Why Every Maker Needs a Third Place

The sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term "third place" to describe spaces that exist outside home and work – cafes, pubs, community centres, places where identity isn't defined by domestic duty or professional role. These spaces, he argued, are essential for social health and personal wellbeing.

For makers, the workshop often becomes that third place. And not accidentally. There's something about stepping into a space dedicated to making that shifts your state of being.

I notice it in myself. The moment I enter the workshop, my breathing changes. The concerns I was carrying somehow loosen their grip. The phone becomes less interesting than the wood waiting on the lathe. It's not that problems disappear – they're still there, waiting – but for these hours, they're elsewhere.

The sensory environment matters. The smell of wood shavings is genuinely calming (some research suggests that certain wood scents reduce cortisol levels). The visual landscape is tools and timber, not screens and spreadsheets. The sounds are mechanical but organic – the lathe's hum, the gouge's whisper through grain.

This is why I believe everyone who makes should have a dedicated workspace, even if it's small. Not because you need fancy equipment or vast square footage, but because you need a place that's separate from the rest of your life. A place you enter with making as the purpose. Somewhere to escape to.  A sanctuary.

If you don't have a workshop yet, perhaps you can borrow one. That's part of what The Woodturning School offers – not just instruction, but a third place to inhabit while you learn. Check out the Sunday Studio  Sessions.

Where do you go to become your making self?

Class Recommendation: The Woodturning School is designed to be exactly this kind of sanctuary. Join us and experience the difference that dedicated space makes.

Book/Visit: https://www.thewoodturning.school

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@msabansmith

Cross-Reference: Related: 'The Workshop as Sanctuary' on The Woodturning School blog (Tuesday 14th April)