Located on the ground floor of a bustling co-working space, the I AM U Maker Library is run by Heath Nash, an artist best known for his colourful, functional designs made from post-consumer waste and experimentation with materials and making processes.

Heath’s makerspace at 75 Harrington is an innovation lab of sorts, attracting makers, artisans and artists to step inside and become part of the processes at play. His extensive collection of books and publications is complimented by a ‘library of objects’ – filled with interesting things collected on his travels, and organised according to materials and making processes.

The I AM U Maker Library hosts Maker Fridays to engage and involve the local community and creative businesses in informal making sessions during which skills are shared and swopped.75 Harrington Street is a partnership project between the Cape Craft Design Institute and The Bank. It provides a multidisciplinary co-working environment with high-speed internet and a range of support systems and is also an incubation space where ideas and business models can be tested and developed in a relaxed and interactive working space.

Who is involved?

As a Maker Librarian, Heath Nash’s role is very much about creating community. He sees design and making as tools that can bridge gaps between people with vastly different experiences and abilities. Heath works with seasoned artists, community-based projects and talented artisans to develop new ways of making that draw from indigenous practice and new technology. Cross-cultural exchange is where he expects some of the most interesting new objects to emerge in forthcoming years. Involved since the beginning of the Maker Library Network project, expresses his motivation in haiku: ‘all I want to do is make interesting things and think about them.’