members this morning. “We’ve been operating on exceedingly low cash balances for quite some time now. Until recently, this meant late payment to instructors and vendors, which none of us liked, but at least we were able to pay everyone, albeit several weeks late, and keep the doors open. … However, this cannot go on any longer. The current cash conditions — and the toll they are taking on employees, instructors, and members — are entirely unacceptable.”

Nate Padgett, who had just started working as the director of community engagement and business development for TechShop Brooklyn, confirmed the news.

TechShop’s website now redirects to a PDF with more information on the closing.