Every business has a range of customers – but few have a range as wide as Make Shop, a digital fabrication studio on Karangahape Road.

Helen Jarvis and Alan Syxomexune say their customers range from stressed-out university students needing a laser-cutting service that won’t break the bank, to medical professionals on a quest for 3D printed parts for their surgeries.

They say people email them every day to ask about solving their tricky problems, from constructing medical prototypes to making figurines.

“It's really fun to see what people are creating.”

The pair have been running Make Shop since 2013, but this isn’t their first venture. They started their first business in high school, selling lollipops to classmates.

Then, at university, the young entrepreneurs ran a craft store at weekend markets.

Then came their breakthrough. Syxomexune was studying for his master's degree in architecture at the University of Auckland and Jarvis had finished working towards a bachelor’s degree in graphic design when they found a “big gap”. 

Students needed inexpensive digital fabrication tools for assignments. 

“We saw friends struggling and trying to get things done in time, and there weren't enough facilities available for them,” Jarvis says. 

“And the services that were available – like laser-cutting – were really expensive or the firms didn't do small jobs. We realised there was a gap in the market we could fill.”

Location, location, location

The idea for Make Shop was born. They immediately went online and bought a laser cutting machine.

“We bought this machine – and then panicked when we realised that we didn't have anywhere to put it,” Jarvis says.

“We needed to find a location. So, while the machine was sitting on the docks ready to be released from customs, within a week we managed to find our store on K' Road.”

They liked how close it was to the university, where they expected to find most of their customers.

Syxomexune says customers now come from far and wide, but they're glad they found the location. "There are so many artists on K’ Road and it has such great support for small businesses – especially creative businesses.” 

Adds Jarvis: “I feel like K’ Road makes room for creators. Even though it has changed quite a lot in the last nine years – with more gentrification – there's still room for creators like us.”

At the start, Make Shop was just a shopfront displaying goods they’d made on their machines.

“That quickly went out the door because the services we provided really took over, so we developed our services to meet the demand,” Jarvis says.

“People started asking for more laser-cutting, so we bought another machine. Then people started asking for vinyl and 3D printing services, and it just developed from there.

“You just have to go with the flow of what's needed and buy the machines that are appropriate for that.”

Going to the dogs

The most unusual thing they’ve been asked to make was a 3D-printed dachshund dog skeleton. Some veterinary surgeons ordered it to practice a surgery that they weren’t sure was going to be a success.

“The dachshund needed a leg operation, but he was so tiny they had to check that they could do the surgery,” Jarvis says. 

“We assume the surgery went well – they definitely did a lot of prep work for it.”

Jarvis and Syxomexune say they had to figure out how to 3D all the parts of the skeleton and work out what could and couldn’t be 3D-printed successfully.

They say the most satisfying part of their job is being able to help people bring to life something they may have had at the back of their minds for a long time.

“People don't realise what they're capable of creating until you put the right machines in front of them,” Jarvis says.

“It’s exciting to be around other people who are excited about making stuff.”