The Foundry

‘I could tell you my adventures-​beginning from this morning,’ said Alice a little timidly: ‘but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.’
–Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
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Every journey has it’s beginnings and The Foundry is a place of beginnings. Beginnings for the people who work here. Beginnings for the people who come here looking for something.
What exactly is The Foundry? That is a good question and one I posed to numerous people while actually at The Foundry for an event. It took a while to get anything I could wrap my head around. To the uninformed observer, The Foundry is a gutted warehouse that is slowly being filled back out but is still mid-​construction. The half-​finished feel is perhaps representative of the people who occupy the space. My friend described it as a business incubator. All I could think of was little chicken eggs incubating. Haha okay, so it’s a place for businesses to come and hopefully one day hatch into a cute little feathery chicks who can walk around on their own. Now I got it.
Well, what can you actually find here? The first place I saw upon entering was a room where you could go get henna. It was the evening so many of the rooms were unoccupied. A quick look on their website revealed that there was actually quite a bit going on here. Glassmakers, signmakers, bottlemakers, bicyclemakers, jewelrymakers. The list goes on but it’s a lot of «makers» and some of them even offer classes. You can learn the basics of woodworking and making your own jewelry among other things.
The best time to check out this space is Second Saturdays from 12−4pm where they sell different crafts as well as host classes. Their website is pretty extensive and well-​organized.
I’m not a super crafty person (unless I’m playing Monopoly) but I can see how this place is a warm home for those who are actually crafty in the good way.

I’ve been here for a couple of events and a private party. I’ve had nothing but positive experienced here over the last couple of years. It’s also a neat space for artists.
Parking can be a challenge, but it’s right off the bus line.
This place is bringing more people into the East Side and investing in the community. I look forward to seeing how it grows over the years.

Stopped in for one of their Second Saturday Artisan Markets and was extremely moved and impressed by the level of passion, industry, and optimism. Incubating new artisan-​owned businesses, the space is a funky mix of work rooms, studios, warehouse, meeting space, and more. I saw at work brewers, wood workers, metal smiths, glassblowers, spinners and knitters, jewelers, and more. If you are a fan of the DIY movement, it’s definitely worth a visit.

This building makes its presence known on the East Side with its Second Saturday Artisan Markets every month and the host of workshops and tools they offer for the budding craftsmen. When I attended this market this last Saturday, I saw a guy brewing beer out back, another person blowing glass and selling glass and people selling soup, gelato and other knacks and wares. In the back, there were a few artist studios and even people working on fixing up bikes.
The space is a «work-​in-​progress» and every few months I go and visit it, it looks starkly different. They are constantly building it out and offering more for the community: from classes to access to high-​powered tools.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out The Foundry yet, I highly suggest you check out their Second Saturday market — it’s quite an experience!

This is definitely a neat venue especially for the craftsmen. I went to a «Second Saturday at the Foundry» which was sort of like a hip little Saturday Market featuring work from artists who rent space at the Foundry. There was everything from handmade cards, to woodwork, to glass blowing. It is definitely worth a drive to go visit for a little while. In terms of space as a venue, it’s a rustic looking warehouse that has workshops in the back — I would describe the vibe as rustic, earthy, and alternative.