We recently connected with Michelle FitzGerald and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

In early 2014, I saw my husband lose a job, pick himself up, and start an eBay store with surprising success. At the time I was teaching 8th grade English and feeling very burned out. But his shift in work opened my eyes to see that we could indeed work for ourselves. I resigned at the end of the school unsure what exactly I’d do, but I just knew the options were limitless.

My whole life I had been creative, making art, trying new things just to get the experience, and so, naturally, I started making things to sell on Etsy. I made hand-lettered art and laser cut earrings to start. Then I wanted to try ceramics, and leather working, and silver smithing, and more and more and more. I sold at local craft shows and festivals every chance I got, even doing 7 holiday shows between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I quickly realized that I didn’t want to make just one type of craft, but I also didn’t want to keep buying all the tools for each new endeavor only to move on a few weeks later. I was on the hunt for a space that would let me use their kiln or a laser cutter, or any number of tools for my expanding creative appetite. Then, one day on Instagram I found exactly what I was searching for, but it was a makerspace in Jakarta, Indonesia. That discovery led me to see that makerspaces were expanding across the globe and our country but hadn’t reached South Bend just yet.

We were already working from home doing Etsy and eBay, so if anyone was going to start a makerspace in our town, I was the one with the flexibility and the vision. But I knew nothing about starting a real business. I asked around town and was pointed in the direction of our local SCORE chapter, where retired executives mentor newcomers in business matters. I met with a great guy named Ed, who walked me through the steps I’d need to get started and pointed me in the direction of more resources. With his help, I was able to craft my business plan and financial projections to take to a bank for a business loan.

Now I just needed to find a space for rent. So, when I walked by a huge empty storefront between my favorite Chinese restaurant and the coffee shop where my husband’s band was playing, I knew I had to call the number in the window. It was perfect. The space I found had great big windows and a skylight, perfect for an art studio and makerspace. I found out later that the historic building we found was that neighborhood’s old public library from the 1930’s-70’s. The landlord gave us a key the day after Christmas and gave us a month to do some surface level renovation like painting, adding light fixtures and getting things ready to open.

The next 6 weeks or so, we invited friends and family to help paint, build tables, and move furniture in. We rented UHauls to pick up tools from auctions. It was a blur. But it came together with a small crowdfunding campaign on Facebook and the loan from the bank. We opened our doors in February of 2015 with very little completed of my ultimate vision of the space. My motto has always been start where you are and grow from there. So, we did.

In the 9 years since then, we’ve found that we weren’t the only ones looking for a space with shared tools. We have members who come do pottery regularly, some even grew to start their own studios. We put a focus on one time classes from the start with the goal of helping adults see that art is not scary and that it is, in fact, quite fun to try something new. We’re miles from where we started, and I’m not sure I could have imagined all that this space would become back then. But I’m glad I took the chance. It has been the most fulfilling thing to bring an idea to life and see it outgrow expectations.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Michelle FitzGerald, and I’m a South Bend native who discovered that I could help create the community I wanted to live in by doing my part. I run a makerspace and art studio called MAKE SOUTH BEND. There you can use the shared tools, take one time classes, buy locally made goods in the gift shop, or attend our annual music and art festival, Rebel Art Fest. I’m incredibly proud to call South Bend home and to help others in my community not only see the talent that already exists here, but also to help them discover the talent they possess.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As an entrepreneur, there’s a fierce independence that develops, an attitude of “I can do that on my own.” But that only gets you so far before you burnout. So, I learned that it was in fact ok to ask for help, to hire someone to help with bookkeeping, or running the shop, or teaching classes. This really came to a head when I got pregnant and knew I wanted to be able to stay home for a minimum of six weeks. I had to make sure that the business I had built over the past 7 years was ready for me to step away. Once I started to ask for help, however, I was pleasantly surprised that the little community of artists and makers who came to love my little studio were also happy to help keep it running while I was away. That was nearly two years ago, and I have still haven’t come back to work full time, because I realized I didn’t have to.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Starting a business wasn’t as hard as I had imagined, but keeping it going was tough. The first two years of my business were quite rough. As the first makerspace in our area and the first place offering one time classes that weren’t just paint and sip, it took a long time to get the word out and show the community what an asset we were. I remember about a year into having our makerspace open, how hard it was to pay the bills. As a one women operation at that point with a very limited marketing budget, I was doing as many open houses and makers market events just to get people in the doors. It felt like it wasn’t making a difference at the time as I’d close the shop in the evening and have a meeting in the morning to apply for food stamps, which only helped for 2 months. But slowly the tides turned, and then paying bills got easier. By year four we really hit our stride and found the business doing surprisingly well. Then COVID was another hurdle, but the first two years had prepared me for sparse times, so we made it through. There’s something about putting everything you have into a vision that makes you refuse to give up, and I’m glad I didn’t quit when it got hard.

Contact Info:

• Website: makesouthbend.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/makesouthbend
• Facebook: facebook.com/makesouthbend

Image Credits
Michelle FitzGerald, Melies Kish, Peter Ringenberg