Brain Silo

The guys who use this facility a lot always make sure that the place is neat and tidy. It’s looking less than a storage locker and more like a place to accomplish things.

Hacker spaces are a new business category. There are about 1000 in the world today, including Xin Che Jian in Shanghai, Noisebridge in The Mission and three in Portland. Brain Silo is one.
Hacker spaces are where the Maker movement, Instructables, open source, O’Reilly, DIY and crafting come together in a shared space where people can work on projects and collaborate. The spaces have tools, the kind of things you might not have at home or in an apartment, and room for larger projects.
They are also run on small budgets, and are affordable to individuals in contrast to a commercial specialty shop where professionals do the work for you. In a hacker space, you do the work yourself. Hacker spaces are also incubators of entrepreneurial opportunity.
Brain Silo is also the quintessential man cave. The founder brought all his tools and projects to the space and you can become a member to work on your own projects. Craft spaces and project spaces have a style, and this one is definitely chaotic. In a way that’s charming too.
Ladies may laugh, and make fun of this space, but you will find plenty of sewing rooms in the same state of chaos.
And doubt many people laugh at Steve Jobs & Woz’ garage, Larry Page & Sergey, Hewlett & Packard, Harley & Davidson, Walt and Roy Disney, Vollum & Murdock, all of whom started in similarly humble spots.
Projects the members are working on include repairing vinyl jukeboxes, pinball machines, taking apart computers, and building projects with a small NC wood router. They have hand tools and a drill press. If you want to build a robot, and your wife/​husband won’t let you do it at home, this is a good place. It’s a work in progress to which you can bring your specialized tools to add.
They operate by monthly dues, which are ridiculously reasonable. You really need to meet the owner and other members to see if you are compatible and responsible. Access is 24×7, so if you need to work on your moon rocket at 3AM on a Monday morning, you can.
They host occasional public demos of a Maker/​Instructables nature. They would be announced on their website and sometimes on
, Portland’s open source tech calendar.
Brain Silo is a place to get stuff done away from home, man cave chaos style.