Photo Story: WeMake Lab celebrates the holiday season with a community workshop

Claire Bauer

January 28, 2025

The WeMake – Design & Learn Lab held a holiday-themed workshop for students and faculty to express their creativity through coloring, 3D printing and more

On Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, students gathered to celebrate the holidays and partake in creativity and crafting. WeMake – Design & Learn Lab, located in Townsend Hall, hosted a free arts and crafts workshop from 2-6 p.m. The workshop was led by Cindy Dudenhoffer, Learning Technologies and Library and Information Science Program Coordinator. Participants were offered hands-on make-and-take crafts such as wooden ornaments, jewelry creation kits and metal stamps.

A person picking up wooden ornaments off a machine. — WeMake Lab student staff member and University of Missouri sophomore Tyra Gipson collects wooden ornaments from the xTool laser engraver at the WeMake Design & Learn Lab in Columbia, Mo. “I did a lot of the laser engravings for the little wooden ornaments with the xTool, running them through the machine and getting all of that configuration set up, and then letting it cut,” Gipson said.

A woman hammering letters into a metal necklace. — Cindy Dudenhoffer makes a metal stamping necklace for her daughter. “It was fun to sit here and hammer and get some frustrations out,” Dudenhoffer said. “You take these punches and center them over the metal and hit them with a hammer on the anvil here.”

Attendees making various crafts around the table. — From left, MU junior Jalen Frazier, Cindy Dudenhoffer and graduate student Kaitlyn Smith sit around the craft table to work on various crafts. The WeMake Lab also hosted a back-to-school workshop in August 2024 and another holiday workshop on Dec. 5.

Tools and materials lining the shelves around the room. — Shelves line the room with various materials for students to use. The lab opened in 2022 through a Mizzou Forward Grant and offers wood-burning tools, an xTool laser cutter, metal stamping kits, 3D printers, jewelry-making equipment and more.

An xTool laser engraving wood. — The xTool laser engraver carves designs into a wooden board to create ornaments. “(The xTool) uses a 40-watt laser and it carves into wood, metal, tumblers, jewelry, leather, all kinds of materials,” Tyra Gipson said.

A student using markers to color wooden bookmarks. — Kaitlyn Smith colors a wooden bookmark made with the wood burner. “I carved my name using the (wood burner),” Smith said. “I find the little handheld wood burner very fun to play with. It’s definitely one of those things where practice makes perfect.”

A person coloring wooden ornaments. — Cindy Dudenhoffer uses markers to color wooden carved ornaments. “The WeMake (Lab) is open from 2-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and it’s free to anybody on campus,” Dudenhoffer said. “We are freely available because everyone should be able to make and design and create.”

Edited by Hannah Henderson | [email protected]

Copy edited by Hannah Taylor | [email protected]

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | [email protected]

About the Author

Claire Bauer, Marketing & Strategy Director

Claire Bauer is a sophomore from Colorado studying journalism with a minor in history. She currently serves as the Marketing & Strategy Director and previously worked for The Maneater as a copyeditor and photographer. Outside the newsroom, Claire is involved in the Honors College, Alpha Delta Pi, Women in Media, the Society of Professional Journalists, and Letters of Love.