Hello! This is Aoi from MACHICOCO staff.
Last week, I promised my colleague Chika that I would write a blog every day, and I've been keeping it up! (Although it's only been four days since I started.)
In today's blog post, I'll be introducing "Tsukuru Lab," a rental mini-factory located in Machikoko.
The Creation Lab is a rental mini-factory located in Machikoko.
Half of Machikoko's office is a mini-factory where you can rent equipment such as a desktop mini-lathe, small milling machine, sandblaster, and grinder. (800 yen / 30 minutes)
Compared to the equipment you see in actual small factories, there are a lot of small machines, so at first I mistakenly thought, "To a craftsman, these are just toys, only capable of simple processing." But then a craftsman once told me, "You can actually do some pretty difficult things with these! It's all about how you use them!"
We've only just opened, but we've already had a variety of customers come in.
Parts for remote-controlled helicopters. For example, if a part is cracked but isn't sold separately, you might decide to make your own.
Sandblasting is sometimes used by people who want to build their own motorcycle by collecting all the parts themselves through auctions.
They come in to have holes drilled in parts of their model guns to make them easier to use.
We also have people who make and sell instrument parts, and others who come in to have wood cut because they want to make their own wedding place cards! We really see all sorts of things.
In cases where the facilities at our workshop were insufficient, we have sometimes referred clients to factories.
This was a request from someone who runs a cafe, asking us to drill a hole in the back of a mailbox to be placed inside the cafe.
I personally love talking to customers who come to my lab. Everyone is incredibly particular about their tools of the trade or their hobby equipment, and there are always interesting stories behind why they're so particular. Like, "At first I was looking to buy it, but then I thought it would be faster to just make it myself." It's so cool.
I used to be the type to just click "buy" online and say, "Well, if it's not available, there's nothing I can do!" But now, meeting people every day who think for themselves and bring their ideas to life has changed my perspective. I've even started fantasizing about whether I could somehow manage to create small details like furniture myself. (Just fantasizing, huh?) I haven't actually done it yet, but it's a big change for me since I never thought about things like that before. Lol
For those of you who are particular about things and want to create and customize them yourselves, please come visit our creation lab!
How can I use the Creation Lab?Detailed information about the equipment and what you can do is available on the Creation Lab page. Please check it out!
Okay, tomorrow's blog post will be by Chika-chan. Please go ahead!
