We are a community-oriented fabrication workshop that provides tools, work space, skill sharing, and education opportunities for a diverse group of fabricators, makers, and entrepreneurs.
We are a welcoming community of people from all walks of life. We provide a supportive environment for people looking to build, create, learn new skills, expand their creativity, or to try out a new business idea.
An open exchange of knowledge, expertise, and ideas creates stronger communities and allows us to grow and improve our skillsets. The space supports technical, scientific and artistic projects in a supportive and energizing environment. Four businesses and counting have been launched out of the space!
Whether you're a welder, a teacher, a local business owner, or a fabricator, we'd love to hear about your project!
Join Us!“ Big Al’s Sub Shop provided crucial work space for us when we needed to expand out of a local steel fabricator's shop, but did not have resources to justify leasing a much larger space.
Working out of this shop introduced us to other genius tinkerers who recommended helpful tools, processes, and technologies that we had not known of before. After 10 months in the shop, our operations grew to the point that we needed — and more importantly, had established that we could afford — a larger shop. We expanded our operations to a location in Emeryville, but miss the interaction with the clever and creative people at Big Al’s Sub Shop.
The minimum-size commercial spaces available for conventional lease in the Bay Area are too large for a small business to afford. Big Al’s Sub Shop offers a valuable opportunity for small fabricators and similar businesses to establish themselves before expanding to their own spaces. The space really gave us a chance to get off the ground. Alessandra provides a unique and important service to small businesses like Quake Bracing; and the greater Bay Area community enjoys the benefits of keeping these businesses local. “
— Thor Matteson, SE, Founding Engineer, Quake Bracing LLC
“ For me, this place became a space to explore my creativity and build a new skillset while being surrounded by an amazing community of people. There is a huge willingness from folks here to share their skills.
As I became more skilled in my work, it was neat how I was able to expand my capabilities in so many different directions. One of the best things about working out of this space was being able to take on and explore different projects.
This place embodies the true spirit of a makerspace and the reality is that we can do real, meaningful work here. We are a unique group of architects, professors, artists, coders, and fabricators, all with one common thread, which is that we enjoy making useful and meaningful things in the world, whether it be custom metal fabrication, inventing a new type of earthquake bracing, or making face masks for local hospitals.
What's really cool is that we all come from different professional paths, but we all have this drive to make and create. I'm a teacher but there's always been a part of me that wants to build and use my hands, and now I can!
When I started here I could barely hang up a picture. I was terrified of my tools. If you told me 6 months ago that I would be building my own house I would not have believed you. The people and the environment here made it possible. “
— Connor Krone, Educator
“ I came looking for a place to build out a camper, and ended up finding a community of friends and family.
I’m a foreman for a union iron company, and so I'm constantly teaching and training people through my job. Joining this space allowed me to expand on that passion, and help grow this community a little further.
The experience level here is everything from beginner to professional, and that's a good thing. We have people from all walks of life and backgrounds. The environment is laid back but goal oriented, we support each other and we also get sh*t done.
I'm a metal fabricator who specializes in structural, architectural, and ornamental fabrication. This place has laid the foundation for me to start my own fabrication business; through the tools and space provided, the community of support, the networking opportunities, and having a collective of people to bounce ideas off of.
Alessandra has a constant commitment to improvement and growth, and the space keeps getting better because of that. I am working with Alessandra to set up programs and apprenticeships to teach welding, fabrication, and design.
Big Al’s Sub Shop has given me the opportunity to give something back and share my skills and expertise, and that's very fulfilling for me. I am grateful to be in a position where I can give back and help people who are just starting out. It is great to watch people grow and learn new skills or a trade. I have learned valuable lessons from other people here and they've learned from me. Even people at the top skill level need to ask for help sometimes. We've come to rely on each other, and I've grown close to everyone here.
Community is so important. There's a certain type of people who come to this space, and that's people who want to learn, grow, and who want to contribute. “
— Lucky Hoey, Welder & Fabricator
“ Big Al’s Sub Shop is a truly unique and magical collective. Alessandra has created a much needed springboard for those who are taking their passions to higher grounds.
