A small group of founding members in the Downriver area operating a shared industrial space — stocked with the professional tools most makers can't justify buying on their own.
Serving: Flat Rock · Woodhaven · Brownstown Township · Taylor · Trenton · Romulus · Gibraltar · Riverview · Southgate and surrounding communities
Photos: Pexels
This is the heart of Michigan's manufacturing corridor. People here fix their own cars, build their own furniture, weld, sew, and create. They just don't have a place to do it.
Every tool available to every member. No per-use fees. No scheduling headaches for most equipment. Just show up and work.
2-post lift, air compressor, diagnostic tools, floor jack. Do your own oil changes, brakes, or bigger jobs — no dealership markup.
Table saw, bandsaw, jointer, planer, router table, dust collection. Build furniture, cabinetry, decor, and anything wood.
MIG/TIG welder, plasma cutter, grinders, chop saw, drill press. Fabricate, repair, and create in steel, aluminum, and more.
Soldering stations, oscilloscopes, bench power supplies, and microcontrollers. Prototype circuits, repair electronics, and build Arduino or Raspberry Pi projects.
Sewing machines, embroidery machine, Cricut cutters, jewelry bench, cutting tables. Apparel, accessories, costumes, and handcraft.
FDM and resin printers, a full-size laser cutter, and vinyl cutting. Design it, print it, cut it — from prototype to finished product.
This isn't a commercial gym with hidden fees. Members collectively decide what gets purchased, how the space is run, and how dues are structured.
No equipment required to join. Your membership covers full access to everything in the space. Learn new skills, borrow the community's tools, and contribute in other ways — maintenance, orientation training, event organizing.
No desk staff. No booking required for most equipment. Smart lock entry with individual access codes. Show up at 6am or 11pm — the space is available whenever you need it.
Equipment purchases, space rules, new membership slots — shaped by member input. Costs are posted transparently every month. This is a community asset, not a landlord's investment.
Final dues depend on the space we sign and how many founding members we confirm. More members = lower dues for everyone.
Our planning rate, based on real costs for a space this size in this market.
*Final dues are set once we confirm the founding cohort and sign a lease. More members = lower dues for everyone.
Founding Member #1 is committed. You could be #2.
We're at the very beginning — that's the opportunity. The first 35 members set the rules, pick the equipment, and choose the location before anything is signed. Once 35 have committed, we sign the lease. After that, new members join at the standard rate with no rate lock.
There is always a way in without a deposit. Every founding-cohort spot is free to claim and free to hold. The $750 founding deposit is entirely optional — it's credited in full toward your membership rather than charged as a fee, and it isn't collected until there's a real space and a signed agreement. Claim your spot with no deposit now and add it later if you decide you want the board seat.
And you get to change all of it. The deposit amount, what it buys, and who votes get written into the charter and bylaws that the founding cohort ratifies — and the voting membership can amend them afterward. You aren't buying a fixed package. You're claiming a seat at the table where the package gets written.
Downriver Makers is organized by Richard Scott Jr., a Brownstown maker who got tired of not having a shop and decided to build one with other people instead of alone. He's Founding Member #1, with his own deposit committed. Photo and full bio coming shortly.
This isn't a company testing an idea. No lease is signed and no money is collected until the founding cohort is complete — if that never happens, nobody is out anything. Questions go straight to a human at [email protected] or through the form below.
No commitment yet — just tell us you're interested and what matters to you. Your answers shape what the space looks like.
We'll reach out as soon as we're close to confirming a space. Founding members get first pick on storage allocation and a direct voice in how the space is run.