In the spring of 2022, North Bend Art and Industry opened its first brick and mortar makerspace — and “almost immediately” outgrew it, said co-founder Deb Landers.

This fall, the nonprofit is gearing up to move into a bigger home and wants the community’s input on what that home will look like.

Art and Industry, a 501(c)(3) founded in 2018, currently leases a small strip mall space in downtown North Bend. In February, Landers said, it will start a long-term lease at a 2.5-acre lot off of Snoqualmie-North Bend Road, which it plans to open in the spring. In the meantime, Art and Industry is hosting three November focus groups, so board members can learn what type of makerspace the community wants and the community can learn what its options are.

“We want to be certain that we’re actually hearing what would make the most sense, what would have the most use and value to our community, and then we’ll prioritize those things as we develop,” Landers said.

The focus groups will be held:

• Nov. 12, 6-7:30 p.m., at Valley Center Stage.

• Nov. 16, 10-11:30 a.m., at Church on the Ridge.

• Nov. 17, 5-6:30 p.m., at Mount Si Senior Center.

Once the lease starts in February, phase one of remodeling will begin. Between construction times and permitting, Landers can’t say what the opening date will be, but she’s hoping for April.

The original renovations will be small in the grand scheme of things, Landers said, because they’re renting only a section of the building to start. Art and Industry will continue to grow its makerspace over time, especially if it purchases the property, an option included in the lease. Landers said the goal is to purchase the property within the next five years.

“Then we’ll be in the Snoqualmie Valley forever,” she said. “Property is such a tricky thing, especially out here, that we’d like to make sure that we own the property so we can make good investments in both the property and the types of equipment and buildings.”

The extra acreage will give Art and Industry lots of potential for expansion. The board is taking inspiration from the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network, known as Bainbridge BARN, which is 25,000 square feet and has 10 studios.

“We are using the Bainbridge BARN as our shining star of what a makerspace can be,” Landers said. “The thing that is most impressive is it’s not just a place to go and make things. … It’s a community space to be inspired by being around creativity. It’s a place that, on Bainbridge, the community feels like it is their space.”

Ellen Rowan, an Art and Industry co-founder, said the future makerspace will host both adult and youth writers groups and eventually have music practice rooms. In making it a “true makerspace,” Art and Industry also wants to take advantage of the outdoors by having ventilated spaces for crafts like welding, woodworking or glassblowing.

“I just feel like it’s really important for us to touch on as many areas of the arts as we can, not just the traditional,” she said.

An additional goal of the makerspace, Rowan said, is to merge science and art with offerings like 3D printers and other computer-controlled machinery.

Art and Industry applied for two grants through King County’s Doors Open program to help fund initial move-in renovations and studies to see what can be done with the land. Future construction and ownership will be funded through grants and donations in several phases, Landers said.

The vision the Art and Industry board has for its new makerspace is unlike anything currently available in the Snoqualmie Valley, and Landers believes it will be a way to bring the community together.

“We’ve always been a very tight knit community, but because of the growth in population, I don’t know that we’ve caught up with making sure that everyone in our community feels like they’re part of us,” she said. “This is a place to be able to do that.”