The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – Gloria Wilson, the owner of Waitsburg's new makerspace, is new to the Touchet Valley, but not to the power of making things. In fact, she's an expert. The grand opening of her business, "Simply Sawdust," on Saturday, January 27, will give locals an inside look at all the shop at 101 Main Street has to offer.

"People have been so supportive in helping me to put the place together," she said.

With help from her niece Becky Wilson and builder Charles Stanger, she transformed the Main Street building into her version of a barndominium. It has retail space in the front, a dream workshop in the back, and a loft apartment for Wilson. The workshop is a testament to Wilson's 46-year career supervising manufacturing and research projects. She was also a mentor who developed and encouraged future makers in engineering, machining, and programming.

"I really think of myself as a maker," she said. "I don't have a degree. I got started in 1978 with a company called Tektronix. They offered a program for women that year to learn machine technology. You went to school on-site and got paid for it. And I will say it wasn't an easy road. It was me and 90 men."

Like baseball's Jackie Robinson, Wilson endured harsh treatment and ridicule for breaking barriers in the machine shop.

"I didn't have an agenda: I loved the work. I loved taking a block of material that had something in there screaming to get out."

After 14 years at Tetronix, Wilson was the top model maker of product prototypes when she took a job at Hewlett-Packard. There, she added computer programming and 3D printing to her skills, leading an R&D team of ten before retiring after 32 years at the Vancouver division.

While at HP, she found a use for her interest in woodworking, creating unique intercompany gifts. These included wooden replicas of computer printers with compartments that opened into martini bars.

Teaching is a big part of her vision for Simply Sawdust. She looks forward to offering classes in basic woodworking. She prefers using reclaimed wood, saying "If you could bottle up the smell of 100-year-old fir, that would be the best thing in the world."

In a recent class, students repurposed wine barrel lids to create large serving platters with laser-printed designs and handles. By the end of each two-hour class, students will create something they will take home. Wilson said she wants to ensure participants feel empowered by taking away something they have made.

Simply Sawdust is a true makerspace, where Wilson will offer the tools and her experience to help creators in the community problem solve through their projects in and out of class.

Since arriving in Waitsburg in 2020, Wilson has built friendships and partnerships with other local makers. Products, including soaps, jewelry, knits, and local honey, will be sold alongside Wilson's reclaimed wooden charcuterie platters, spoons, and stickers. Or, as Wilson describes Simply Sawdust retail, "wood goods, local goods, vintage goods, and tasty goods."

The community can drop by Simply Sawdust from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for refreshments, shop tours, and demonstrations. The front space at 101 Main Street has a wood stove, walls covered with sentimental collectibles, and a welcoming greeting, "Yay! You're here!