Distributed Design

New Blogpost out! Reflecting on L’in[visible] Espai Maker before the summer pause!
Before heading into the August break, we’re taking a moment to look back at the first phase of our make-a-thek pilot in Barcelona.

What began as a quiet study room has transformed into a dynamic, living space!
Neighbours, library staff, creatives, and local associations teamed up with Fab Lab Barcelona to turn shared ideas and vision into a functional makerspace. Since opening, the space has hosted a variety of activities, from repair and textile circularity sessions to collaborative workshops, and even an artist-in-residence program in collaboration with Territorios Productivos!

In September, L’in[visible] Espai Maker will open again! We can’t wait to keep seeing what will happen next!

(c) Image credits to Ce Quimera, who can be seen in the image hosting a workshop at the L’in[visible] Espai Maker as part of the residency




Xarxa d'Espais Productius i Col·laboratius
Back To Eco
pennyp
Ce Quimera / Ce Puglia

🚨 Last call to apply!

We’re looking for artists, designers, makers, and creative practitioners working at the intersection of arts, design, making, and citizen science.

Projects may engage with:
🌿 Environmental monitoring
💨 Air quality
🤝 Community participation
🔧 Open-source or maker approaches
📊 Qualitative + quantitative knowledge

💰 Up to €3,000 funding
🌍 Open worldwide
📅 Deadline: June 14

Apply via link in bio.

Join us for an in-person co-design workshop where we’ll collectively imagine and prototype the future sewing kit of the maker space at the library. 🪡

As part of the participatory process of L’in[VISIBLE] Espai Maker, we will co-design the future sewing kit. What would you like to find at the library to help bring your ideas to life? Which tools, materials or resources would make this space work for you? Your voice matters, come and share it.

This event is part of the EU-funded make-a-thek project and aims to connect the growing community of menders, makers, textile artists, and creative libraries across Europe.

In this workshop, together we will:
🧰 Explore what an accessible basic sewing kit should contain
💬 Share needs, ideas and references
✨ Collectively co-design a proposal for the library

📅 Date Thursday, 7 May 2026
🕛 Time 17.30h
📍 Location: Biblioteca Camp de l’Arpa-Caterina Albert, Indústria, 295, 08041 Barcelona

🧺 What to bring? Just your ideas and willingness to share : we’ll provide the materials.
🎟️ Free to attend — registration required
👐 Hosted by Fab Lab Barcelona with residents and auxance
🗣️ Languages English and Spanish

Textile experimentation workshop to reflect, using scraps and textures, on the library’s new maker space.
Through textile collage, we will reflect on the potential of this maker space in the library and visually express what this place means to us. No prior experience is needed: just be open to playing with fabrics, textures, and ideas.

This event is part of the European project make-a-thek, which aims to connect the growing community of menders, makers, textile artists, and creative libraries across Europe.

In this session, together:
🧵 We will explore textile collage as a tool for visual thinking
✂️ We will compose pieces with scraps, fabrics, and various textures
💬 We will share what we imagine this maker space could be

📅 Date Tuesday, May 5, 2026
🕛 Times Two sessions — 11:00 or 17:30 (choose the one that suits you best)
📍 Location Biblioteca Camp de l’Arpa-Caterina Albert, Indústria, 295, 08041 Barcelona

🧺 What should you bring? Just a willingness to experiment — we provide the textile materials.
🎟️ Free — prior registration required
👐 Led by Fab Lab Barcelona
🗣️ Language Spanish / English

An introduction to creatively mending our clothes and breathing new life into disused items through visible mending.

Do you have a garment with a hole, a stain or a small flaw that you can’t bring yourself to throw away? Bring it along! In this workshop, we’ll explore visible mending as a creative and political act: rather than hiding wear and tear, we’ll celebrate it with thread and colour. A simple and beautiful way to extend the life of our clothes and reconnect with what we already have.

This event is part of the European project, which aims to connect the growing community of menders, makers, textile artists and creative libraries across Europe.

In this 2-hour session, together we will:

🧵 Learn the basics of visible mending
✨ Repair one of our own garments in a creative way
💬 Share techniques, threads and stories

📅 Wednesday 29 April 2026
🕛 Time 5.30 pm
📍 Venue: Camp de l’Arpa-Caterina Albert Library, Indústria, 295, 08041 Barcelona

🧺 What to bring? An item of clothing with a hole, a stain or a fault that can be mended with needle and thread.
🎟️ Free — advance registration required
👐 Led by Penny Papachristodoulou, Back to Eco Team — Session as part of the “La Roba Bonica” project, with the support of the

🗣️ Language: Catalan and Spanish

The countdown is on! 🗓️ After a 10-year world tour, the international Fab Lab community is returning to its birthplace for FAB26 Boston!

Join over 1,000 attendees from 55+ countries in Cambridge and Boston from July 27–31, 2026, for the 22nd edition of this immersive technosocial symposium. This year is extra special as we celebrate 25 years of the Fab Lab Network and begin re-imagining the next 25.

What to expect: ✨ 5 Days of Innovation: High-energy sessions at the MIT campus and Kendall Square. 🛠️ Hands-on Learning: Workshops covering everything from AI and quantum tech to open-source machines. 🌍 Global Impact: Exploring how digital fabrication can drive social justice, sustainability, and new education paradigms. 🎉 Distributed Festival: Wrapping up on August 1st with a public festival across Massachusetts!
Whether you are a maker, educator, artist, or policymaker, this is your space to discover, discuss, and build community.

🎟️ Tickets: Grab your week pass or a local day pass at the the event’s website: 
Let’s reimagine the future together. 💡✨