Winona Creators Collective featured on HBC’s “Local Pulse”
Mark Zucker, co-founder of the Winona Creators Collective, recently appeared on HBC’s Local Pulse to share a progress update on what could become one of the city’s most exciting community spaces. The verdict? It’s really happening — and a grand opening is tentatively planned for June.
The nearly 22,000-square-foot space — located in a converted warehouse — will house eight studios when fully open: a metal shop, wood shop, glass studio, ceramic studio, 3D printing and prototyping studio, fabric arts room, co-working space, and a print room. Walls are up, drywall is in, and volunteers are arriving as early as 7 a.m. to sand and paint. In Zucker’s own words, “The day the drywall was going up — you could really start to see, oh, this is where someone’s going to work on their next stained glass project. It felt much more real.”
Something for everyone
The studio lineup was shaped directly by community input. Back in 2024, organizers hit farmers markets and local events with a survey — and Winonans made their priorities clear: woodworking, ceramics, and a take-home tool library topped the list. Ceramics, Zucker noted, carries a particular nostalgia, with many people eager to return to pottery wheels they haven’t touched since high school.
Other interest areas in the works include jewelry fabrication, darkroom photography, and a podcast studio (though that last one may take a few months after opening to come online). The collective recently signed an agreement with St. Mary’s University to acquire their used gas kiln — a significant score for the ceramics studio.
More than a workshop — a business incubator
Zucker sees the Collective as more than a place to make things. Winona County currently ranks 68th out of 87 Minnesota counties in entrepreneurship metrics — and the maker space is positioned to help change that. The building includes nearly 3,900 square feet of co-working and private office space, and the Collective is in discussions with CEDA, the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, the Port Authority, and the Small Business Development Center to offer local entrepreneurship training courses.
The pitch is simple: affordable access to expensive tools lowers the barrier for anyone looking to prototype an invention, launch an Etsy shop, or grow a craft into a small business. A Colorado makerspace cited by Zucker has helped launch over 30 small businesses. Winona could be next.
Built by the community, for the community
The project has spent roughly $100,000 of an estimated $250,000 buildout — with the gap filled by tool donations, grants, and volunteer labor spanning ages 6 to 75. Free introductory classes in sewing, pottery, and woodworking are planned thanks to funding from the Winona Community Foundation and CMAC. A community tool library (think: leaf blowers and thatchers you only need once or twice a year) is also in the works, with a tool drive planned for late May. In their community survey, 91% of respondents said they have no mentor for their business or hobby. The Creators Collective is betting that a shared space — and the accidental conversations it sparks — can start to change that.
The tools are donated, the walls are painted, and the community is ready — Winona’s long-awaited makerspace is finally about to open its doors, and the city’s creative future looks brighter for it.