Ordering

I never thought spending money could be this hard!  It has always come way too easily for me.  Purchasing items for our new space has proved to be a serious task though.  There are so many steps and things to consider as well.  First there are just so many options out there and we want to make the wisest decisions.  Visiting other makerspaces around us was such a wise use of our time.  We were able to speak to people who have had solid experience with the tools and students.  We also reached out on Twitter for feedback on resources.  More heads is always better than one!

We had a pretty solid list before the money was ready to be spent but once we got down to it we made some changes.  We went through our list line by line in a shared google spreadsheet.  The sheet had links, prices, quantities, and it was sorted by themes.  We wanted to make sure that our space wasn't all techy or all crafty.  We wanted a good balance of themes to attract as many students as possible.  This spreadsheet has been an amazing resource.  We keep vendor information, quotes, invoices, dates of when things are ordered and received, and so much more organized and at all team members' fingertips.

Some companies are way easier to work with.  Some don't accept purchase orders.  This means we have to purchase the item and then be reimbursed.  Our savior has been our colleague, Pam, who does all of the final ordering in the building for us.  She is incredibly organized, efficient, patient, and kind.  We love working with her!

I am also spoiled rotten by Amazon prime.  When I place an order, I am used to some random stranger pulling up in his car and dropping it on my porch within the next day or two.  Sadly, ordering for our school does not work that way.  Even though we order through Amazon, as well as other vendors, the process is much much longer.  Ordering at this time of year probably wasn't the wisest decision either, but we are just so excited to get these tools into our students' hands!