The WERKRAUM Story

May 2025: the Werkraum celebrates its tenth anniversary in less than a month!

In this article, Bianka, founder of the open workshop, tells you about dreams and doubts, initial euphoria and renovation hustle and bustle. The workshop has changed again and again in recent years and there is still no sign of a standstill. Because we have far too much creativity and new ideas for that.

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In October 2015 - just over three years ago - the Werkraum opened its doors to all Augsburg residents. By this time, however, a good two years had already passed in which the idea, concept and everything that had to be worked out up to that point had been prepared.
In this article, I would like to take you, dear reader, on a little journey through time, back to the beginning, where it all started.

The idea in my head

First of all, it started in my head, of course: back then, it was 2013, I was still living and working in Munich - 9 to 5 in a corporation - and loved to implement my own projects after working at the Haus der Eigenarbeit (HEI) in Munich. I spent most of my time in the wood workshop building things for my apartment and also a large kitchen table out of solid oak.

When I then moved to Augsburg, I couldn't find an open workshop here and didn't want to imagine living in a new city where there wasn't such a place. So I made plans to build one myself. I set up a website to find fellow campaigners and spoke to a lot of people to tell them about my plans.

From my head to other heads

Over time, I built up a huge network - city administration, politics, companies, colleges and universities - I got input, feedback and other contacts from everyone, which I was then able to continue with. When the company was founded in November 2014, there were four of us. Two of my co-founders left relatively quickly for personal reasons.

After many hours of planning and another 6 months until a building was found, we stood in a huge empty hall in Martini Park on June 1, 2015. On the one hand we felt quite lost, on the other hand we were totally euphoric and couldn't wait to finally get started.

Through a crowdfunding Earlybird campaign and two on-site information meetings in "our" empty hall, we found 110 trailblazers who support us with a monthly contribution. This was particularly important during the first four months of the renovation, because the workshop had no income and still had to pay rent. Some of these earlybirds then became team members - and still are today.

From dreaming and realizing

We sat together for hundreds of hours, planning everything from room layouts to renovations and machinery.

We often dreamed too. Sometimes we just said these dreams very softly. They seemed absurd and we laughed about them.
But afterwards, they were more than necessary. Without dreams you just don't get far and I think of a saying by Norman Vincent Peale: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

Renovating

We started renovating on June 1st and over the next four months we gave the old hall a new interior. During this time, a hundred different people were there and lent a hand: team members, earlybirds, an Augsburg company that held a social day with 50 people, and complete strangers who had heard about the renovation work on Facebook and just had a look popped in every now and then to help out.

We redesigned a 520 square meter empty space together and divided it into different workshop areas. Together we erected the walls, laid the floors, built the interior, procured machines and tools and prepared everything important for the opening.

There is magic in every beginning
Together, we brought this large empty hall to life and on October 1, 2015, the doors were opened to everyone.

This time was super nice for me because we achieved an incredible amount. Emotionally, however, it was also very stressful because there was always the uncertainty as to whether it was financially feasible or whether I was taking on too much.
From the opening until today, we have tirelessly continued to renovate and expand our range.

WERKRAUM in transition

A lot has happened in the team over the years. We grew steadily to around forty active members, and then in early/mid-2018 we got to a point where we couldn't continue together and the way we had worked together before. Some no longer wanted to go along with the entrepreneurial orientation – professionalization and focus on customer needs – and therefore left the team.

In looking back, this cut had been on the cards for a long time and was ultimately necessary for the workroom to continue.
The team is now working together again. The organization and communication is more harmonious and appreciative than ever before - and everyone is pulling in the same direction. Of course, this also means that the work within the workshop and in the team progresses much faster.

A place for creativity and craftsmanship

After all these years working on the Werkraum concept and after 10 years of being open, I can say that we have made it. Today, the Werkraum is an incredibly great and beautiful place and not only has a solid financial footing, but has “arrived” in Augsburg and is now indispensable.

In eight different workshops - carpenter's workshop, locksmith's workshop, blacksmith's workshop, goldsmith's workshop, fablab, ceramics workshop, textile workshop and children's workshop - our small and large guests/customers and a team of about 40 men and women can let off steam with their crafts and creativity.