A shared workshop for Cornwall's trades, makers and hardware startups
Proper space and proper kit, without the big lease.
We're planning a workshop in Cornwall where small businesses and startups can rent a unit, book professional machinery by the hour or day, and pick up training, all under one roof. Before we build anything, we want to hear from the people who'd actually use it.
Why we think Cornwall needs this
Most businesses here are small, and the space and equipment they need is built for much bigger ones.
Workshop units are hard to find
Small industrial units are in short supply across the county, and the ones that come up often mean long leases and big upfront costs.
Good machines cost a fortune
A CNC router, a spray booth or a proper panel saw is a big investment for a one or two person business, especially if you only need it a few days a month.
Working alone is hard
Being next to other trades means shared jobs, referrals, someone to borrow a hand from and a lot less time spent on your own in a garage.
88.5% of Cornwall's businesses employ fewer than 10 people (ONS business counts, March 2026).
The idea
One site with everything a small trade business needs
Shared, open-access workshops have already proven themselves in cities, letting hundreds of small makers run serious businesses. We think Cornwall deserves its own version, built around local trades.
Nothing is fixed yet. This is our starting sketch, and your answers will decide what makes the cut.
Units to rent
Lockable workshop units of around 1,000 sq ft, plus smaller benches and studios for people just starting out.
Shared machine shop
Professional wood and metalworking kit, with digital tools like CNC and laser cutting. Book it when you need it.
Training and inductions
Get signed off safely on new machines and learn skills that let you take on different kinds of work.
The practical stuff
Loading access, parking, materials storage, EV charging for vans and a meeting room for clients.
Flexible membership
Scale your use up or down as work comes in, rather than paying for space and kit you're not using.
Run for the community
The workshop would be run as a community interest company, so any surplus goes back into the space.
For hardware startups
A place to build the first one, then the next hundred
Getting a physical product from sketch to working prototype usually means expensive kit, borrowed garages and a lot of waiting on outside suppliers. We want The Launch Barn to be where Cornwall's hardware startups can do that work under one roof.
Supporting startups is a core part of the plan, alongside small businesses and trades, and we'll give them priority access to help them move faster.
Priority access
Preferential booking on machines and space, so prototyping doesn't stall waiting for a slot.
Flexible payment
Payment and compensation arrangements built around early-stage cash flow, rather than a full price from day one.
Help with your IP
Support developing and protecting what you invent, including your patents, so the value stays with you.
Makers next door
Skilled fabricators, engineers and trades on site to learn from, hire and build with.
Experts in your corner
Access to experienced advisers on the business side too, including legal, fundraising and strategy, so you're not working it all out alone.
Proven in London
What a shared workshop did for London's makers
Bloqs began in 2012 with seven makers who'd been priced out of their workspace. Around 60 members joined in its first year. Today it's home to hundreds of small businesses that couldn't have afforded their own machines or premises.
Members say the biggest win is time. Building up the suppliers, kit and trade contacts to run a making business can take a decade on your own. At Bloqs they're on day one, and members regularly hire each other for jobs.
The range is wide: carpenters and furniture makers, a charity making equipment for disabled children that moved its whole production in, and a climate start-up that built a carbon capture prototype there and tested it on a container ship. It also trains local college staff and school pupils.
We want to bring that same idea to Cornwall, built around our own trades and startups.
We're not starting from scratch. One of the founders of Bloqs is mentoring our team, bringing more than a decade of experience running an open-access factory.
companies using the workshop
full-time jobs created
a year generated by members in the local economy
members, from its first year to 2019
Figures as reported by OnOffice (2023), Urbanista (2022) and Reasons to be Cheerful (2024). Bloqs itself is an independent organisation. One of its founders mentors The Launch Barn team.
The kit
Professional equipment you can book
The kind of machinery most small firms can't justify buying on their own. Use it by the hour or the day, after an induction.
What's missing from this list?
This is a starting point. Tell us which machines you'd actually use, and how often.
Who we'd love to hear from
- Joiners and carpenters
- Kitchen and furniture makers
- Metalworkers and fabricators
- Builders and tradespeople
- Engineering and supply-chain firms
- Marine, aerospace, mining and renewables companies
- Hardware startups and inventors
- Makers, designers and artists
- Anyone looking for their first unit
If you work with your hands and run your own business, or want to, your view counts. Even if you're happy where you are, tell us why.
What happens next
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01
You tell us what you need
The space, machinery and services you're missing today, and what you'd realistically pay for them.
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02
We shape the plans
Your answers decide the unit sizes, the kit we invest in and the services we offer, and help make the case to funders.
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03
You hear first
Leave your details in the survey and you'll get updates and first refusal on space when it's ready.
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04
You pass it on
Know someone who'd use a space like this, or a business, college or group that could help us get it built? Share this page and the survey with them. Every voice helps us build momentum.
Help us build the right thing
Pick the survey that fits you. It takes 5 to 7 minutes, there's no sales pitch, and your answers are only used to plan the workshop.
I make things for a living, or want to
Joinery, furniture, metalwork, textiles, set and prop making, fit-out, art and anyone starting a making business.
Take the makers surveyWe build technical products, or serve the industries that do
Hardware startups, plus engineering, fabrication, testing and supply chain firms in marine, aerospace, mining and renewables.
Take the industry surveyKnow someone who'd be interested in using the services of The Launch Barn? Please send this page on to them.
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