This space has been paramount in the process of establishing my own practice as an artist. Within weeks of embarking on my journey of self employment, the community and space here showed me just how easy it can be to follow your passions so long as they exist in the appropriate environment. At the beginning of 2020 I left a more secure job as a remodel carpenter to pursue unorthodox and sculptural building techniques. I have not looked back once! The vehicle build-out culture here has heavily influenced my own mobile dreams, and I am currently building and selling sculptural camper shells in addition to the architectural and artistic fabrication projects I take on. Every single day I look forward to hard work and existing in a community that facilitates and supports it.
The Sub Shop is an amazing community of people, from engineers to artists, all sharing space while having autonomy in their own pursuits. Our shop is steeped in diverse people, projects, skill sets, goals, and much more! It is an enriching place to create and explore, and in an area and time where affordable maker space is increasingly rare. “
— Stefan Kaiter-Snyder, Artist & Sculptor
“ Big Al’s Sub Shop is a wonderful collaborative place that enables ones creative and at the same time productive self. It is a community of small business owners, independent contractors and all sorts of creatives.
As an independent contractor focusing on small construction jobs, the space and community are perfect for my business. All my tools in one place, easily accessible, and for the larger projects there is room to spread out, set up the project and get it done. The mutual friendly advice and problem solving conversations along the way are amazingly helpful. We support each other by sharing tools, sharing knowledge, showing our projects and brainstorming ideas.
This is a truly amazing place, because there just aren't any other spaces around like it. I'm a Bay Area native, and have been working in the area for over 40 years. I've spent a lot of time looking, and Big Al’s Sub Shop is truly unique.
As a local small business owner and artist, the value to me is incalculable. My clients are better served because I have a space I can work out of at a reasonable cost. I have also been able to expand the range of projects that I can do for clients. My business is evolving, and my clients appreciate that I have expanded capabilities. I would not have been able to do it without this space.
I've also set up my art studio out of the space. I have always wanted to be an artist, and Alessandra has actually made it possible for me to become an artist at 68 years old! It is so special to me to be able to have my art studio here. Having space to create art in the Bay Area, as everyone knows, is usually prohibitively expensive. I have now created several works that have gotten recognition and rave reviews.
At 68, I am one of the older members in the space. It is also very special and important to me, that I have been able to mentor others and share my experiences. The experience has been wonderful, and it is one of the few communities in the Bay Area where I have not experienced ageism.
The community here is just so connecting and supportive. If you have some little problem you're trying to solve, you can ask anyone, and get a different perspective, get advice. The whole idea of having other people around you that are in the same mode, building, creating, and solving problems, is an amazing thing. There is an amazing sense of trust and collaboration.
Alessandra is a great leader. The space she has created has made my construction business better and has enabled my art endeavors. Thank you Alessandra for developing this wonderful community and space that supports my professional work and creative endeavors. “
— Michael McFadden, Owner of McFadden Construction CSLB Lic #676338, and Owner of Michel Dane Fine Art.
“ Alessandra is a magician. I'm continually in awe at the space she has created and the group of people she has brought together.
She single handedly created and grew a makerspace, during a pandemic, with little to no resources. Alessandra's creative vision and leadership ensured that the space not only survived but thrived during covid, and was responsible for creating countless opportunities for our members during difficult times.
I have grown so much, both on a personal and an intellectual level, since joining this space. Finding this group of people during the pandemic really saved my life and gave me the motivation, support, and confidence necessary to restart my career in a more creative direction after two decades of being unhappy with my previous path. This place is magical, and the people here have become like family. “
— Alan Nelson, Scientist & local business owner
“ It is not easy to find shop space for hobbyists and small businesses in the Bay: Like a lot of other businesses, I started out by working from my garage/driveway. I wasn't ready to fully commit to my own space, and it was hard to find an entry-level industrial space small enough for my needs. There was nothing out there except for Big Al’s Sub Shop.
Working out of this space gave me the time to build some confidence in what I was doing. It's so important to have spaces like this for entrepreneurs, makers, and artists to experiment with ideas.
Big Al’s Sub Shop laid the foundation for me to take my business to the next level. It wasn't a huge financial commitment, so I was able to focus on the work and could experiment without a lot of costs. Having a community around that fosters weird ideas was also huge for me. Getting buy-in and support from people was an important part of developing my concept. In only a few months, I was able to grow and expand into my own space. “
— Saul Estrada, Owner & Principal of High Grade Partners
←
→
© 2024 Alessandra Noelting
Oakland, Califonia!
Email us at hello@subshop.org