A springboard for budding innovators!

Bengaluru: Innovation does not need to be limited to the field of academics; it can bloom in the most unexpected places. But unfortunately, fear of failure and social acceptance usually nips it in the bud.

Bengaluru based duo, Anupama Gowda and Pavan Kumar are working to change all that through Workbench Projects, a first of its kind co-working space for all the thirsty makers, innovators and entrepreneurs of the city. With a space of 5,000 square feet right under the Halasuru Metro Station, these two have made it their mission not to let ideas die under pressures of perfection.

“We want to inculcate ideas and give folks a space where they can come and work with no judgments and no perfection ratios,” said Anupama.

“Innovators have spaces they can go to and get their ideas manufactured by an agent and that requires them to design and redesign things, but there’s no space where they can make it with their bare hands and sometimes when you’re reworking that much you feel like giving up,” she said.

“We thought what would be better than a public space! So we made a bid and we got the place the Project. Its been an amazing response but now I think we need to move to a bigger place, can only hold so many people in this 5,000 square feet space!” she laughs.

To make it easier for the dreamers and makers to meet and have a dialogue and encourage people to come out more and turn their ideas into reality, they organise an annual fair called the Mini Maker fair. It is a celebration of local maker culture, she explained.

“It is a meet for celebrating homegrown innovation, attending workshops that may interest them with no baggage and where creativity has no restriction.”

The second edition of the Fair, which is to happen next week is expecting a footfall of more than 1,500 and is an excellent opportunity for conversations with Makers, Tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and entrepreneurs where all come together to show their projects and to talk about what they have made and learnt in the process, she added.