What is your hobby and why? If there was a place that provided all the equipment for your hobby and provided you space to do so and available professionals in you needed help would you join? Its similar to a gym except instead of weights and trainers there would be wood, saws, and carpenters if your hobby was carpentry. What other kinds of hobbies would you like to see in a place like that?

I do felting..
and went to a class where everything was provided.It was easy to adapt after I was shown the processes and worked through various techniques.Although there are many books having an expert show and the use of large tables spin drier and choice of fabrics and wools was good.Its a hobby I can adapt at home and have had much pleasure finding out and experimenting.
The workshop was a good idea.

Hi startitup, thanks for asking an interesting question. It sounds like you are conceptualizing a place that might already exist in a lot of areas, via the community school systems.

At least here in the Midwest, I have taken several hobbyist classes of this nature - where you pay an activity fee and then go take a class or a workshop. When I lived in the Quad Cities, I took several pottery classes at the local art museum. Clay, instructor and kiln were provided. The Museum has changed a bit since then - moved, had a name change, and no longer seems to offer semester-long classes, but as you can see from the link provided, they do still offer "hobby classes," such as watercolor and photography.

I also took a few cooking classes - Chinese cooking for one - that were held in the home ec lab (kitchen) classrooms of a local high school.

Generally, the classes I've experienced are held through the auspices of the community school system, and local experts do the teaching.

Local public libraries often run these sorts of programs, too. And I've noticed that here in tiny Galena, where local opportunities might seem to be slimmer, our local banks often run programs for their patrons which involve taking bus trips related to a hobby interest, or a seasonal activity, such as a trip to Branson, MO or Chicago, IL at Christmas or Easter, to see a play or a performer, and maybe do some shopping.

What sort of program did you have in mind?

Startitup, Your idea is a great one...I don't have very many hobbies, and the reason is that when I was younger, everything I had an interest in doing was too expensive, complicated and onerous to begin, especially if it was something I'd never done before and therefore I couldn't know whether or not it was a hobby I would want to continue. There were no "one-stop-shopping" options back then, and without a car or a decent salary, most hobbies were simply out of reach for me.

I love the idea of a hobby center where all of the equipment was provided (or at least available for purchase) in the same place as the lessons and professional help. There are a lot of hobby ideas that I would like to experiment with before making a long-term heavy financial investment into the purchasing of equipment and materials.

Anne, one of the problems I have with the kinds of classes and venues you describe is being restricted to using those facilities and resources within such a short window...ie, many community center activities only book the room for that one time-frame each week (usually only in the evenings), so if I want to use the resources any other time, I can't get in to the classroom or access the equipment/materials.

With a hobby center, I presume the "hobby gym" would be open most of the day and I'd be able to come and go at my convenience (rather than at someone else's convenience and schedule). That would work better for me, since I prefer to participate - and learn better - in the daytime.

One of the hobbies I've been interested in for years is working with stained glass. But it's a very expensive hobby initially - buying all the glass and tools is in itself quite prohibitive - and we've never had enough space in this house to be able to set up a work area for me. So this is the sort of hobby I see being much more feasible and accessible through your concept of a "hobby gym"...a place where I can go (at my own convenience) and use (paying as I go) the glass, tools and workspace, as well as the expertise of others. If such a thing was available here and within my budget, I'd probably pursue that interest.

Great comments, Eagle Heart,

What you are startitup are describing exists at my mother and step-father's retirement community. They (specifically La Posada, in Green Valley, AZ, but I expect this exists at other retirement communities as well) have access to workshops for woodworking, as well as other types of art classes. My mother participates in the watercolor painting classes.

I agree it would be neat to have access to something like that - without having to move to a retirement community.

And I absolutely would love to learn how to do stained glass. I even have some interior windows in my home, which I have always envisioned would look a lot more attractive if the glass in them was stained glass. So - I guess I already have a place in mind to install my stained glass projects, should I ever have a chance to learn to work with the medium. LOL!

Right now, my hobbies are writing and photography. If I had the time, and the money, there's no telling what I could get into! I'd love to learn stained glass techniques; furniture making; computer programming; just for starters. I love to learn new things; I like learning the basics of something then moving on to something else that piques my interest.

Check out these 4 links and let me know what you think. They go along with my idea.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooking-Gym/335522999841895

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brewery-Gym/365175510199970

http://www.facebook.com/musicgymnasium

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arts-and-craft-gym/338317286228214

OK, startitup, I've checked out the Facebook pages and the accompanying photos.

So far it looks like what you have is a "concept," but not something that actually exists yet.

As far as I can tell, the program you are envisioning sounds a lot like what I knew of as a "co-op," as they used to exist when I was a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 70s...

There, the "co-op" concept was one of a place of sharing and development, where you paid a fee to be a member and had rights to use the tools, equipment, etc.

There were co-ops that planted and grew organic food, then shared in the cooking and eating.

Tell us more about what you have in mind.

I feel that as well as sharing and using tools and facilities there is the great benefit of creative people being together.
Often they can infuse in others a spark and healthy competition.
It is also a place that feedback and praise can exist.

Start-up: Have you surveyed your local community/city? Better there than here because there maybe other related facilities or none. We're just a bunch of people from all over the world, giving feedback.

But in the end, it is best to partner with local college art school, your municipality (who runs the community centres), to find out the limits of their facilities.

I think if it's run as a non-profit co-op with a board that's elected and some membership fees, it might be safest model. The reality is, is to combine it with artists who teach courses that require the same equipment and supplies.