When our founders opened the Fertilab Thinkubator little less than a year ago, they did so out of a perceived need for a community lab space in the biotech sector. There wasn’t a place in the Eugene area where an entrepreneur out of the community could go and affordably set up a commercial research laboratory. Thus, the Fertilab Thinkubator was born… and we quickly saw that our founders’ idea of a community workspace would extend far beyond biotech startups.

Eric Harvey, Fertilab member and founder of Swim Left Productions and Mason-RY, realized that a similar need for collaborative workspace existed in the product prototyping and engineering community. He began planning to build a machine shop that operates on the Fertilab model – tenants share space, equipment and ideas, driving down each others costs and promoting creativity and productivity. After several months of planning and scouring the neighborhood for just the right location, Eric identified the ideal home for his new workspace, an industrial facility near 2nd and Monroe.

Currently, Eric is renovating the space, with plans to open Fertilab Shop in a matter of days.

This location is the second in the growing Fertilab network. We are currently in discussions to open two more locations as well, that serve particular industries and community needs. What about you? Does your industry/market need a collaborative, non-profit workspace? Would you like to join with partners across the Fertilab network to help shape what it means to be an entrepreneur in Eugene? Let us know how we can serve you, and what we might be able to accomplish together!

For more information about Fertilab Shop, email Eric Harvey at . For more information about the Fertilab Network, email or .