I get asked a lot why I’m starting a makerspace, and I guess the easiest way to explain it is to tell you about myself. 

Florida has always been home to me, I feel that in my bones. The nature, wildlife, and the unique community here have shaped who I am. When I was at UCF earning my degree in conservation biology, I spent as much time outside in the green spaces as I could, soaking in the Florida sun and trying to finish my assignments before I risked getting a heat stroke. Because of my education, I’ve learned to care a lot about the environment and how the choices we make affect our world. I try to be conscientious with every purchase I make. I don’t discard something because it’s broken or outdated, I try to give it new life. While at UCF, I also served as President of the Beekeeping Club, caring for hives and learning how bees work together. That experience stuck with me. Bees are hardworking, they depend on one another, and each one plays a role in building something bigger than themselves. That’s where the idea for the makerspace’s name, HiveLabs, came from.

My husband, Austin, graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in computer engineering. While I was picking up bugs on the playground as a kid he was taking household items apart and dreamed of being an inventor. For my birthday one year, he and two of our friends, JT and Stefanie, taught me how to build my first computer. I had never done anything like that before, but step by step I saw it come together. That experience showed me how much you can accomplish when you have the tools and the support to try something new.

Maybe making things is in my blood. Every summer growing up, I would visit my grandfather, George Youngberg Jr. who we called “Pops”, at his house in Venice, Florida. I can still remember the salty air from the jetties, the coos of mourning doves outside my bedroom window, and the smell of peanuts he would snack on and feed the squirrels in his backyard. His home was furnished with things he built over the years. A chair, a table, even the house itself, he built with his own hands. Sometime before I was born Pops ran a woodworking company. He took the same care with his craft that he did with his community. He and my great-grandfather, George Youngberg Sr., helped start the city of Venice, creating businesses, churches, and social clubs that are still part of the town today. After a hurricane destroyed my uncle’s house last year, I restored some of Pops’ furniture for my own home. Every time I walk past his chair, I think about those summers, and about the kind of legacy you leave when you build with care and give back to the place you call home. 

I live in Lake Nona now, and I want to have the same kind of impact on my community that Pops had on his. That is why I’m starting HiveLabs, a makerspace where people can come together to create, repair, and learn. We have 3D printers, laser cutters, woodworking tools, computers, and more. Whether you are laser engraving a scratched water bottle, 3D printing a custom tool, or turning discarded materials into something new, you are giving objects a second life while learning valuable skills.

I will personally train everyone along with our mentors, passing on skills the same way others have shared theirs with me. We will also have classes, workshops, and social events where people will a chance to learn, share, and connect over the joy of making.

This November we will hold our first Junk Jam. This will be a “creation marathon” where the community comes together to see what they can make out of donated “junk”. Junk could become art, a tool, or something completely unexpected. The goal is to have fun, experiment, and see what happens when people are given space and resources to create.

We are working hard to open in about a month and are relying entirely on community support. You can help by purchasing something from our Amazon wish list, buying items we have for sale, making a donation, or planning to become a member when we open. Even telling friends and neighbors about HiveLabs helps us grow and will bring more people into the community.

For me, HiveLabs is more than just a space filled tools and technology. It’s a place to build something meaningful in Lake Nona, a place where people can learn from each other and see what they are capable of. It is about community, creativity, and carrying forward the spirit of hard work and connection that Pops passed down to me.