The Long Story 01
About 10BitWorks
Est.
2010STATUS
501(C)(3)DISCIPLINES
9+MODEL
Member-RunOrigin 02
In 2010, a small group of San Antonio engineers, tinkerers, and artists had a hunch: somewhere across the city, there were people working alone in garages and apartments. People with skills, tools, and ideas that were more powerful together than apart.
The proposition was simple. Pool your resources, your equipment, your knowledge, and your space under one roof. Let the community itself be the infrastructure. The first shop took root in a garage off Roosevelt Avenue on the South Side, and what grew out of it was San Antonio's first hackerspace, a shared workshop where the only barrier to entry was the desire to make something.
That founding idea, that a makerspace should be a genuine part of the greater community and not just a space within it, is still what drives us fifteen years later.
FIG. 01 · FIRST SHOP
OCT. 2010
Evolution 03
The early days were rooted in electronics and technology: circuits, code, hardware projects, the DIY energy of people who wanted to understand how things worked by taking them apart and building them back up. Founded by Chris Hardee, Mike Perez, and Jeremy Zunker, the shop opened its doors to anyone willing to learn and contribute.
But the community kept growing, and so did what it needed to do. By 2014, 10BitWorks had formally evolved into a makerspace, broadening its tools, its disciplines, and its definition of who belonged here. The shop grew to fit what the community was making.
Same Spirit. /// More Growth.
FIG. 02 · Phase Diagram
2010
Founded · Roosevelt Ave.
2014
Disciplines broadened.
2026
COME AND MAKE IT.
CURRENT DISCIPLINES
Horizon 04
This summer, the shop gets a new home. more room. more cool air. more disciplines. same idea.
FIG. 04
8610 Botts Ln
Summer 2026
Mission 05
Legal Status
10BitWorks is a Texas 501(c)(3) nonprofit, formed exclusively for educational purposes and dedicated to instruction of the public in engineering, art, craft, trade-craft, design, and science.
// Here's what that means:
01
Tools shouldn't be locked behind privilege.
We exist so that serious tools, and the knowledge to use them, aren't locked behind expensive university programs, professional credentials, the luck of knowing the right people, or having a professional garage in your backyard.
02
PEER-LED LEARNING WORKS.
A member who's been running the lathe for five years showing a first-timer how to work the tool. Active learning teaches things most classrooms don't, and videos or books can't.
03
MAKING THINGS MATTERS.
A city this size should have a place where anyone can do it. So we built one. And we're not stopping.
Every membership, every donation, and every workshop taught by a volunteer goes toward keeping the shop open and the machines running. As a 501(c)(3), contributions to 10BitWorks are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Character 06
// We're not
// We are
The floors have sawdust on them. The equipment has miles on it. The people who show up know how to use what's here, and if they don't, someone nearby usually does.
// Who shows up
There is no typical member here. We are a mix of engineers prototyping hardware, entrepreneurs building their product lines, everyday folks fixing broken gear, artists welding massive installations, and retirees passing down decades of shop knowledge.// 01
PROTOTYPERs & BOOTSTRAPPErs
Engineers building hardware after hours, and entrepreneurs running their businesses without going into debt for heavy machinery. People escaping a desk to actually use their hands.// 02
DIY Builders & Fixers
Regular folks building projects or repairing broken stuff, sharing tools, and figuring it out together. You don't need to be an expert to work on your project in this shop.// 03
Crafters & Artisans
Creatives building projects too big for their living rooms. Turning raw sketches into wood, steel, and code.// 04
LIFETIMERs & ROOKIEs
Retirees passing down decades of muscle memory, and parents teaching the next generation how to build from scratch.What they each share is the thing that's always defined this place: the willingness to show up, figure it out, and make something that didn't exist before.
Leadership 07
10BitWorks is governed by a volunteer board of directors, elected annually by the membership. The organization's day-to-day operations, programming, and community are sustained entirely by members.
The board members are themselves some of the shop's most active volunteers, but they're far from alone. The shop stays open, the machines stay maintained, and the classes get taught because of members who give their time, money, tools, and know-how to keep it all going.
Some have been fixtures for years. Others started showing up last month. Both matter, and the mix is what makes this community what it is.
Our Current Board:
Connor Doherty
President
Eric Spehr
Treasurer
Greg Thibodeaux
Marketing/Outreach
Steve Brown
Hunter Wright
Co-secretary
Yes, this is really what the board looks like. No, we don't do headshots. The part you might see is in the shop, weeknights and weekends, us with our head's down in a project. The less-visible part: Slack/email threads, meetings, planning, and dull paperwork happening at home, at all hours. It's what keeps the org growing and running.
FIG. 05
Structure
Volunteer Board of Directors
Term
Elected Annually
Eligibility
Members in good standing
Election Cycle
Each Summer
Day-to-day Ops
Sustained by member volunteers
Results Posted
Want to run?
Members in good standing are eligible. We post results and introduce new directors on the blog after each election cycle.
Come In 08
The Door Is Open
The best way to understand 10BitWorks is to walk through the door.
No membership required. No experience necessary.
