Make it Marseille opens its doors to designers in Provence

Vincent and Emmanuelle Roy chose to found Make it Marseille in the historic port city. With 450 square meters tailor made for entrepreneurs, Make it Marseille lends itself to blending and swapping skills under a single roof. It offers its space and machines to entrepreneurs and assists them in making their products. The goal is to create a crossroads where professional craftsmen versed in traditional trades interact with the world of innovation. The project is especially well received in this city where anything is possible. Make it Marseille will welcome its first members on April 4. This collaborative workspace, a veritable third place, will foster synergies among approximately 100 professionals in the fields of prototype design and production, strategic assistance and training. For those who cannot wait, during the Journées Européennes des Métiers d'Art (the European Festival of Craftsmanship) on the 1, 2 and 3 of April, Make it Marseille will show off its expertise and its facilities at an open house event.

Vincent and Emmanuelle Roy dreamed of shared workshops and co-working spaces in downtown Marseille for their community of "makers" – people who create with their hands. It has been two and half years since it was launched and Make it Marseille has finally found the right fit; now it can turn its development goals into a reality. With 450 square meters and 45 machines (wood, metal, leather, jewelry, textiles and digital manufacturing) at the cutting edge of innovation and workspaces at their disposal, professionals can now bring their projects to fruition and get support through training, specialized workshops and strategic research. The 200 creative professionals who are part of the Make it Marseille community hail from a variety of backgrounds. They are jewelers, woodworkers, architects, designers and stylists and all are driven by the same thirst for creativity.

"Make it Marseille should be a major development tool for professionals. We hope that working in the same place will promote skill sharing and build bridges between various disciplines," explained Vincent Roy.

Staring on April 4, Make it Marseille will be able to host about a hundred professionals and offer them training. It will also allow its makers to use the space privately to receive clients and plan promotional events.

Provence: a fast-changing region

It is easy to believe that Make it Marseille will succeed in Provence because the concept embraces the very spirit of the city. The "Phocaean City" is known for its devotion to tradition, but today it is brimming with strong potential for development in digital innovation. Vincent Roy saw this, which is why he started Make it Marseille.

Backed by financial partners such as NEF and Crédit Agricole, Make it Marseille received assistance to fund its creation and growth. Provence Promotion was a catalyst in helping the agency integrate into the local ecosystem. In 2015, Make it Marseille won the EY Foundation award for manual trades and also received assistance with financial and legal matters.

"The opening of these facilities in downtown Marseille is a first step for us.
We hope to be able to make the most of the space that has been allotted to us and to open new 'makerspaces' down the road in this dynamic area," Vincent Roy said.
To fulfill his ambitions, the founders of Make it Marseille are looking for new partnerships in the near future.

To promote its concept, Make it Marseille will participate in the Journées Européennes des Métiers d'Art on the 1, 2 and 3 of April and will host an open house to showcase its expertise and facilities.
Registration for this event is open.