Jay’s Story Zero Shop Space to Commercial Client Delivery in 6 Weeks
Jay’s Story - Building a Broadcast Ready Podcast Set for Stihl on a Compressed Timeline
QUICK FACTS
⏱ Timeline: 6 weeks (nights and weekends around day jobs)
🔧 Tools Used: Track Saw, CNC Router, 4,000 sq ft assembly space
💡 Key Learning: Parallel workflows beat working alone every time
🎯 Starting Point: Professional set builder, first commercial client at this scale
💰 Cost to Rent Equivalent Space: $4,000-6,000/month for 6 weeks
📍 Location: 757 Makerspace Norfolk
The Problem
Jay landed a contract to build a broadcast-ready podcast set for Stihl. Full custom fabrication. Hard deadline. High expectations.
Here's the problem:
Jay and his 5-person team all had day jobs. Nobody owned a commercial shop. Nobody had $50,000 in professional tools sitting in their garage or the room for such a large project.
They needed to build custom wall systems, monitor panels, metal components, and color-matched cabinetry. All while working nights and weekends. All with zero room for delays.
Two ways this goes:
They rent shop space at $4,000-6,000/month, buy/rent tools they don't own, and watch their profit margin disappear
They find infrastructure that lets them move like a professional shop without the overhead
They chose option 2.
What Jay Did
Week 1-2: Design and material prep
Jay's team (Rob, Sope, Emanuel, Alex, and John) worked out the build plan and started cutting. They used 757 Makerspace's track saw for precision cuts and the CNC router for repeatable components.
Week 3-5: Parallel workflows
This is where 24/7 access mattered. One team member ran the CNC at 10pm. Another assembled wall sections at midnight. A third finished components on Saturday morning. No waiting for "shop hours." No bottlenecks.
When they hit a problem with the CNC, another member jumped in to help. No waiting. No delays.
Week 6: Final assembly and delivery
They used 4,000 square feet of open assembly space to lay out full wall sections, pre-assemble everything, and quality-check before delivery. No garage Tetris. No compromising on process.
The set delivered on time. Stihl was happy. Jay's business got traction.
"We needed to move like a professional shop without the overhead of being one. 757 Makerspace gave us the infrastructure to deliver on time without burning our profit margin on equipment and space we'd only use for this one project." —Jay Tuthill, 757 Makerspace Member
Jay and team building a cyclorama corner wall
The Result
A broadcast-ready podcast set for a major client. Delivered on schedule. Built on nights and weekends. Without owning a single piece of commercial equipment.
Here's what made it possible:
✅ Professional tools for $199/month per member instead of $50k+ in equipment purchases
✅ 24/7 access so day jobs didn't kill the timeline
✅ 4,000 sq ft of assembly space for $199/month instead of $4,000-6,000/month commercial rent
✅ Community help when problems came up (CNC troubleshooting, workflow optimization)
The economics:
5 team members × $199/month = $995/month for 6 weeks of infrastructure
Equivalent commercial shop rental: $4,000-6,000/month
Savings: $3,000-5,000 that stayed in Jay's profit margin
Some makerspaces are hobby clubs. We're infrastructure for people with real deadlines and real clients.
New production studio ready to move in
Is This You?
You landed a commercial contract. You've got a hard deadline. You don't own a $50,000 shop or $100,000 in equipment.
Two ways this goes:
You turn down the contract because you don't have the infrastructure
You book a tour and see if we can support your timeline
We'll walk through your project, show you the equipment, and tell you if we're the right fit. No sales pitch. Just an honest conversation about whether your build is possible here.